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Whenever I see a headline with “PETA” in it, I read the article. I don’t read them because I like or support the organization–in fact, I think their methods are usually a little bit kooky and extreme. Even though I do love animals and I relate to PETA’s mission I also see the value in using animals for medical and scientific research. Anyway, this morning I saw a headline in my beloved Statesman Journal reading, “PETA Urges Ben & Jerry’s to use breast milk.” Immediately I thought this was a hoax, but I continued reading and it was no joke. PETA actually thinks that breast milk is a viable alternative to cow’s milk in ice cream. What was B&J’s response you may ask? “Nice idea, but we’ll stick to what we’re doing. Thanks anyway!”
Now I’ve heard stories about weightlifters advertising on Craigslist for breast milk so that they can bulk up easier but that’s just one individual seeking to consume breast milk. Even if Ben & Jerry thought this was a good idea, I don’t think too many people would be into breast milk ice cream. Call it a hunch.
Speaking of weightlifting, I’ve completed 3 weeks of the stronglifts 5X5 program and haven’t stalled yet–nor have I missed an early morning session. I’ve successfully increased my weights by 5 pounds each and every time I go to the gym. In addition to the prescribed exercises, I’ve also added some core work to the end of the routine. I’m already starting to notice changes in my body. I haven’t lost much weight (only .5 pounds), but I’m definitely firmer around the chest and ab area and my legs are downright hard. I need to pick it up on the cardio front so that I can burn a little bit more flab. In general I’m pretty happy with my progress. But it’s starting to get hard and I’m anticipating my first failure to reach 5X5 next week. My legs always have that tired and heavy feeling by the time Friday comes around and this morning’s overhead press was really hard for me–that’s supposed to be the first exercise that people run into problems with. We’ll see how it goes next week.
J.D.
17 responses so far ↓
1 KF // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:35 am
If you pause and think about this beyond your first knee-jerk reaction, you might see it’s less gross than the other types of milk/dairy we eat and drink. Why should it be any grosser for us to eat human milk than cow milk or goat milk?? The only reason we can stomach cow milk is because we’ve been socialized to think it’s okay and we have mentally distanced ourselves from the source. Doesn’t it sound less gross to drink milk from a human breast than from a cow or goat’s breast/teat? Really, drinking any kind of milk in adulthood is gross if you actually think about what you are drinking and the source. All forms of milk are intended to be drunk only short-term for babies. Humans are the ONLY species that drinks milk after infanthood and the ONLY species that drinks milk of another animal. Now, that’s gross.
2 Alexia // Sep 26, 2008 at 9:30 am
I thought I’d heard it all (including the PETA publicity stunt), but weightlifting? Wow. I could have made a fortune when I was nursing/pumping for my kids. hahaha
3 Val // Sep 26, 2008 at 10:15 am
I have the same hunch re the breastmilk ice cream. Maybe we are gifted.
Way to go on the 5×5, that’s amazing. I look forward to hearing how long you can go. Wow.
4 Amy Jo // Sep 26, 2008 at 12:15 pm
If I had only known that I could make a fortune “pumping” and selling breast milk, I would have cut back on feeding my poor 100th percentile child to sock away money for his college fund! I can’t tell you how much this gives me the creeps.
And Mac, good work!
5 zulu // Sep 26, 2008 at 7:30 pm
Not really related to topic at hand, but perhaps feedback you’re interested in. When you first started writing Mac, I thought you were terrible. I can’t really put a finger on why, but just seemed really rough in a very unreadable way. I have to say, your writing has improved considerably. I’m a fan of JD’s writing style, but I now think yours is easier to read. Long way you’ve come. Keep it up! Tangential remark over
6 Mics // Sep 26, 2008 at 8:57 pm
Imagine a world where we’ll be milking mommies instead of cows.
7 Desi // Sep 27, 2008 at 3:17 am
KF…My cats love milk. That’s at least one other animal.
Anyways…I wouldn’t want to be drinking other people’s bad choices, medications, diseases, and everything else that is secreted in their breast milk. Now, range free goat milk is a good alternative.
