Peta, are you kidding me?
So I saw in the news today that PETA is trying to get Ben and Jerry's to replece dairy milk with human breast milk. Aside from commercializing what should be a special bond between mother and child, there are other public health considerations. These concerns aside, it is demeaning to women to treat us as objects to produce a product. What's your view on this?
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41 Comments:
My general view is that everything PETA does and says should be ignored. No one has to worry about breast milk entering the food supply anytime soon. And by "anytime soon," I mean "ever." PETA just wants controversy.
PETA wouldn't distinguish between the bond a human mother shares with her child and the bond between a cow and her calf, and it considers milking a cow as demeaning as milking a woman would be. PETA also has a long history of objectifying women in its campaigns. That is why out of all of the vegans I have met, only one person had anything good to say about PETA.
People who really want to help animals should look at the work done by the Humane Society of the United States, Farm Sanctuary and Compassion Over Killing.
KarynMC at 4:23PM on 09/23/08
I would imagine that Ben and Jerry snorked cow milk out their noses when they first read the petition.
Not that I agree with it, but I can at least comprehend PETA's issue with using cow milk. But replacing it with human breast milk doesn't just border on ridiculous, it crosses the border, studies for the naturalization exam and becomes a full-fledged citizen of ridiculous. What ever happened to soy milk or rice milk? Not that I'd eat it, but come on, PETA, there ARE some sane options out there.
Then again, to back KarynMC up, PETA wouldn't be able to use naked models on an ad about using soy milk.
jpolk at 4:46PM on 09/23/08
PETA was probably founded on a very worthwhile platform but in the last few years, someone in that organization is out to make them look like a joke.
therealchiffonade at 5:10PM on 09/23/08
This is absolutely one of the most ridiculous things I have ever heard. I agree with therealchiffonade, PETA probably started out with good ideas, with smart people looking out for the ethical treatment of animals. But with ideas like this, they look like idiots. I am quite sure that very few people would even consider buying products made with other peoples breast milk. Why do worthy organizations have to be so darn drastic and cheapen themselves? It really makes me angry! O.K. so its not the end of the world, I will get over it now, but still........ and what about the ethical treatment of humans? True, people would not be forced to sell their milk, but with the economy the way it is, some women may do it for a little extra cash. Great day, I can't even believe this. Say it isn't so....
floridagirl at 5:22PM on 09/23/08
I agree with therealchiffonade. Maybe McCain and Obama can use this issue as part of their platform ;)
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 5:23PM on 09/23/08
PETA also made an ad for the border fence and about that gruesome bus murder in Canada. Any worthwhile message has long been lost in a whirlwind of sexual, racial and political insensitivity. Like I said, we should ignore PETA and focus on the organizations that manage to help animals without stuffing women in lettuce bikinis.
KarynMC at 5:27PM on 09/23/08
I've been a lifetime animal activist, and either that is a joke or a really sad attempt to implode the organization from within. There are plenty of good non-dairy soy ice creams, gelatos, sorbets, and sherbets out there, there would be no point in doing this even 'for animals.;
I'm not a fan of Ben and Jerry's though, as ice cream, I tend to find it a bit overstuffed. Actually, most of the flavors have so many 'mix-ins' that even if you did use non-dairy ice cream, you'd still be getting dairy from all of the milk chocolate candy.
Sounds more like a plot from an overzealous La Leche League person, to me!
HeartofGlass at 5:54PM on 09/23/08
Where'd you see the ad?
ccbweb at 6:38PM on 09/23/08
Whomsoever came up with that must be a real boob.
well ... it was out there ... just waiting to be writ ...
Yeah, I'm milking the obvious joke ... deal ...
LunaPierCook at 7:01PM on 09/23/08
PETA has a long and storied history of being really nuts.
missjess at 7:14PM on 09/23/08
PETA seems to be fixated on these outrageous marketing ideas that attempt to address their issues with humor, but the humor is so infused with outrage and a sneering scorn for others that it fails badly.
Besides, they kill dogs and cats.
