A new way for the ladies to make extra money

[flip]

PETA wants ice cream maker to use breast milk

Posted: Sep 24, 2008 08:07 AM CDT

Updated: Sep 24, 2008 08:45 AM CDT

 
Posted by Beth Sweeney - email

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the co-founders of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream say they know, "the breast is best."

PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, sent a letter to the founders of Ben and Jerry's, asking them to replace cow's milk with human breast milk in their products.

"A mother's milk is best used for her child," said the ice cream makers.

PETA says using human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms, and benefit human health.

[glitter]

first off- yuck        second-             dont they realize how many lactating women it would take?   Stupid PETA - it why its so hard to take them seriously.     

[twirl]

I had to pump breast milk when Missy was in the neon-natal unit, in case she lived and then she lived and they would not let her have my breast milk b/c I had to go on blood pressure meds
wonder what they did with all that milk

first read the topic and thought what is FlipBob doing now to make extra money
Sluff will be the milk collector man, he will work for free

[monrein]

I think it's a silly idea about substituting breast milk for cow's milk, but I don't understand why human breast milk would be considered "yuck" or disgusting in any way.  It seems like pretty heathy wholesome stuff since babies can subsist on it and grow and thrive.  I don't have kids but I've tasted it (from a spoon, just to be clear) and it was just rich and creamy tasting.

We wouldn't feed something yucky to our babies would we?

[flip]

In a semi related item, there is a story on CNN about women in China selling their breast milk due to the recall of most infant formula there.

[monrein]

Yep, the return of the "wet nurse" (now there's a term that could create a chuckle) or the "milk nanny" as they refer to the situation in China.

[twirl]

got milk?

[dkerr]

I got something in the mail from PETA last week, don't know how they found me ... but it found its way into the trash.

[pelagia]

Thought for sure this was a hoax, but here's the text from the PETA website.  I say we should all drink soy milk.  That keeps us lower on the food chain.

"September 23, 2008

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, Cofounders
Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc.

Dear Mr. Cohen and Mr. Greenfield,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 2 million members and supporters, I'd like to bring your attention to an innovative new idea from Switzerland that would bring a unique twist to Ben and Jerry's. Storchen restaurant is set to unveil a menu that includes soups, stews, and sauces made with at least 75 percent breast milk procured from human donors who are paid in exchange for their milk. If Ben and Jerry's replaced the cow's milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers--and cows--would reap the benefits.

Using cow's milk for your ice cream is a hazard to your customer's health. Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer. The late Dr. Benjamin Spock, America's leading authority on child care, spoke out against feeding cow's milk to children, saying it may play a role in anemia, allergies, and juvenile diabetes and in the long term, will set kids up for obesity and heart disease--America's number one cause of death.

Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup.

And of course, the veal industry could not survive without the dairy industry. Because male calves can't produce milk, dairy farmers take them from their mothers immediately after birth and sell them to veal farms, where they endure 14 to17 weeks of torment chained inside a crate so small that they can't even turn around.

The breast is best! Won't you give cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching from cow's milk to breast milk in Ben and Jerry's ice cream? Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President"

[glitter]

I think it's a silly idea about substituting breast milk for cow's milk, but I don't understand why human breast milk would be considered "yuck" or disgusting in any way.  It seems like pretty heathy wholesome stuff since babies can subsist on it and grow and thrive.  I don't have kids but I've tasted it (from a spoon, just to be clear) and it was just rich and creamy tasting.

We wouldn't feed something yucky to our babies would we?

Well...I do not want to drink it...as an adult I think its disgusting for me to drink- or eat ice cream made out of it! 

However don't misunderstand me- I don't think babies drinking human breast milk is nasty- of course it isn't yucky for babies-of course they need it to grow and thrive-of course I didn't really think I needed to spell that out either 

[okarol]

So PETA thinks it's bad to milk poor cows, but they have no problem perhaps hooking up humans to milking machines, or inducing lactation with hormones maybe? Humans, like cows, produce only following pregnancy, so what would you feed the babies? Soy milk?

And flip, fyi, male breasts have milk ducts, and some mammary tissue. They also have oxytocin and prolactin, the hormones responsible for milk production. There have been reports of men who were able to produce milk. Maybe that's where the future lies!

[flip]

If I start producing milk, I'll quit everything, including dialyisis.

[monrein]

Well...I do not want to drink it...as an adult I think its disgusting for me to drink- or eat ice cream made out of it! 

However don't misunderstand me- I don't think babies drinking human breast milk is nasty- of course it isn't yucky for babies-of course they need it to grow and thrive-of course I didn't really think I needed to spell that out either 

And my feeling is that if it's a good food, healthy enough and pure enough for babies then I can't see why it would be disgusting for me.  There isn't enough of it for commercial use and it's vital for babies who definitely should have the market on it cornered, for the good of their health.  How come we don't find goat or cow's milk gross but milk from our own bodies is considered yuck.
I know many people feel as you do Glitter.  I, myself, just can't see the logic in it.  I'm certainly not suggesting you ought to drink it.  It's a precious commodity.  I've had another person's kidney and blood in me so breast milk isn't remotely yucky to me.