8 » Weekly Roundup: Childhood Obesity, Breastmilk & Book Reviews on Journal of Healthy Living // Sep 27, 2008 at 6:12 am
[...] Ben and Jerry said no to breast milk in ice cream. PETA is [...]
9 PA Mom // Sep 27, 2008 at 8:34 am
I stopped reading anything related to PETA years ago when I found out they KILL most of the animals they “rescue.” And they even lie to the shelters they are “helping” when they pick up the animals, telling them they will place the animals into good homes.
http://deceiver.com/2008/01/21/peta-kills-animals/
10 Sunday Roundup - Corn Syrup and Happy Cows | Health, Fitness, Exercise, and Weight Loss (68 pounds in 20 weeks) // Sep 28, 2008 at 6:19 am
[...] Corn Syrup and Happy Cows. In addition to the weekend reading material listed below don’t miss the PETA and breast milk blog post from Get Fit Slowly. That post plus one from Fast Food Confessional comprise the title [...]
11 KF // Sep 28, 2008 at 2:04 pm
Desi - I didn’t say that other species don’t like milk, I said they don’t drink it. No cats drink milk other than household cats who are fed milk by humans. Wild cats don’t drink milk after infanthood. Nor did domesticated cats before they were domesticated. Your cats only drink cow’s milk because you feed it to them. In nature, you’d hardly find a grown cat nursing on a cow.
12 Lizabelle // Sep 28, 2008 at 5:56 pm
I’d prefer it if we didn’t exploit either women or cows to produce ice cream. I agree with KF - to me, the idea of drinking the milk of another species (the milk that would be intended for their young) is vaguely creepy.
Mac, very glad to hear that the stronglifts programme is going so well!
13 deepali // Sep 28, 2008 at 6:03 pm
Well we already eat breastmilk ice cream. Cow breast milk. It doesn’t seem gross to me - I think the “grossness” part comes in due to our societal conditioning to see breasts as something sexual instead of functional.
Now, I’m a little lost on the logistics of mass producing human breast milk ice cream…
14 Greg // Sep 29, 2008 at 5:23 am
Sorry, but this is one of the kookiest ideas I’ve ever heard. Two of us were discussing this at work a few days ago. The idea isn’t “gross” so much as it is totally impractical. As deepali said, how are you going to make this happen?
This announcement is about publicity. Nothing more…
15 Dave // Sep 29, 2008 at 10:02 am
I think B&J should have jsut gone along with it - can you imagine the press release? “We’ve agreed to give PETA’s idea a try. In order to make this work, we need 2000 gallons for each batch. We currently pay $1.00 per gallon and are willing to pay the same amount to any woman willing to act as a supplier to us. As there is a limited shelf life with any such product, we will need to collect this all in a short timeframe. Please line up to my right.”
When the number of volunteers turned out to be inadequate, or when the women found out thaey only earned a 10 cent paycheck for their effort, I expect the interest would dry up rather quickly.
(Note: I pulled all the numbers out of my imagination - I have no idea what B&J pays for milk, nor how much product would be gathered in an average milking, but I can’t imagine that it would be much)
16 Lizabelle // Sep 29, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Some interesting comments coming out of this! I agree that the interest from lactating women would wane very quickly. It’s just a shame that cows (what do they get out of the bargain?) are not given the same choice.
I disagree with PETA on a lot of things, particularly their apparent desire to privilege animal rights over human rights. That said, I believe that their campaigns are often aimed more at getting people thinking than at actually achieving results (like getting B&J to use human milk).
17 Maha // Oct 9, 2008 at 1:33 pm
This is truly the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard of (even the indoor sundial is a better idea - at least you could place it by a window). If there were a surplus of human breast milk, it should go to premies or to babies whose mothers can’t produce milk but don’t want to use formula. Sorry, I put humans before animals, but I certainly don’t condone animal cruelty. Besides, I seriously doubt that all the lactating women in the country could even produce the amount of milk needed to make ice cream. What’s more, the idea is plain offensive to women.
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