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Ben & Jerry's Breast Milk Ice Cream?

Mon, 09/29/2008 - 2:00am by FitSugar
2,407 Views - 40 comments

When I read the post on GiggleSugar about the obscure Craigslist ad requesting people to suggest flavors for their homemade breast milk ice cream, I thought it was a joke. Apparently not. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is also hopping on the breast milk ice cream boat and are now urging Ben & Jerry's to make the switch from cow's milk to breast milk.

Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of PETA, sent a letter directly to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, saying PETA feels the transition away from cow's milk will reduce the suffering of cows and provide customers with healthier products (Um, since when is ice cream considered healthy?). The letter also said that dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, and obesity. Another PETA representative said she knew this idea sounded crazy, but it's no more absurd than humans consuming milk from another species.

To find out if Ben & Jerry's is going to start a new line of bosom milk ice cream read more.

Since Ben & Jerry's factory is located in Vermont, a state filled with extremely open-minded people, these ice cream makers did applaud PETA's efforts, but felt that breast milk was best left for babies. A La Leche spokeswoman said that breast milk and cow's milk aren't interchangeable and that each mom makes a unique formula for her baby's needs, meaning it's not meant for just anyone. Ben & Jerry's responded with a statement that cow's milk has proven to be a healthy part of American diets for many years, and they're not ready to make the change. Well that's a nice way to say, "This idea is udderly ridiculous!"

My big question is, who would supply this milk, and could they possibly pump enough to fill the public's ice cream needs? I'm also wondering about the nutritional advantages, since PETA claims that breast milk is healthier. So I thought a side-by-side comparison would be in order here (wow, I never thought I'd ever be posting about this). Now I can see that cow's milk is actually healthier — less calories, fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbs, and cholesterol, and more protein.

I'm thinking that the overall reaction here is "Eww," but maybe I'm wrong. What do you think of this idea?

4.5 ounces of breast milk 4.5 ounces of 1% cow's milk
Calories 95 61.9
Total Fat 5.7g 1.4g
Saturated Fat 0g .8g
Cholesterol 21.6mg 5.6mg
Sodium 21.6mg 8.4mg
Carbs 10g 7.3g
Fiber 0g 0g
Protein 1.7g 4.5g

Source

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40 Comments Add a Comment

  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    1

    I think PETA is trying to get people's attention about how crazy it is that we ARE drinking breast milk... from a different species.
    Unfortunately, I think this message will be lost on the ignorant masses. PETA has to remember that people are so blinded by the crazy things they eat to know that they're being satirized.
    Satire: Let's drink our own species' milk.
    Genuine plea: Let's drink soy and other milk alternatives.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Mesayme's picture
    Mesayme
    2

    Ben and Jerry's or Gags by the pint. PETA is the green movement's problem child for certain.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • tlsgirl's picture
    tlsgirl
    3

    I nearly threw up my breakfast when I read this. This is seriously the grossest and most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. PETA is freakin' crazy. I'm all about their "let's be nicer to animals and not cause needless suffering" message, but their tactics are awful and alienating.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • emlod10's picture
    emlod10
    4

    with those stats there isn't even an incentive to use breast milk seeing as cows milk is slightly better. now i should go throw up for peta even THINKING about this. maybe tracy reiman should try making her own first then pitching the idea to ben & jerrys.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • fleurfairy's picture
    fleurfairy
    6

    I think PETA would rather humans died of starvation and illness rather than animals.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Jyramiah's picture
    Jyramiah
    7

    I have heard that breast milk is actually quite gross. And I like my ice cream to taste delicious. The two just cannot mix. Like goat milk and cereal. Yuck. I think PETA is crazy. Mom thinks PETA is crazy. PETA is crazy. Thank god Ben & Jerry are sane or we'd be screwed.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • ilanac13's picture
    ilanac13
    8

    i saw this on SNL the other night and i really did think that it was a spoof but i guess not. i don't know how into this i would be - but that's just me. i can't understand why PETA would think that this is hurting the animal at all...

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • jessie's picture
    jessie
    9

    let's just save it for our babies hmmm....if you're using it in your own cooking in your household thats fine...but in the mass production market...no way!...

