nobody thought for a second this was a serious suggestion.. cows are relentlessly impregnated after each having already given birth in order to start the pregnanncy cycle all over again in order for them to get the milk flowing AGAIN.. it's a relentless cycle.. now.. if it were a human.. it's obvious PeTA made this suggestion merely to get peopel thining about WHERE their milk came from .. if everyone was serious about these poor cows being perpetuated milked for their milk relentlessly until their bodies are literally haggard and can't produce anymore milk (then are sent to slaughterhouse) .. everyone would stop buying and drinking milk!! and uhm. no... not purchasing and drinking human milk!! which is obviously totally infeasibly impossible unless you're feeidng your own babies !!

Posted by: beth | October 10, 2008 05:27 PM

Make better tasting plain flavored non cow milk and I'll convert.

Only when that said request is met is when I'll convert.

Because there is only so much flavored soy milk one can drink before it becomes just as unhealthy as the cow milk I was trying to quit.

Posted by: Ben Y. | October 11, 2008 03:49 PM

This is crazy people are told to ween kids at the age of six(and even that is late) nobody would want to go back to breast milk. And it does cows good to be milked of their utters would burst which inables then from having another calf, it can ever kill them. So think about it next time the cattle need to be milked why not use what you have to do.

Posted by: Andrew Fisher | October 11, 2008 05:59 PM

I don't know how serious this may be, but it is a truth. Think about it - Human milk is for humans just as cow's milk is for cows. You should read up on the effects of drinking cow milk. It causes many health problems. I have been seriously considering going vegan, however i think it would be too difficult a change for my husband and three children (ages 16 to 2). I would have to do it first and and then slowly bring them in. And by the way, I breastfed every one of them. It broke my heart when I couldn't do it anymore. I received plenty of comments from people who disagreed with it. I even had to fight the jury management department beacuse they insisted I do jury duty although I was lactating and needed to be with my baby (I lost the fight even with La Lech by my side). I know this demand seems odd, but really, cow's milk is for baby cows, goat's milk is for baby goats, dog milk is for puppies, cat's milk is for kittens, etc, etc, etc. Since when were we told that we were in control and had the power to torture animals??!!! I guess if you believe in Karma that when you live your life bad you come back to be a farm animal - to be tortured!!! Does that make you feel different about things?

Posted by: Sky | October 11, 2008 09:39 PM

OK- I have to comment on this idea. Of course, PETA is right that cow milk is intended for cows, not people. It is not 'natural' for us to drink cow's milk. Alright... eating soy meats and non dairy items are kind of unnatural too. I just think it's a lousy criterion for why NOT to drink milk. Talk about cows hooked up to milking machines or injected with BHG, talk about how the milk industry supports the veal industry- those are more cogent, better arguments in my opinion.

Posted by: Sara N | October 12, 2008 12:17 AM

I might be stating the obvious, but people seem to fail to understand that the human stomach is not designed to digest the proteins and enzymes in cow's milk. The medical industry is always toting how cow's milk and dairy are necessary to maintain calcium. Cow's milk actually upsets the acidity balance in the body and does more harm in the long term. Drink rice milk or soy milk, they're better for you and the cows! Please check out notmilk.com for more info.

Posted by: mel | October 12, 2008 08:03 AM

the truth of the matter is, Cows are not relentelessly impregnated over and over again.
If you keep milking the cow, then the milk will keep being produced. My parents own a milk cow farm, and they had as many babys as was natural for them. One or two ever couple of years.

Posted by: Nicky | October 12, 2008 01:50 PM

I read thru most of the coments following the ben and jerrys innitial post about brest milk. it is novel to think about but totally not do-able. breast milk is ment for children. i did think how i would feel if someone asked me to do such a thing, and it really felt weard. i would not buy icecream made from breast milk. it illustrates a good point and way to picture yourself in the position of cows in positions of cruelty.
I know myself that there is soy yogurt, it is quite good. why could not a more acomplishable idea be suggested to a company that if given an idea it could use might act on it.. giving outrageous ideas does not build credability. i can imagine soy vanilla bean icecream , does any company have that? im new to a lot of this and still learning about the expanse of food choies.

Posted by: melissa | October 12, 2008 07:03 PM

Okay, I first have to comment on what Ben Y. said. You obviously have no knowledge about anything you are saying. First, humans get loads of antibodies, stems cells and all the right balance of nutrients that they need from their own mothers milk, not from a cow. Second, the cows udders will never burst. Thats like saying a womans breast will burst if she stops breast feeding. The cows body will stop producing milk if has no reason the make milk. It works by supply & demand like all other mammals. So why dont you get educated before coming here and spreading nonsense.

