http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/02/25/134056923/breast-milk-ice-cream-a-hit-at-london-store
Found this article on NPR...they make a good point that it's natural and organic, even "free-range"...but personally, I would never eat this. Never ever.
Ben and Jerry's could come up with a much more creative name for this. The lengths people are willing to go for a new experience never sieze to amaze me
ReplyDeleteSomething feels wrong about it, that's for sure. I guess I didn't realize that mothers have so much surplus milk to sell. I don't know the facts but I would have to talk to someone who did before I would even consider trying the new ice cream because I'm pretty sure there are big differences between cow milk and human milk. Breast milk provides nutrition for babies but it also passes on important antibodies specific to the child's needs based on its environment. So normally when we eat ice cream we're eating cow antibodies...And if our milk comes from cows who live in a bad environment like a CAFO then maybe human milk is just as safe. Maybe it's not that different after all...I would need to know.
ReplyDeleteWow. just...wow. i may for once actually be speechless. I don't know if that's disgusting or an interesting idea. I mean, on the one hand, if they are screening it safely, before they make it into ice cream, then it's probably safe. but i don't know if i could ever eat something like that. Anyway, it's quite the oddity, thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeletehmmm...I'm not really sure what to think. In the video clip, the restaurant owner kept saying the milk was "organic"--but only if the women donating the milk ate organic foods. At first I thought it was a cool idea, but I can also see myself being too disgusted to try it.
ReplyDeleteInstead of making breast milk into ice cream to sell to rich, adventurous people, wouldn't it be better for women with excess milk to donate it to milk banks? Some babies can't tolerate formula made from cow's milk, and there are other types of formula with additives.
I shared this with my mom, and she seemed very opposed to it. First, she was afraid that selling it as ice cream in shops would "bring up stupid government regulation talk about breast milk and whether it's really safe for babies to drink." She also was opposed to the idea because it might "turn women into dairy cows"--what if women had to start taking hormones to lactate enough?
That video was ridiculous! I loved it. Thanks for posting this Nora!
ReplyDeleteI KNEW I had heard of this before! PETA had a small campaign where they tried to get Ben & Jerry's to make their icecream from breast milk.
Here's the articl:
http://www.wptz.com/r/17539127/detail.html
Julia, I think you make some really great points. I think PETA wasn't actually under the impression that Ben & Jerry's would use breast milk in their product, I think they just wanted to make the public aware of the issues surrounding the dairy industry. But I think it would be much more commendable to donate unused or unneeded milk to malnourished infants than to sell it for $22 to people who can afford it.
I do think it's funny how opposed a lot of people are to the idea of eating breast milk icecream. If I was handed a sample, I'm pretty sure I'd scarf it down. I don't think it seems any more repulsive than eating bull testicles or sea cucumber.
Ahh! I honestly don't think I could ever get over the idea of the ice cream being made with breast milk to even try it. It just seems so.. strange. Perhaps if they were making it just into baby food that would be one thing, but for the general population to eat.. that's another thing entirely.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Julia here, though, that there is way more to this than just the oddness factor. I could see this industry being very detrimental to women's health.
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ReplyDeleteMy favorite part of this article: "If it's good enough for our kids, it's good enough to use in our ice cream." Ha...um, interesting logic? I don't know if I wouldn't try it because I'm curious, although it is slightly horrifying to think that I'd be essentially drinking the breast milk of somebody who isn't my mother. That part creeps me out. And the whole argument that we can potentially run the same health risks in eating this ice cream as we can in any other carton of milk. Thanks for posting this!
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