I read about this.
I tend to think the PETA people are a little wacky. They are one of many groups of people that seem a bit extreme, that I don't see eye to eye with. I understand that these folks want to protect animals but they have taken it way too far now.
Breast Milk Ice Cream? Seriously?
Here is a quote from PETA
But it's not all about us humans. Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Because, like all mammals, cows only give milk during or after pregnancy, in order for humans to constantly milk them, they are forcefully impregnated every nine months. Many live in filthy conditions and are forced to give 10 times more milk than they would naturally. It's truly an awful life.
Last time I checked, Mothers are the only PEOPLE that produce breast milk. Mothers would need to be forcefully impregnated for nine months to supply milk to Ben & Jerry's. They sell tons of ice cream. That is a lot of milk people.
Where are Alicia Silverstone and Pam Anderson? Why aren't they rushing forward to offer to be forcefully impregnated and donate their milk?
That is why I am forming a new group. HECM! Humans for the Ethical Care of Mothers! We must stop PETA before there are warehouses full of Mothers lined up with breast pumps attached to their chests. What about the poor Mothers?
PETA....you can SUCK IT!
Take the poll at the top right of the page please!
I read about this earlier this week. I am all about the benefits of breast milk for INFANTS and have nursed both of mine to a year (or will have in 2 weeks), but eating ice cream made from someone else's breast milk? Gross!!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many things wrong with this suggestion - do you think they were just trying to get people's attention?
ReplyDelete1st - do they realized that breastmilk sells for over $8 per OUNCE? The ice cream would have to cost thousands of dollars per pint. Not to mention - if people are going to be donating/selling their breast milk, it should go to babies in the NICU, who need it to SURVIVE.
2nd - Breast milk has to be handled very gently and would lose all of its nutrients being made into ice cream. Also, it goes bad, even when frozen, a lot faster than cows milk.
3rd - health issues. As a person who has nursed a child with food allergies, I know that whatever I eat is in my breast milk. They could never EVER! be accurate about the contents of the ice cream. Cows, on the other hand, are fed a specific diet.
4th - What would happen to all those cows, who would be out of work? They would get slaughtered, because they wouldn't be worth a dime.
5th - We live on a ranch and also have a friend who owns a dairy. Cattle are for breeding, that is a fact of life. A good cattleman (or cattlewoman) gives his heiffers/cows time between births, because it reduces the chance of problems. The cows are bred in cycles, much like farmers plant crops in cycles to give the land time to regain lost nutrients. Ben & Jerry's prides themselves on choosing good dairies.
6th - I'm going to stop, because otherwise I'm not going to get anything else done today.
Andrea! I really really hope that it is a sick little joke. They can not honestly think this is a good idea. Can they?
ReplyDeleteMy Great Uncle had a dairy farm when I was growing up and his cows were his pride and joy....I can't see him treating them like PETA claims they are treated.
What is next? We use sperm in place of egg whites because of the POOR CHICKENS?
OK, I have to comment. I'm not saying this is a good idea, but I have to set some facts straight.
ReplyDeleteOf course, if this outlandish scenario ever happened, the women would be giving milk by choice and would be paid, and they would be donating extra milk, not the milk that should be going to their own babies. The cows don't have a choice and their babies are sold for veal since their mother's milk is not available to them. I think it's great that there are farmers out there who treat their animals humanely, but there are many farms that do not. If we weren't so accustomed to it, we might think that drinking milk from another animal, milk that is specifically made for that species' young, is gross.
I donate milk to a milk bank for free, and the families who get donated breast milk pay a $3.50 per oz processing fee, and many insurance companies cover this. I'd like to know where people are paying $8 per oz? I donate milk because I am lucky enough to be able to breastfeed, and there are many babies out there who need human milk desparately.
Freezing breastmilk does not make it lose all of its nutrients. Yes, some of the antibodies are destroyed with freezing. Milk banks pasteurize their milk to eliminate bacteria while retaining the majority of the milk's beneficial components.
The one thing I can agree with in these comments is that if people are going to be donating/selling their breastmilk, it should go to babies who need it to survive. Unfortunately, the people who would sell it to Ben & Jerry's probably aren't donating it to milk banks now.
Again, it's not that I think breastmilk Ben&Jerry's is a good idea, I just wanted to set the record (this wonderful blog) straight on a few things!
I read this to..and I think the idea is totally gross..can you imagine..yuck... nursing your kids is one thing..eating it in ice cream...making me sick just thinking about it...
ReplyDeleteMoooooooooo. I jest. It's ridiculous. I suppose they wanted to get us all excited. A campaign for spending the extra money for organic, free range milk would have been far, far less offensive.
ReplyDeleteFirst...ewww.
ReplyDeleteSecond...I don't think Pamela Anderson could breast feed even if she wanted to. Those milk ducts were buried and crushed by mega silicon a long time ago.
I tweeted about this the other night. I bothered me on many many levels. I think Andrea sums it up well.
ReplyDelete