Posted by: kaffie | October 12, 2008 11:06 PM

There are many milk alternatives now. One of my fvorite brands is Tofutti. They sell cream cheese, sour cream, cheese, ice cream, etc. which are all non-dairy & casein free. They have many flavors of ice cream including vanilla, chocolate, strawberry cheesecake, vanilla almond, key lime, etc. You can find these at whole foods, chamberlins and supermarkets that have a green selection. I just had the vanila almond flavor and it was awsome. This is 2008 people, there are tons of alternatives to dairy products out there.

Posted by: Kaffie | October 12, 2008 11:15 PM

Yes Melissa you can buy soy ice cream any flavor you want, It taste just like regular ice cream

Posted by: Rose | October 12, 2008 11:21 PM

How come they just can't use soy milk? Ice cream already costs entirely too much, what's a few more dollars?

You would have to go after a lot of different companies that use milk in their products to get what you want.

Posted by: brandie | October 13, 2008 02:20 PM

sorry PETA, i'll take cow's milk over human bodily fluids any day.

Posted by: suck eggs! | October 13, 2008 03:21 PM

sorry peta but i would never a another womans body fluid #1 i don't know #2milk haven't killled me yet #3 thats a sick idea to make ice cream from breast milk

Posted by: jason | October 13, 2008 04:40 PM

Just pointing it out about Melissa's argument, although a cows udder may not 'burst' the cows health will be seriously affected and she will most likely get sick and may die depending on the severity. A woman's breast isn't affected a seriously because they don't produce as much milk. Cows have evolved to produce more milk then in years before so to just stop all of a sudden milking a cow is nto a good thing. I'm all for the drinking of cow's milk by the way, the letter to Ben and Jerry's is absurd and so unrealistic it's funny (I can't help but laugh when I read it). There are actually studies that support the opposite of what they are saying especially in regard to the supposed health hazards. In conclusion, milk is healthy for you and I highly doubt it is in any way responsible for obesity or any other stupid health risks that have been associated with it.
Yours truly; a dairy farmer majoring in pharmacy and health studies

Posted by: . | October 13, 2008 06:55 PM

thanks for letting me know about the soy icecream

in response to the coment about the bursting uders all mamals can develope a condition during lactation called mastitis. it is basically an infection of the mamory glands due to in proper release of milk from the ducts. it is usually caused by improper weaning or abrubt cesation of milk removal. it can be very painful and if not treated properly can cause more serious conditions.

true to the coment about supply and demand the milk will slow and then stop. but if not ceased properly can cause in a word an udder that looks like it could burst, to condem someone for trying to voice a view that is well ment but uses incorect terminology is intollerant. gentle corection of language use by explination of what was miss understood gives a win win situation for us all

Posted by: melissa | October 13, 2008 10:15 PM

Right! Cause animal body fluids are so much better than human! I don't know why people come to this website and not let it educate them. Please enjoy your puss, blood,infection, steroids, antibiotics and what ever else they put in there. Milk farms hurt and kill cows and their babies and that is the bottom line. This milk is not produced naturaly, the cows are constantly impregnated and their calfs are taken away for veal or just to die. Then the mothers are given hormones so they produce 100 times the milk they would on their own. They are left hooked to these machines , almost permantly, that gives them infections. So the infection, blood and puss are sucked up and sold to you as milk. Enjoy! Also when we have used up these cows so they can barley even walk we send them to slaughter for their retirement. Dairy and egg farming is as abusive as slaughter. Get you head out of the sand.

Posted by: Jojo | October 13, 2008 10:43 PM

I think it's more that PETA is trying to make a statement, than to actually promoting the consumption of breast milk. The fact is, millions of cows are exploited through the factory farming system. And if you drink milk, you are equally supporting the veal industry and the slaughterhouses. Plus, it is completely unnatural to drink from the mammory glands of another animal, pure and simple. We are the only species who do that. And to the person who said we need to make an equally delicious milk subsitute- have you really tried everything? Because I was a huge milk lover, and I've converted simply because I now actually prefer the taste of non-dairy milks to the former.

I think PETA is trying to make a statement- albeit an incredibly bold one- and if you really think about it, it may change the way you viewing drinking any kind of milk at an adult age.

Posted by: Lindsay | October 14, 2008 08:32 AM

in response to the dairy farmer with a major in pharmacy and medicine

i am intimatly aquainted with human and animal health care i have worked and lived in both fields, and if you had read in my coment i said abrupt cesation can cause problems. granted you may have read it quickly, i am sorry if you miss understood what i had said. i never ment that if you just stopped milking a cow that the milk would just stop, it has to be done gradually where the demand for milk is slowly decreased over time similar to natural weaning of young from a mother. but thank you for pointing out a flaw in my comunication, i often forget the audiance i may be speaking to.