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • vitisva's picture
    vitisva
    10

    I'm an adventurous eater so if it really did come out I think I'd try it. But the concept is pretty gross.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Francoisehardly's picture
    Francoisehardly
    11

    I guess what the first person could be true, but if we were to seriously request a different milk, I could easily list a couple that come from no animal in the first place.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    13

    Ahem... see what I mean? People don't understand the satire in it.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • angelfromlsu's picture
    angelfromlsu
    14

    Just think of the kind of people who would sell their breast milk as a career...now think of the lifestyle they may be living...now picture yourself consuming their lifestyle...yuck!

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    16

    Yeah, that's MUCH worse than the lifestyle diseased, beaten cows (who can't move in their body-sized stalls, mind you) live. Yum, sounds like a lifestyle we should all take part in! Oh wait, we do.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • angelfromlsu's picture
    angelfromlsu
    17

    Ummm...who said there's only cow milk to drink? I'm a big fan of goat milk. They are allowed to free range...at least over here.

    I'm not a vegan foxie so my thoughts will never agree with yours but I'm just saying there are alternatives.

    I've never actually had Ben & Jerry's before! Damn nut allergies.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    18

    It's just funny to me that in a comparison of women's milk to cow's milk, people would be horrified by the prospect of a human (with human rights) giving milk and not even bat an eyelash at the truly sickening dairy industry.
    Obviously I'm talking about the dairy industry at large, not the exceptions.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • tlsgirl's picture
    tlsgirl
    19

    True enough foxie, but even looking at it that way doesn't change the fact that even thinking about breast milk ice cream makes me gag. It's just...ew. Just ew.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • teacherturtle1's picture
    teacherturtle1
    20

    where will all the breast milk come from?

    i mean, the quantity needed, will producing milk become a profession?

    how much can one person produce?

    and at the rate necessary, are there enough people to meet the production?

    and is there standards set for quality?

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • angelfromlsu's picture
    angelfromlsu
    21

    My bf says he can't wait until I'm producing milk so he can reach over and put cream in his coffee...I'm sure he's joking but...wtf!

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • cassedy04's picture
    cassedy04
    22

    i always thought it was funny that PETA thinks its so horrible for cows to be milked. i worked with dairy cows for over 8 years while i was younger, and i learned that if the cow is not milked at least twice or three times a day, it can actually damage them. they need to be milked to relieve the pressure in their udders.

    just my two cents - needed to vent that somewhere Smiling

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • rafaela losardo's picture
    rafaela losardo
    23

    I don't care how ironic PETA is trying to be, the idea itself makes me wanna throw up, and if they're trying to make a joke...well the joke is on them now. By the way soy milk is horrible and I have a pretty good health drinking "milk from other species"...

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Jyramiah's picture
    Jyramiah
    24

    So basically, there is no good that can come from this. PETA will in turn HURT the cows because yes, cows NEED to be milked. Cows give us milk. We drink the milk. The end.

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • Red Sharpie's picture
    Red Sharpie
    25

    Yeah, PETA is trying to be satirical here. I guess they thinking about what it would take to mass produce ice cream made from human breast milk will make us think harder about our treatment of cows. I'm all for more humane treatment of animals, but trying to compare cows to humans is missing the point. PETA is retarded.

    (I get my milk from well cared for 100% grass-fed cows btw)

    14 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment
  • sldc's picture
    sldc
    27

    PETA is annoying. Remember, this is the same organization that does not believe in keeping pets. Peta also "rescued" shelter animals only to euthanize them, because it was the humane thing to do.

    Having been a nursing mom, I hardly think milking a cow responsibly is torture. Cows are domesticated animals, so without work and humans to provide for them, they would fail to flourish as a species. Dairy was the main food source for many cultures for practical reasons.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Maragon's picture
    Maragon
    28

    "According to a new study, vegetarians and vegans are six times more likely to suffer from brain shrinkage than meat eaters."

    Explains alot, doesn't it?

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Spectra's picture
    Spectra
    29

    PETA's tactics are so completely ridiculous. They will seriously do anything to get attention. I get very sick of their anthropomorphosis of animals. Cows are NOT people, so why should they have human rights? Responsible dairy farms do not torture their cattle. Like cassedy04 said, if cows aren't milked, they leak milk and are in severe pain. Milking is not painful to the cows nor is it inhumane. Regardless of whether you drink milk or not, comparing cattle milking to "human milking" is probably one of the stupidest campaigns PETA has run. Makes me wonder if Pam Anderson had any say in coming up with it, lol.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    30

    @ Cassidy and Jyra = Um... yes.. the cows need to be milked if they're being forcefully impregnated so that they'll PRODUCE milk.
    If we didn't inseminate them and cause them to give birth to veal calves over and over again they wouldn't need to be milked.
    Nice try though. Gotta love that spin!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • foxie's picture
    foxie
    31

    Maragon- That's only for vegans & vegetarians with negligent levels of B12. Besides, obese people are more likely to experience brain shrinkage, too, and most obese people eat meat, so.....

