PETA Says, The (Human) Breast is Best!

September 29, 2008 - 4:30 pm By Mandy - Hofstra

madge_campaign.jpgRecently, PETA issued a letter to ice cream moguls Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield suggesting that instead of using cow milk for their creamy deliciousness (mmm..Phish Food), Ben & Jerry should consider switching to human breast milk.

Ew, what?

According to PETA’s executive V.P. Tracy Reiman, breast milk is healthier than cow’s milk since “Dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer.”

Riiiiiiiiiight.

And of course, it’s better for the cows. Cows, like humans, only lactate during and after pregnancy so in order to keep the milk a-comin,’ heifers are periodically impregnated every nine months.

So, ok, I’m 100% against animal cruelty, but really? Don’t humans also only lactate during and after pregnancy? Would it not be cruel to therefore periodically impregnate women to produce enough milk for this venture? And where would Ben and Jerry find enough women willing to have their breasts pumped to feed America’s need for Chunky Monkey?

Milk, that is cow’s milk, has been part of human diet since, forever, and I just don’t think that human breast milk is really going to replace it. And let’s be real, who would actually eat ice cream made from human-teet milk? Besides a few freaks out there who are prolly into that…

(Photo from www.missbehavemag.com)

23 Comments   Posted in Body, News
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23 Comments on "PETA Says, The (Human) Breast is Best!"

  1. elizabeth says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:02 pm 

    seeing as it’s coming from PETA, isn’t it probably supposed to make a statement about animal cruelty? as in, we cringe at the thought of doing this to humans, why are you doing it to animals? i doubt they’re seriously suggesting we use human breast milk

  2. elizabeth says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:03 pm 

    whoops, went and read the letter, statement retracted.

  3. ashley says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:07 pm 

    Obviously, PETA is trying to make a point that consuming cow’s milk is wrong and hypocritical. If we wouldn’t consume breast milk, why would we consume cow’s?

  4. ela says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:08 pm 

    cows produce milk for their calves to FATTEN THEM UP and GROW QUICKLY in order to SURVIVE. so why do we drink our mom’s milk up to infancy, then move onto a fattier milk from a completely different mammal…a COW? do we all need to FATTEN UP in america? not to mention all the hormones the cows are shot up with- that all get into the product….yikes.

  5. J - NYU says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:12 pm 

    There are so many things I feel bad about doing…but eating a small amount of ice cream every once in a while is not one of them.

  6. Rose-Cornell says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:33 pm 

    Yeah right PETA…

    True, cow’s milk is designated for fattening calves into cows. I’ll give you that. But, what do they think human milk does? Do they really think people will want to have their breasts pumped and then eat it? And for that matter, do they really think the dairy industry is going to let that happen?

    Come on people. Get real. If the dairy lobbyists can convince the FDA to put dairy in the food pyramid when it isn’t even necessary for human development (most people lose the ability to digest lactose after youth, plus, yes, the high saturated fat content DOES contribute to most of the US health problems), not to mention all the hormones they pump into those cows so they can make more money, do you really think you can convince the ice cream companies to change their ways? I think not.

  7. snarktastic says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:42 pm 

    peta is freaking insane. they always have been, always will be. calcium is important and most people don’t get it in non-dairy products. plus, skim milk is very good for you. peta boils my blood, which is healthy and sustained by meat products. mmm.

  8. Olivia says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20085:54 pm 

    Usually I can agree with what PETA says to an extent. But the breat milk thing is a bit weird.

    I think I’ll stick to my Organic cows milk. It may be a little more expensive but it tastes better and doesn’t have all the added hormones and antibiotics.

    I do love my organic milk!

  9. Sam says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20086:11 pm 

    I’m a vegetarian and don’t understand this. I know PETA likes to go for the “shock factor.” But why not be realistic and say they’re prefer to see Ben & Jerry’s come up with some soy milk ice cream rather than their suggestion?

  10. Jacks says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20086:43 pm 

    ashley says :

    September 29, 2008 at 5:07 pm

    Obviously, PETA is trying to make a point that consuming cow’s milk is wrong and hypocritical. If we wouldn’t consume breast milk, why would we consume cow’s?

    We also eat cows…would you eat a person??

  11. snarktastic says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20087:01 pm 

    at jacks: as the world approaches 7 billion people and draining resources, it is something to consider.

  12. Jacks says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 20087:55 pm 

    well that’ll test your moral code

  13. Laura says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 200811:09 pm 

    This is old news up here in Vermont. All I have to say is they chose the wrong ice cream makers. They make ice cream in VERMONT… we are a state with dairy farmers, and for the most part B&J’s tries to help the state by buying locally as much as possible. Also, their whole logo, art, and entire buildings owned and ran by them are covered in paintings of what? DAIRY COWS! Yeah, they are comitted to the cow till the end. Though, they already have commited all their dairy suppliers to not using any growth hormones on their cows. Though it’s not easy to test for, if they ever find out a provider uses it, they are very likely to just drop them.

    They need to find an ice cream company not nesteled in the dairy state of the north. Though they are all about open minded hippy-ness, everyone has limits. I doubt many people up here would even want to go for breast milk products. I know I wouldn’t.

  14. Cookie says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 200811:34 pm 

    UGH.

    I still don’t see how hard it is for anyone to recognise and /utilise/ nut milks, such as hazelnut and almond, or oat milk, rice milk, or even quinoa (pronounced qeen-wa) milk. Why do PETA have to be so disgusting and in your face (not to mention the fact that they euthanise most of the animals they take in and have a massive freezer specifically to keep their carcasses), when there are /other methods/?