Posted by: melissa | October 14, 2008 10:05 PM

I think I did go over it a little to quickly Melissa and I apologize. No harm done I hope. On a separate note, in reference to those who think all cows are forced to give milk until they die, although true in some extreme cases, it is wrong in the majority, I personally know no one who gives there cows hormones and has there cows hooked up to machines all day. That is a rediculous overstatement so please get your facts straight. Most cows have a milker on them for a maximum of 20 minutes a day and they actually like getting milked. And as for coming to this site to be educated, theres no point because all arguments here are one sided.

Posted by: . | October 16, 2008 02:51 PM

no harm done at all. mr dairy farmer id call you by name but you gave none. i do have to agree with your observations , on cows. the extreme cases are usually big business not a normal family farm. also, i have to make a coment about the educational part. granted , not as many people may understand things correctly, and often people set in their ways are like talking to walls, but there are those that you may touch that may be receptive and that may listen. for those few that may be, for those few seeds that could germinate from what you plant, i would never give up. also , i have learned some things , i have never known anything about ducks being force fed for their livers , then i looked it up at a couple other sources and was amazed i never would have believed it, but then iv never really been around many ducks except at parks.

Posted by: melissa | October 16, 2008 11:03 PM

by:.says:"As for coming to this site to be educated, theres no point because all arguments here are one sided."
I don't know of any site that is as fair-minded as Peta in allowing people with various and often opposing points of view to post their comments (including Peta bashers). Peta presents the findings of reputable scientific studies. Posters of all stripes are welcome to voice their opinions.

Posted by: lynda downie | October 17, 2008 01:48 AM

Peta presents results but say very little else such as the name of the study or related studies. Then people who come to this website read these facts and believe them because they don't know that there are many studies that actually have evidence supporting the opposite. That is why this website is one sided. Maybe I went too far in saying the arguments were one sided because here I am taking the opposite point of view but I am saying that the information introduced can be misleading to a reader who knows very little on the subject.

Posted by: . | October 17, 2008 10:34 AM

Some people are allergic to Breast Milk... so they have to rely on formula, or animal milk...

Posted by: Truth | October 20, 2008 12:18 AM

Truth,

Ironic name...babies are not allergic to breast milk, but they may be sensitive to certain proteins in the mother's diet, most commonly cow's milk.

Now, to . you would have to have very little knowledge on this subject to think that a valid study exists that shows cow's milk or formula to be better for an infant.

Baby formula was invented in order to help feed premature babies, but has evolved to encompass many different reasons (many convenience related, but I will stay away from venting on that subject for now).

Soy formula is used in infants who are sensitive to dairy proteins...not breast milk.

Also, although I am a PETA supporter, I take the opportunity to educate all sides on medical misinformation/misperceptions...especially when it comes to quoting "studies" one has stumbled upon through a Google search.

Posted by: Derek, MD | October 22, 2008 02:30 PM

I didn't mean for mothers not to feed infants their own breast milk, I agree wholeheartedly with you on that. My point was that PETA presents studies saying one thing (ie study in India from the eighties that is referenced in this article) when there are much more studies in other countries supporting the opposite.(ie: mcmaster university study actually done in this decade saying chocolate milk is one of the best muscle builders out there.)

Posted by: . | October 22, 2008 05:25 PM

I am a student majoring in animal veterinary sciences. We took a field trip a few weeks ago to visit a local dairy farm and I was very suprised to see the conditions a what is considered to be a progressive, medium sized diary farm. I'm sure this farm was better than most, but the conditions were still very sad. The cows certainly don't seem to mind being milked, but that is because their udders are so swollen with milk that they are uncomfortable until they are relieved of the milk. If you compare the udder of the dairy cow to the udder of a beef cow, you can see that the dairy cow has been selectively bredt o the point where they are deformed by a disproportionaly huge udder. You would never see an udder that huge in nature. In addition, the calves are separated from their mothers at just a few days old, and have to be housed seperately in tiny stalls so they don't injure each other trying to nurse on each other's tails and ears. Basically, the life of the cows is very unnatural, and they are deprived of all their freedom and natural instincts, as well as normal social interaction. When you think about live, intelligent animals having their bodies turned into factories for our pleasure, it seems incredibly arrogant of the human race to presume it is our right to do so.