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • funsized's picture
    funsized
    32

    foxie you're taking the words right out of my mouth! Smiling

    it's utterly laughable that people would find drinking milk from their own kind sickening when in reality, drinking milk from any other animal is just so wrong.

    Milk is meant to be consumed when one is a baby. That's why mothers stop lactating-- their babies can now rely on other food for nutrients. In this sense, cows only produce milk for their own calves. The only reason we get cow milk is because they're forcefully impregnated.

    As for 1%, 2%, etc milk.... they aren't good for you either. As I can't seem to stress enough- humans, animals in general, should NOT be drinking milk past a certain age. Milk is MEANT to make babies bigger/ grow,(if human breast milk makes babies grow how they do, think of all the calories in cow milk... enough to grow a calf!) which is why there's so any calories in it. Making milk 1%, 2% etc. is, essentially, taking away the whole point of milk.

    Since fitsugar seems to be full of intelligent, health-conscious people, I would suggest you all read: Skinny b*tch.

    No, it isn't about being skinny- it's about learning where your food comes from.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • pinkerbell03's picture
    pinkerbell03
    33

    Wow, sippin on the Haterade are we omnis??? Oh the irony. They aren't serious, they just want to bring attention to the horrors of factory farming. foxie and funsized are right on all accounts, the brain shrinkage is from a lack of B12, not from being veg*n. Did you know that the USA drinks the most cows milk in the world, and we also have the highest rate of osteoporosis? The human body isn't made to digest animal proteins. The animal proteins in cows milk leaches the calcium out of your bones! Scoff all you want, but read Skinny B*tch or The China Study first. PETA goes a bit too far some times, THAT I will agree with.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • LiLRuck44's picture
    LiLRuck44
    34

    Agreeing with the 3 previous posters.....

    Pasteurized, homogenized cows milk is awful for your health!! Go learn about it people!

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • angelfromlsu's picture
    angelfromlsu
    35

    I think PETA should come up with a goal that can actually be achieved. Reducing the amount of animal protein served per meal. Most Americans eat way too much animal meat. I don't think it has to be all or nothing to make a difference.

    I read that too much protein (any type)is what leaches calcium from the bones.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • Kyko's picture
    Kyko
    36

    Foxie, funsized and lilruck44 are all in my camp, too.
    While I still wouldn't drink the human breast milk, it's "utterly" hilarious to see people's reactions to this proposal. People find it SO DISGUSTING to drink milk from their same species after a certain age, yet the thought of consuming a different species' milk for an indefinite amount of time is SO comprehensible (mostly because of the NUMEROUS propoganda and false ads from the ever-so-rich milk industry who says that if we don't drink milk we'll fall down from osteoporosis - look at the statistics, the US drinks the MOST dairy per year and we have the highest rate of osteoporosis.)

    Don't drink milk.

    14 weeks 1 day ago Report Comment
  • moonlite's picture
    moonlite
    39

    Why do so many people think it's disgusting to drink breast milk because it's only meant for babies, but it's perfectly normal to drink milk from a cow? Shouldn't cow's milk only be for calves?

    I doubt PETA was being serious, they are just trying to make people aware of how idiotic it is to drink the milk of another animal, especially here in the U.S. where that milk is full of antibiotics, hormones, steroids, and god-knows-what-else just so the meat and dairy industries can make a bigger profit.

    And Kyko is right; if milk is so healthy for you, how come the United States has high incidence of osteoporosis despite the fact that it has among the highest rates of milk consumption in the world? USE YOUR BRAINS, PEOPLE.

    I personally would love to see Ben & Jerry's start making rice or soy ice creams.

    11 weeks 3 days ago Report Comment
  • angelfromlsu's picture
    angelfromlsu
    40

    I don't think people dislike breast mink because it's "meant for babies". They dislike it because breast milk is taboo. Guys online get off on that sort of thing.

    11 weeks 2 days ago Report Comment

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