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In the next 6 comics we get a look at mama and her first adversary, she unleashes a superpower and Sarah Palin is mentioned! And can you believe it, these are still comics that I created weeks ago when my computer wasn’t working. Man, I’m so far behind ;o) There’s a lot going on, and I’m trying to catch up, and while you’re waiting here’s something to make you smile…
Mama’s milk ice cream cone, anyone?
By JOHN CURRAN – 17 hours ago
WATERBURY, Vt. (AP) — Mooove over, Holsteins. PETA wants world-famous Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream to tap nursing moms, rather than cows, for the milk used in its ice cream.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the ice cream maker to begin using breast milk in its products instead of cow’s milk, saying it would reduce the suffering of cows and calves and give ice cream lovers a healthier product.
The idea got a cool reception Thursday from Ben & Jerry’s officials, the company’s customers and even La Leche League International, the world’s oldest breast-feeding support organization, which promotes the practice — for babies, anyway.
PETA wrote a letter to company founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield on Tuesday, telling them cow’s milk is hazardous and that milking them is cruel.
“If Ben and Jerry’s replaced the cow’s milk in its ice cream with breast milk, your customers — and cows — would reap the benefits,” wrote Tracy Reiman, executive vice president of the animal rights advocacy group. She said dairy products have been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies and obesity.
Ashley Byrne, a campaign coordinator for PETA, acknowledged the implausibility of substituting breast milk for cow’s milk, but said it’s no stranger than humans consuming the milk of another species.
“We’re aware this idea is somewhat absurd, and that putting it into practice is a stretch. At the time same, it’s pretty absurd for us to be drinking the milk of cows,” she said.
It takes about 12 pounds — or 1 1/2 gallons of milk — to make a gallon of ice cream. Ben & Jerry’s, which gets its milk exclusively from Vermont cows, won’t say how much milk it uses or how much ice cream it sells.
As a standardized product under federal regulations, ice cream must be made with milk from healthy cows. Ice cream made from goat’s milk, for example, would have to be labeled as such.
Presumably, so would mother’s milk ice cream.
To Ben & Jerry’s, the idea is udderly ridiculous.
“We applaud PETA’s novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother’s milk is best used for her child,” spokesman Sean Greenwood said in an e-mail. He didn’t respond to requests for an interview.
Leon Berthiaume, general manager of the St. Albans Cooperative Creamery, which provides milk products to Ben & Jerry’s, called the dairy products “among the safest in the world.”
“Milk from cows has long-term health benefits and has been proven to be safe and healthy and an important part of the American diet for generations,” he said. “I’m not ready to make that change.”
Cow’s milk and mother’s milk aren’t interchangeable, according to La Leche spokeswoman Jane Crouse, who says breast milk is a dynamic substance that’s different with each woman and each child and might have difficulty being processed into ice cream.
Then there’s the question of who would provide the milk, and whether they’d be paid.
“Some women feel compelled to donate milk to a milk bank for adopted babies, or for someone who’s ill or unable to breast feed. There’s plenty of anecdotal evidence about sisters who nurse each others’ babies. There’s a population of women very willing to share their milk. Whether there’s enough to do it for a commercial entity, who can say?” she said.
At the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, consumers gave a collective “Ehttp://www” to the idea Thursday.
“It’s kind of creepy,” said Jeff Waugh, 42, of Dayton, Ohio.
“I think it’s a little nutty,” said the Rev. Roger Wooton, 83, of Malden, Mass., finishing up a cup of Heath Bar Crunch.
“How would they get all that milk?” said his wife, Jane Wooton, 77.
Jen Wahlbrink, 34, of Phoenix, who breast-fed her 11-month-old son, Cameron, said she wouldn’t touch ice cream made from mother’s milk. She remembers her nursing days — and not that fondly.
“The (breast) pumps just weren’t that much fun. You really do feel like a cow,” she said, cradling her son in her hands.
hee hee hoooooooooo, imagine!
xox,
Heather
When I first saw Formula Fiend I thought, “Oh No! She’s only 2 months pregnant and she’s already getting formula samples in the mail!!”
At least it wasn’t that…
Not that I wouldn’t eat breastmilk icecream- I’ve made breastmilk icing- 1 tbsp breastmilk, 1 cup powdered sugar. But I’d rather that the breastmilk go to babies.:)
“PETA wrote a letter …[saying]…that milking them is cruel”
but it wouldn’t be cruel to milk humans? can you imagine the mommies standing in line, waiting for their boobs to be plopped into a giant sucking machine? hmmm, then would it be PETA or ACLU coming in to demand the mommies got lanonin and magazines and healthy meals provided by the milk industry? I bet ACLU, Peta would be too busy getting rid of all the wind turbines because they kill innocent bats.
I’m laughing out loud this is so ridiculous…
what does the ACLU have to do with wind turbines? PETA is just showing how silly it is, whether you agree with them or not.
anyway… It would take me forever to pump enough milk to make 1/2 gallon of ice cream. LOL
I am however giving my pumped milk to a mam in need, which is cool.
heather in tucson (for now)
Our younger son LOVED breastmilk icecream. We like to make ‘snow icecream’ by mixing snow, milk and sugar. (Yummy but melts fast). My oldest son (3 yrs old at the time) wanted snow icecream and I felt bad that the one year old couldnt have it, so I just pumped and made his own version.
Considering how much trouble milk banks have getting donated milk, I doubt they’d get a lot of response to this!
It is so exciting to see you have a real foe now. Kick some butt Mama!!!!!!!
lol, now I feel so special, thanks! Though I’m not sure my daughter would LET me pump, except for other babies first! Besides shouldn’y PETA be advocating NON-animal options, like Soy Ice cream? (yum yum)
I am a vegetarian all about animal welfare…but I think PETA comes up with such outrageous stuff that they end up taking away from the animals because people won’t take them seriously. When I first was sent an article about their mama milk ice cream my first thought was “too bad the cow welfare message will be lost in their sensational declaration”, my next thought was “ugh actually this is even going to hurt lactation welfare.” Sure enough, the article Mama has shown us ends with a negative statement. Out of all the breastfeeding women the author ends up using a quote about a woman who doesn’t remember her nursing days fondly and who makes a negative statement about pumps. The PETA idea could be disagreed with without breastfeeding getting a diss at the same time…unfortunately I bet most other follow-up articles will do the same thing.
I think it’s a bad idea. They’d probably have to pay the women big bucks for that milk, since ice cream is not exactly a compelling cause (when compared with saving the life of a preemie). I just don’t see how this could work without standing in the way of the mission of milk banks. Besides, I bet the ice cream would taste different. But this is just hypothetical, because I realize this is never going to happen
When my second was born she slept. My first never slept so I didn’t understand what was going on and neither did my breasts. I was engorged and miserable. I got out old bertha (my medela) and pumped and froze the milk in my deep freezer and eventually my daughter and my production were going together well and I put old bertha away and never had to use her again.
What I was left with was a ton of frozen breastmilk. So we made pudding, ice cream and when she started eating stuff off our plate I would mix a bit in when I mushed it up.
Now it looks like I could have shipped it all to Ben and Jerry lol.
I think it’s funny, and I came up with some names for the flavors:
Boobies and Cream
Dulce de La Leche League
Fudge Nipple
Double-D-Light