Monday, September 29, 2008

the PETA breast-milk thing

In case you've been hiding under a rock this past week, PETA approached Ben & Jerry's with the radical idea that they switch from using cows' milk in their ice cream to the healthier human breast milk. Quite honestly, this is an idea that they've been tossing around for a while, it's just now they got the press to notice.

After reading John Robbins' Diet for a New America, years ago, the simple dietary fact that rats' milk is amongst the most nutritious milk from all mammals, has stayed with me. Cows' milk offers some of the least nutrition of all breast milks. Because no matter how you view it, all milk comes from a teet. Chocolate chip Rat milk ice cream, does that sound delicious or what?

Dairy cows are some of the most abused animals out there, and even though B&J claim to use non GMO milk, blah blah blah, the point is that they still insist on using old-fashioned milk from cows. There are some great soy-based ice-creams out there, that don't contribute to poor health and animal welfare, and even better, there are great fruit-based sorbets and creams out there that blow the traditional dairy treat out of the water.

PETA's point, I think, was to imagine a world where humans were tethered up to machines, where, like clockwork their precious milk would be extracted for mass consumption in the form of the devilish ice cream. Would these humans be injected with hormones, with their young torn away moments after birth, only to be used as a tasty veal meal for some uncompassionate diner miles away. You can safely assume that the answer would be no. Would humans be perpetual milk machines, with sometimes only a day of rest before being forced into another milking cycle. No!

What PETA is trying to do, is to make the plight of the dairy cattle known. Would you subject a fellow human into this inhumane treatment. Maybe we can tether all Republican women up to a milk machine, they deserve it. Perhaps then we can allow these ill-abused cattle to live the remainder of their days, doing things that cows should do, like eat grass, raise their young. Basic rights that all animals should be granted.

Next time you lean down to lick that dripping cone, think, where is this coming from and to what cost? It is not merely the issue of human health and cholesterol, it is basic animal rights.

Organic Nectars make some the best gelato I've ever tasted, and it's guilt-free, raw and vegan. AND it tasted like the real deal. Check here for ordering.

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