PETA Urges Ben & Jerry's To Use Human Milk

[Vincent Vega]

I rarely drink pure milk. And I don't get at all how people can stomach this low-fat skim milk. That tastes crazy. Like very old, watery milk.
And this viva! chocolate milk they sell here is an offense to anyone who likes caocao every now and again, in my opinion. I really don't know what they put in that stuff.

People who don't have issues with food/drink can't possibly empathize with those who do

I think the attitude towards food allergies, lactose intolerance and plain dislike for food has changed over the last two, three decades. Especially with allergies and intolerance, of course, due to more people actually knowing that exists. It wasn't taken too seriously for long. But nowadays it also is acceptable to say "I don't like that food" and everyone is okay with that.
I know when I was younger it was a lot harder to say that. If you didn't like a certain food you still had to eat it, otherwise you would offend the cook and you have to like the food and you eat what's on the table etc.

 

[pgv]

I rarely drink pure milk. And I don't get at all how people can stomach this low-fat skim milk. That tastes crazy. Like very old, watery milk.
And this viva! chocolate milk they sell here is an offense to anyone who likes caocao every now and again, in my opinion. I really don't know what they put in that stuff.




I think the attitude towards food allergies, lactose intolerance and plain dislike for food has changed over the last two, three decades. Especially with allergies and intolerance, of course, due to more people actually knowing that exists. It wasn't taken too seriously for long. But nowadays it also is acceptable to say "I don't like that food" and everyone is okay with that.
I know when I was younger it was a lot harder to say that. If you didn't like a certain food you still had to eat it, otherwise you would offend the cook and you have to like the food and you eat what's on the table etc.

I think people are better now, but I still think alot of people would assume you're either awkward or it's got something to do with weight issues instead
I'm glad things have improved for you though, that must have been tough coping with that.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Oh, sorry, didn't mean to imply I had much problems myself. In fact, I eat nearly everything. The one thing most people thought a bit awkward, though, was my dislike for french fries I guess since no one else dislikes them.
But it was the experience I had with my brother and others who in fact were more picky about what to eat. My parents and their generation didn't really have a problem, except for some philistines, with that, but the generation before them... don't dare mention you don't like some food.
So, personally, I didn't really have to cope with it, but still I learned very early on that for some people it's not acceptable to decline some food.

 

[redhotswami]

No, because it's not true - orphaned mammals are sometimes adopted and nursed by lactating females of a different species.

It's less common in the wild, but not unheard of.

you're right, my bad. the point i was driving at was necessity. we're shoved this ridic propaganda down our throats that we have to drink milk when we really don't.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Well, milk has for millennia been a source of nutrition in some parts of the world (and in others not, attributed to being one of the main reasons if not the reason for lactose intolerance in China and other parts of the world), and I think this use of milk as another source of food contributed to it being perfectly normal for many people. I've never considered it unusual.

 

[unforgettableFOXfire]

It isn't as if these animals are caught in the wild and brought into the farm system. They are bred and produced for farming purposes. There wouldn't be massive cow, pig, sheep, chicken herds running around wildly if no one bred and produced them. And logically even if no one used animals for food at all it wouldn't be a sudden cessation of the practice, but something that slowed down and gradually stopped.

That was sortof my point, though, I was just being flippant. This isn't something that just 'stops'. Who is going to choose to stop making profit in favour of continuing to do business? Not many people, and certainly not at the behest of an organization with such ludicrous PR tactics.

Demand if they will that farming be regulated so that there isn't undue suffering, but the discontinuation of an industry is entirely unrealistic especially when that industry is one involving an essential good. Putting out a sensationalist message glosses over their actual intent almost entirely, and probably costs them some support if only because if they accomplished what they sensationally intend (if not actually intend) they'll cause more harm to animals than they'll prevent. To the point, at the end of the day anyone given the choice of ethically starving or unethically eating, are going to choose eating. While I wholly support the notion that there are people who ought to stop stuffing their craws every hour of the day, and that they don't need anywhere near the caloric intake they're getting -- forget protein -- and that this has negative consequences on animals, the cessation of an industry would result in deregulation of that industry, and when people keep choosing to eat meat in spite of the supposed ethical ramifications they're going to keep their secret illicit livestock in much worse conditions than the average farm.

