Barker examines the reasons why milk does not form a significant part of the Nyasaland diet. Her perspective on this, and the idea that the absence of milk, and dairy in general, represents a dietary deficiency is shaped by her colonial background.

In this section Barker discusses ways to introduce milk into the diets of local people. She refers directly to this intervention as an 'improvement of the diet', again reinforcing the idea that the dairy-rich European diet is superior and ought to be imposed on the communities in Nyasaland