WATERBURY, Vt. -- People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sent a letter to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, cofounders of Ben & Jerry's Homemade Inc., urging them to replace cow's milk they use in their ice cream products with human breast milk, according to a statement recently released by a PETA spokeswoman.
"PETA's request comes in the wake of news reports that a Swiss restaurant owner will begin purchasing breast milk from nursing mothers and substituting breast milk for 75 percent of the cow's milk in the food he serves," the statement says.
PETA officials say a move to human breast milk would lessen the suffering of dairy cows and their babies on factory farms and benefit human health.
"The fact that human adults consume huge quantities of dairy products made from milk that was meant for a baby cow just doesn't make sense," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Everyone knows that 'the breast is best,' so Ben & Jerry's could do consumers and cows a big favor by making the switch to breast milk."
1: We don't have to pay cows for their milk. Can you even calculate the cost of paying hundreds (maybe thousands) of women for their milk?
2: Cows produce a lot more milk than women, can you imagine how many women it would take to produce that of one cow?
3: Personally, I don't want to know why my own breast milk tastes like, much less another womans!
4: The food that cows eat can be controlled. Grass is pretty easy to make and not a whole lot goes into it. You'd have to control a woman's diet to make sure that there wasn't anything in her milk that was "bad".
5: "This raises ethical questions. It is not a good idea to pay for milk because it might tempt mothers to put profit before their children." -Swiss association of breast feeding counselors spokesperson Christa Müller-Aregger
6: HIV can be passed on through breastmilk. Each woman would have to be tested before selling her milk- this could also be very costly.
I think that the Ben & Jerry's spokesperson said it best, "... we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child."
I am totally, 100% FOR the ethical treatment of animals. But, there has to be a balance. Without balance, the world would go crazy. For those of us who prefer to treat humans better than animals, I recommend checking out http://www.pathwai.org/. :) Have fun!
-Sazaran
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3 comments:
The only favor that Ben and Jerry's could give me by using human breast milk versus cow's milk in their ice cream is that my butt might finally be able to resemble something on the runway rather than a garbage bag full of cottage cheese (give me a break, I'm pregnant).
Wouldn't they have to monitor a woman's diet in order to sell the milk? Therefore, would it not be like a "dairy farm" but with women instead of cows? Also, would they not be depriving their own children of the milk? I know some women have trouble just keeping up with the many many feedings per day that babies demand!
Oh girls...the things you come up with! I love this "random" blog!!!
Sigh...good ol Peta.
#1. It is very far from harmful for a cow to produce and supply milk. It's completely natural, it's pain free, and really...a pretty simple job. I've thought about dying and coming back as a milk cow...eating top of the line food (well, for a cow), sleeping. That's it. Most milk cows are not used for breeding, so we are not by any means taking milk AWAY from babies.
#2. I know a few people that produced enough milk to sell to other moms that couldnt...but even those were never full enough to make icecream.
#3. Ew. (I'll second that). That is absolutely disgusting.
God did not make cows to make babies. God made cows to be a natural source of milk, and occasionally meat (oh PETA would love me). I agree, all animals should be treated ethically, but this is really crossing the line.
"I am not a vegetarian because I hate meat, I am a vegetarian because I hate vegetables"
I'm not a vegetarian...but why arent we worried about the ethical treatment of vegetables?! Makes about as much sense I think.
-Nomz
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