I agree that there are bad farmers, bad people, people who will maliciously harm animals or other people for no rational reason, and those people should be prevented from exerting their will in that way. However, painting whole industries with a wide brush that says 'this is representative of how animals are treated' and 'this ridiculous alternative is desirable because of my previous ridiculous premise' and 'I'm willing to throw ethics out the window to get a message about ethics across to the public' isn't the way to frame an argument for change. They need to come up with feasible plans, detailed, organized, meticulously researched lists of things to do, how it should be done, when and why, plans that aren't based solely on feel-goodery and emotional appeal before they're going to see the sort of widespread support that will actually make an iota of difference.

 

[anitram]

Well, milk has for millennia been a source of nutrition in some parts of the world (and in others not, attributed to being one of the main reasons if not the reason for lactose intolerance in China and other parts of the world),

Actually lactose intolerance is VERY high even in countries where milk consumption has been around for a long time. It is very surprising that given how much time has passed, we are still lactose intolerant in large number. There have been many interesting studies done on milk consumption and the concurrent rise of gastrointestinal problems.

 

[Liesje]

Actually lactose intolerance is VERY high even in countries where milk consumption has been around for a long time. It is very surprising that given how much time has passed, we are still lactose intolerant in large number. There have been many interesting studies done on milk consumption and the concurrent rise of gastrointestinal problems.

I thought I was told once that only 1/4 of the world's population can digest cow's milk?

I've never had milk. Granted I do like cheese, but I'm guessing most of the cheese I get on sandwiches and such is uber-processed, not really dairy-heavy anyway. After my mom weaned me, I had to have soy formula. I've never in my life even had half a glass of (cow's) milk. I've asked my Dr's about this and they don't really seem to think anything of it. There are other ways of getting calcium.

 

[Cin]

from the article "Animals will also benefit from the switch to breast milk. Like all mammals, cows only produce milk during and after pregnancy, so to be able to constantly milk them, cows are forcefully impregnated every nine months. After several years of living in filthy conditions and being forced to produce 10 times more milk than they would naturally, their exhausted bodies are turned into hamburgers or ground up for soup."

So mothers who have babies can't donate much milk because that would be robbing their child of precioius nutritiion. To keep expressing after your child is weaned is prolonging your "milk run" which isn't that different to milking a cow after the calf is weaned. Same thing for mothers who have lost babies. Your milk dries up when you stop giving it out.


PETA do raise some valid points but do we really need to see skinned and bloodied animals? Surely they can get their point across in a better way without all the hate and violence.

 

[Dreadsox]

I grew up on a goat farm. Never drank cows milk. My job was to milk the goats twice daily.

And Ross and I have something in common.

 

[Dalton]

I thought I was told once that only 1/4 of the world's population can digest cow's milk?

I'm an elite.

 

[yolland]

I grew up on a goat farm. Never drank cows milk. My job was to milk the goats twice daily.

We recently joined the local 4H Dairy Goat Club. Despite the fact that we have neither a goat nor the land to support one. I just really like goats and would love to have a couple Nigerian Dwarfs or Pygmies someday, if it's feasible. It's really cool just to get to know and talk to the kids who are raising and keeping goats and to go to their shows.

I don't consume many dairy products, but I'm allergic to cow's-milk casein whereas I can have goat's milk (fairly common for some reason).

 

[Dreadsox]

I had nubians and saanans. Our herd reached about fifteen goats at its peek. We used to see milk to people who were allergic. I was a 4H member and showed goats.

 

[meegannie]

I don't consume many dairy products, but I'm allergic to cow's-milk casein whereas I can have goat's milk (fairly common for some reason).

I'm lactose intollerant, but can handle goats' milk better than cows' milk.