Edited: Fixed quote tag - okarol/admin

[kitkatz]

EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! 

[cambonesegirl]

EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW! 

Agree.

[monrein]

I do understand that people think it's EWWWW     but anyone care to tell me WHY you think this?  I mean is it just a gut reaction or is there a reason behind the disgust?  We drink it and thrive as babies, it's a perfect food from a nutritional perspective ,we drink it regularly and love it from females of other species, I know that many men and women have tasted it and aren't disgusted by the thought of it, so what gives?

Please don't for a moment think that I'm advocating that we drink human milk or enslave lactating women but I can't at all see why it's disgusting to think of tasting it?  I always wanted to taste it because I certainly couldn't remember it from babyhood.   

I guess I'm an abnormally curious person. 

[pelagia]

I don't think it's 

My guess is that if the average person was to be offered mother's milk and was told it came from a goat or some other acceptable animal, they would never know and would think it tasted fine.

The  factor comes from the psychological aspects, doesn't it? 

Like Karol said - There probably isn't enough to go around anyway.

[okarol]

It is funny, when you think about it, that people don't  when it comes to drinking a bodily fluid of a big ol' cow from who knows where...

But breast milk from a female human? No way?

It was good enough for my kids. But people get weird around breast feeding moms. I think it might be getting better now.

[G-Ma]

My gut reaction is  and monrein I have no clue why....just weird, I don't like the thought of goat's milk either but the other day I did finally taste goat cheese and it was very good so who knows.

[aharris2]

I do understand that people think it's EWWWW     but anyone care to tell me WHY you think this?  I mean is it just a gut reaction or is there a reason behind the disgust?  We drink it and thrive as babies, it's a perfect food from a nutritional perspective ,we drink it regularly and love it from females of other species, I know that many men and women have tasted it and aren't disgusted by the thought of it, so what gives?

Please don't for a moment think that I'm advocating that we drink human milk or enslave lactating women but I can't at all see why it's disgusting to think of tasting it?  I always wanted to taste it because I certainly couldn't remember it from babyhood.   

I guess I'm an abnormally curious person. 

I have grown up drinking that so-called cow's milk. It does not come from cows. As we all know, it comes from plastic, glass or cardboard containers. Far, far removed from reality and something I learned to enjoy long before I became aware of the rumored source.

Lovely cows, vegetarians who do not harbor human viruses (is this true?). Only tainted when humans are involved (how could we grind up cows and put it in cow feed, making the sweet creatures cannibalistic and proliferating spongeform encephalitis (mad cow disease.).

I would be much more concerned with health risks in consuming something produced by such a dirty animal (humans).

[glitter]

I really thought hard - why do I find it to be so disgusting? I guess its just a visceral reaction to the thought of drinking a bodily fluid- I have two children- I didn't think it was gross when they drank it- but I also never tasted it....I didn't want to, I was afraid to taste it maybe... Maybe I am weird that way....

[monrein]

I have grown up drinking that so-called cow's milk. It does not come from cows. As we all know, it comes from plastic, glass or cardboard containers. Far, far removed from reality and something I learned to enjoy long before I became aware of the rumored source.

Lovely cows, vegetarians who do not harbor human viruses (is this true?). Only tainted when humans are involved (how could we grind up cows and put it in cow feed, making the sweet creatures cannibalistic and proliferating spongeform encephalitis (mad cow disease.).

I would be much more concerned with health risks in consuming something produced by such a dirty animal (humans).

The milk we drink is pasteurzed and highly processed.  In the US there are rules against raw milk cheeses  ( much more regulation than in the banking sector) and tuberculosis is the fear around unpasteurized milk.
I grew up on a dairy farm and cows come into the dairy shed with lots of nasty stuff on their udders.  We had to be inspected regularly for cleanliness.  Many foods we eat, including fruits and veggies can make us very sick indeed if cleanliness isn't observed. 




Edited: fixed quote tag error - okarol/admin

[skyedogrocks]

I tasted my sister's breast milk and it just tasted nasty to me (from a cup that is).  It was way too sweet tasting for me.  I guess because I'm not a vegetarian and eat beef, drinking milk that came out of a cow seems natural to me.  I don't want to drink milk from a woman, the idea of it just grosses me out. 

Also, I'm not a fan of breastfeeding, so the whole thought of it, bleah. Please don't blast me, it's just my personal opinion! 

[boxman55]

If I start producing milk, I'll quit everything, including dialyisis.

Very funny...Boxman

[monrein]

I was just thinking...isn't it interesting how when we're kids we probably wouldn't think human milk is disgusting because we drank it not that long ago but french kissing and sexual stuff seemed pretty gross and incomprehensible.  I remember thinking "what the heck is the point of all that grappling around"? 

Then we grow up and all kinds of bodily fluids change owners but breast milk makes us react.  Go figure.

Another mystery of the universe.