    To Rose-Cornell, the reason so many people become “lactose intolerant” (I use the term loosely) is because of the pasteurisation of milk. Pasteurisation is a process that heats the milk and kills the enzyme, which makes it much harder for our bodies to digest. A lot of people who can’t drink normal milk can actually drink raw milk straight from the cow, so to speak, because it retains that enzyme. Unfortunately, other dairy-producing companies don’t like raw, organic milk being on the market, because it’s “not healthy” (which is a total lie; just imagine being on a farm and drinking milk the cow produced that morning – it’s the way we should be drinking milk), and so are trying to push raw milk off the market completely. The only raw milk product that I know of is called ‘Cleopatra’s Bath Milk’ in Australia, and it has to legally be sold for ‘cosmetic reasons’ because it’s not pasteurised.

    To Olivia, organic milk is the best! The two brands that I buy from are Barambah and Mungalli Creek (from Australia again), because when they do the pasteurisation process they only use the most minimal heat they legally can. It tastes soooo much better than ordinary supermarket milk!

    To Sam, I just want to say that while small amounts of soy are good for you (mostly in the form of soy sauce or miso), too much can be a bit of a hindrance! Soy is the highest mucoid producing plant byproduct, so it’s not exactly the miracle food everyone touts it to be (unless you eat edamame rather than soy after it’s been processed). As I wrote above, hazelnut/almond/rice/oat/quinoa milks are better for you than soy milk (and personally I think the nut milks taste better too).

    Right, that’s enough milky ramblings from me today!

  15. C says:
    Mon, 29th Sep 200811:49 pm 

    Anyone who says that we shouldn’t be using cows for food has prooooobably never been in the presence of a cow. I’m sorry, but they are useless. Other than for delicious food. (of course, I still believe in humane treatment…but I need beef and milk and nothin’s gonna change that)

  16. Rose-Cornell says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 20081:22 am 

    Cookie, I agree with alot of what you said. Kudos to those who drink organic milk! Yay organics! And I totally agree with you about soy…

    The only thing I’d like to address is that pasteurization is not the cause of lactose intolerance. In fact, it really has nothing to do with it. Lactase is an enzyme produced by the body at its earliest life stages, when it is supposed to consume and digest milk. As time passes, the body stops producing this enzyme because it should no longer be digesting lactose after its infant/toddler years. Raw milk vs. pasteurized milk has no effect. This enzyme lactase is created by the body. The sugar lactose is in the milk. If this enzyme existed in milk that helped us break down lactose, it would have no effect because the acid in the stomach would digest it (enzymes are proteins).

    I’m not trying to get into an argument. I’m just really into food politics. Dairy is inessential for human development after around age 5, yet it’s pushed by those damn lobbyists. After all, what would happen to them if only people ages 5 and under drank milk? :)

  17. Cookie says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 20088:02 am 

    Oh, someone who actually knows their milk! How wonderful! I meet so few of them… :P

    Rose-Cornell, I have to agree that milk isn’t technically needed after children have been weaned off it, but it is a high source of calcium that, in today’s age, we don’t get that much of (considering the amount of junk food people eat instead of calcium-rich vegetables and fruits). And you’re right, pasteurisation isn’t the cause of lactose intolerance (I hadn’t had my morning tea, my brain wasn’t totally switched on :P ), it’s the body’s own lack of producing the enzyme lactase. But, without trying to sound rude, I have to correct you on the difference between pasteurised/raw milk. Raw milk does, in fact, have a small amount of lactase, which allows our bodies to digest it, hence why those who are lactose intolerant are able to drink raw milk and not pasteurised milk. I don’t say this from an expert’s perspective, but I work in an organic foodstore that sells ‘Cleopatra’s Bath Milk’ and several of the customers who buy and enjoy it are lactose intolerant. Though, since I’m not an expert (yet!), I would recommend almond milk (because of the calcium already present in almonds) before raw milk to someone who is lactose intolerant.

    Most people have no idea the mechanics behind what gets presented on supermarket shelves. I mean, while milk isn’t an essential part of the human diet, neither are soft drinks/carbonated drinks/sodas and just look at the amount of shelf-room Coke gets. And even foods like kale – which also has lots of calcium and is the most nutritious of the leafy, spinachy plants – are rarely found in supermarkets. You’re more likely to spot kale decorating the meat in the butcher’s section rather than for sale in the vegetable section!

    Who needs government politics when you can have food politics, anyway? Perhaps CC should do some more articles about that instead :P

  18. Jacks says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 20088:47 am 

    How much more expensive is organic milk than regular milk? Going organic is a wonderful idea, but a lot of people can’t afford to do it, especially in our current financial situation.

  19. Meg says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 200811:19 am 

    Uhm, not to get off subject, but that picture is one of THE most disturbing things I have ever seen.

    ick.

  20. Amber - Old Dominion says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 200812:56 pm 

    WHY does she have four boobs? gross.

  21. Rose-Cornell says:
    Tue, 30th Sep 20081:39 pm 

    That’s interesting- I didn’t know that bit about raw milk. I think we understand each other now. :)

  22. ela says:
    Wed, 1st Oct 20087:44 am 

    just bc the box says organic doesn’t mean it is. it doesn’t mean it’s good for you either- it’s called marketing. but if you like liquid lard, go ahead, gobble up.

  23. Heather says:
    Thu, 2nd Oct 200812:29 am 

    ok, lets not forget that soy milk exists and its healthier than cows milk.

    but aside from that, peta is embarassing. i want to stress to everyone reading this that not every vegan identifies with those idiots.

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