Posted by: Andrea | October 23, 2008 07:43 PM

I am certain that PETA's breast milk suggestion was intended to draw attention to our use of cows for their milk and the ridiculousness of that situation. There are plenty of alternatives, yet the mainstream markets continue to participate in the torture of animals for food. The dairy industry not only holds cows captive but also treats their male calves like trash or sends them off for veal. Dairy cows are sent to slaughter when they no longer produce--at a very young age which is a mere fraction of their natural lifespan. My family is vegan and we eat a wide variety of delicious foods. It is really a good feeling to know that your food isn't produced in an environment of violence. Cows, pigs, chickens and turkeys all have feelings and intelligence at least equal to your pet cat or dog. Please think of yourself in their position for just a moment and you may realize that all sentient beings have the right to live without being held captive and killed for the unnecessary benefit of humans. It's not as difficult as you may think to be vegan. The internet is loaded with great, simple vegan recipes. Just take a look :) Peace.

Posted by: chiliblomburger | October 23, 2008 07:58 PM

To the person who wants better tasting alternatives to cow milk, I have one. It is Yu brand organic basmati rice milk. No sugar added. It's totally delicious, better than a lot of soy milks and rice milks I've tasted and better FOR us too. I pick it up at my local health food store. The website is soylutions.ca

Try it, you'll like it :)

Posted by: jacqueline bird | October 24, 2008 01:29 AM

Let's imagine:
A whole factory stuffed with women and vacuums attached to their breasts. Pump pump pump. Is that what we want it to be? Without cow's milk, what can we use as a substitute? Fair enough, we can use human milk. But for how long? There is a limit. Unless you're telling us to impregnate these women again and again just to extract milk from them? Do not forget people, that milk is consumed not only by infants, but by everyone. We need milk in our mashed potatoes, coffee, tea, other beverages and many other dishes as well.

So stop giving one-sided arguments and take note that PETA is just making a STATEMENT. Nothing more. The human milk thing is just a tool to push their point.

Posted by: Milkman | October 24, 2008 04:50 AM

The way I see the situation is that a cow's milk is made for a baby cow. Biologically our bodies are not designed to digest the nutrients and enzymes found in cow's milk because it is intended for a baby cow. This is why we see so many cases of individuals who are lactose-intolerant or who develop other severe allergies to dairy. However, over time some of us have evolved immunities and have evolved to digest these nutrients and enzymes. Even though some of these compounds are great for our bodies it does not mean that we have any right to take that milk from a mother cow. There exist numerous plant sources in which these same nutrients can be found. What if we were to start milking human mothers and giving that milk to another species and the woman had no choice? The bottom line is that the animal's rights are being violated even if there are some dairy operations that act humanely. Animals are not ours to use as we see fit and to please our every whim.

Posted by: Jenie | October 24, 2008 07:04 AM

I have a few comments here, first they tell you to switch your kids to cows milk for the all mighty dollar which most things come down to anyway!
If we all switched back or breastfed longer they would lose LOTS of money and maybe we dry up at some point because our babies don't need to eat breast milk forever, Just like cows make milk to feed there babies. Second I think soy is just there to help lazy people stay veg. you don't need soy to be veg. or vegan. plenty of other foods give you all you need. god forbid anyone make a decision in there lives based on logic ...and not because the TV says so. wow we are a sad bunch of sheeple in this even sadder country.

Posted by: A | October 24, 2008 07:56 AM

I was a Soy baby. My mother was unable to breast feed. I think all of Ben & Jerry's products need to vegan there are a lot of ways to make ice cream without using and abusing the cows and goats. Besides that I would not drink another womans breast milk that is horrible.

Posted by: Jeanette Horton | October 24, 2008 08:12 AM

Have we mentioned that human breast milk carried HIV and other such diseases far more severe and untreatable than that carried in cow's milk.

Additionally I'm sorry but who are these women ready to get this much breast milk sucked out.

Well lets face it. The campaign is really for attention and well. Brava on that front.

Posted by: Jessica | October 24, 2008 11:43 PM

Has anyone read the British book 'Your Life in Your Hands', written by Professor Plant, a woman who had breast cancer 5 times?
The 5th time she was told she only had weeks to live. She did her own research - a friend who was a Chinese doctor said they hardly had breast cancer in China, until the new rich Chinese started eating a western diet - the difference - beef and dairy products!! Bingo! She became Vegan overnight and 6 weeks later the cancer had totally gone from her body!!
FACT: in the west 1 in 10 women get breast cancer. In far eastern non-dairy consuming countries the rate is 1 in 10,000!
The thing in milk (in any animal/human milk too) that causes the cancer is 'Growth Factor 1'- naturally occurs in all milk - is to make babies grow.
The drug 'Tamoxifen' given to women with breast cancer works by trying to block 'Growth Factor 1'. Dairy is also responsible for Ovarian and Prostate cancer and also linked to Bowel cancer. As for Calcium - the countries with highest consumption of dairy have the highest rates of Osteoporosis!

Posted by: sally, UK | November 5, 2008 11:10 AM