TikiPundit at 8:39PM on 09/23/08
here's the link.
http://www.wyff4.com/foodnews/17539627/detail.html
and just one more question--it's not exactly vegan, is it?
beth1 at 8:42PM on 09/23/08
They kill dogs and cats?
floridagirl at 8:42PM on 09/23/08
@floridagirl
PETA employees have been accused (and convicted I believe) of euthanizing dogs and cats at shelters they run because - ya know - keeping hundreds of dogs and cats alive is a bit expensive. And you can't let the lives of innocent dogs and cats get in the way of creating wacky and fun marketing campaigns can ya?
bravian at 9:40PM on 09/23/08
bravian, thank you for that enlightening bit of info. I don't get where they are coming from. I guess they get to decide what is humane and what is not.
floridagirl at 10:08PM on 09/23/08
Is PETA relevant anymore?
BITTER at 10:38PM on 09/23/08
I agree that they have really gotten nuts. I adopted two kittens from them in 1990. They seemed fine then, but their mailings kept getting worse and worse. I finally moved one too many times and, thank goodness, they lost me!
Blue Iris at 10:46PM on 09/23/08
@beth1 - Human breast milk is considered vegan, because human mothers consent to feeding their offspring. Most vegans believe - as I do - that human breast milk is the healthiest thing to feed a human child.
@floridagirl and bravarian - PETA runs kills shelters, it's not illegal. Other organizations do the same. http://www.peta.org/campaigns/ar-nokillshelters.asp
KarynMC at 10:48PM on 09/23/08
I think PETA is just trying to shock people to prove their point. PETA has some very extreme views and are willing to do anything to reach their goal for complete animal liberation. They'll never reach it, but they are helping animals along the way. I guess in any social movement, you have to be strong and fierce and do whatever you can to get your point proven.
smile at 10:54PM on 09/23/08
@karynmc
It wasn't the running of a kill shelter that was the issue - it was the manner in which they were 'killing' the animals.
Also - I find it hypocritical for an organization that believes that animals are on the same level as humans and runs kill shelters - ethically run or not.
bravian at 11:22PM on 09/23/08
Breast milk when sold usually goes to people who need it.
I cannot see Ben and Jerry's paying women to empty their mammies into a ice cream tank. What is this soylent green?
Ben and Jerry's is people? What will the flavors be? Sexy Redhead with chocolate chunks. Outrageous Blond with cookies. Brunette with coconut and banana. I skeeve that idea. Tell PETA to start pumping their own boobs for dessert. Crazy fookers.
JerzeeTomato at 11:24PM on 09/23/08
Bravian- Peta doesn't believe that animals are on the same level of humans. They recognize that humans rule over animals BUT they believe that the way that humans rule over them is wrong and unethical. Unfortunatly, kill shelters are the last humane choice that a human has to take care of a domesticated animal with no owner.
smile at 11:49PM on 09/23/08
Honestly, all of this about killing dogs and cats, and this breast milk thing just sounds like outrageous rumors.
Regarding the equality of humans and animals, I think we all have a right to a happy, ethical life on the planet, and I don't think humans 'rule' over animals.
These 'omg PETA is awful' threads are getting a bit wearisome, just as wearisome as someone who is always lecturing about the ethics or nutritional quality of food--which I try not to do, believe it or not, in my real life :p
The breast milk thing as I pointed out before doesn't even make sense, logically, given the availability of soy ice cream and the presence of milk chocolate in most of Ben & Jerry's flavors
Can't people just have some dark chocolate gelato and stop flogging PETA like a dead horse, regardless of your feelings about the organization for a change?
HeartofGlass at 4:40AM on 09/24/08
Well I think everyone here has excellent points. It just goes to show you their shock-value approach to gaining their audience's attention any way possible...we really can't take any of their messages seriously anymore. Which is too bad because some of the things they stand for have some validity.
I still love meat :)
hungrychristel at 10:06AM on 09/24/08
Sometimes it seems like PETA has become a parody of itself and that the joke's on us.
CanadianFoodieGirl at 11:00AM on 09/24/08
No only were they killing the animals wrongly, but they were dumping the bodies in NC. I'll try to find the article...
machellebelle at 11:15AM on 09/24/08
I cannot imagine that this would be a "healthier" alternative to cow's milk. How to you insure that the women providing the milk are eating properly and not ingesting things that would be passed through to the milk??? Oh, and what about the human babies - if Mom's selling to a "dairy" what are we going to feed them; more soy milk - full of phytoestrogens - (something I'd want to be sure my son had a lot of! NOT).
PETA really needs it's collective head examined!
Fanciesmom at 2:36PM on 09/24/08
@karynmc. we didn't complain nor claim that it was illegal, we ( actually, I ) am just wondering what gives them the right to choose what is ethical and what is unethical. And heartofglass, I will probably not stop flogging PETA for awhile. At least not as long as they continue their outlandish bahavior. I do get what you are saying though, and I wish I could move on, but some of this just strikes a nerve in me and I feel like I have to gripe about it or explode.
floridagirl at 4:59PM on 09/24/08
LunaPierCook wrote at 7:01PM on 09/23/08
Okay. I am "udderly" shocked that nobody -- not one single SERIOUS EATER -- thought this was funny. {insert eyeroll smiley here}
@LPC, please know that I was ROFLMA at this one!
;-D
xoxo
LoCo at 5:41PM on 09/24/08
LoCo, rest assured my friend, I still think LPC is the "cream" of the crop. OK so that was lame, but it was all I could think of.
floridagirl at 6:23PM on 09/24/08
@LoCo: I thought LPC's joke was outstanding. Don't have a cow. Okay, that's probably the worst joke yet.
But seriously, folks.... it wouldn't be ice CREAM, it would be ice MILK. They would have to add in whipping cream or some kind of fat to give it the right consistency, and then it wouldn't be at all natural any more. Plus, like I said on the Swiss Restaurant thread, there are sick and starving babies everywhere who need that breast milk first. Donate extra to a milk bank, ladies, and tell PETA they can suck it. Get it? Suck it? Ha ha....
buffy at 7:26PM on 09/24/08
I still haven't seen a link to a single article, which makes me suspicious that this is just a rumor, frankly--when I see a legitimate article, I will believe the allegations not before.
It's just a tempest in a D-cup until then, as far as I'm concerned!
(Even if it is false, though, it was work it for the LPC boob joke though :)
HeartofGlass at 7:51PM on 09/24/08
http://www.wptz.com/news/17539127/detail.html
KarynMC at 8:24PM on 09/24/08
From PETA's own website...
PETA Media Center> NewsReleases
Although PETA has always been scarier to me than the evils they supposedly fight, all I can say about this is, "Yikes"
LoCo at 9:33PM on 09/24/08
So we should urge all lactating females to eat plenty of foie gras and all kinds of good stuff so that the ice cream really tastes great, right.
Nonny at 9:45PM on 09/24/08
Peta's getting absolutely ridiculous! They know darn well that this would never go into effect. They're always looking for publicity and controversy. Why not a soy milk?(Although I can't imagine the overall taste of the ice cream!) The thought makes me want to throw up, and I do believe that sales would go down. With the large celebrity support system that they now have, I believe they feel as if they have the right to decide what's ethical or not, and to take the law into their own hands. Either way, it's wrong. It's scary, but Peta members: Get a life! It's a great cause, but you must know when to lighten up!
sassy at 10:11PM on 09/24/08
PETA thinks it can use sexism to promote its animal rights message?
People don't find these kinds of PETA measures educational, interesting, or informative. It's merely disgusting.
Tokyorosa at 1:04AM on 09/25/08
I really think PETA's tongue, judging from the press release, in its cheek on this one.
I grant you that some vegetarians can be pretty humorless, but I think on this one, the shoe is on the other foot--clearly this was meant to raise awareness and not to be taken seriously.
HeartofGlass at 4:54AM on 09/25/08
Will Pamela Anderson be their poster girl??? Just wondering.
Fanciesmom at 12:58PM on 09/26/08
I'm fairly certain that if this were to pass, they would hire women to produce milk; not capture lactating mothers and force them to pump. I can hardly see it as demeaning if the women themselves do not find it so. Some people think stripping is demeaning to women, yet there are many who don't look at it that way.
Bottom line: if you don't like it, don't do it.
DCraver at 3:04PM on 09/26/08
Sure this breast-milk thing is intended to be humorous and cynical, but when you try to stir controversy over facetious subjects, then it detracts from the original mission, which for intents and purposes, is a good one.
PETA lost any respect of mine when it ran a horrific ad comparing a Canadian man's murder and beheading to animal abuse. See: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/08/06/international/i101302D40.DTL
tinynancer at 3:08PM on 09/26/08