There's a discussion of this here on the News and Debates board already. Because, well, it's a controversial issue. :)

IMO, it seems like hyperbole in order to show how ridiculous it is for us to consume a mother's milk. In this case, everyone says, Ewwww, we don't want to drink human breastmilk! When their point is, ewww we shouldn't consume a mother cow's milk which is intended for a calf and not people.

Hahah, no worries-- I know you are still finding your way around.

They won't make it. My (omni) sister made the point that it's impossible to mass-produce human breastmilk ice cream unless they have farms of lactating females... and I was like, "YES! Don't you see how absurd it is to have a farm of lactating female COWS?!" The parallel is actually quite clever, for the fact that whatever argument grossed-out omnis use to shoot down this idea can also be applied to not consuming cow's milk, you know?

Hahah, no worries-- I know you are still finding your way around.

They won't make it. My (omni) sister made the point that it's impossible to mass-produce human breastmilk ice cream unless they have farms of lactating females... and I was like, "YES! Don't you see how absurd it is to have a farm of lactating female COWS?!" The parallel is actually quite clever, for the fact that whatever argument grossed-out omnis use to shoot down this idea can also be applied to not consuming cow's milk, you know?

yeah..i wish peta had done a better job of saying that that was their point. because not many omnis are going to make that connection and now vegans look crazy.  :-\

Thanks :)

That's what my mom pointed out. I know next to nothing about breast milk (LOL), but what I do know is that you can't just make yourself produce it. I get their point; it's a good one. I'm just so gullible.

Well the biology is such that a mammal who has recently given birth is presumably lactating. As long as you continue to nurse consistently, the milk will carry on for a good long while. So in the dairy industry, cows are impregnated so that they will lactate, then after they give birth they are milked continuously to keep it coming. So theoretically with humans, one could "farm" them such that the milk supply would be virtually unending. It's all hypothetical really, b/c the idea is just to shock people into thinking about the dairy industry.

i discussed this ad campaign with my partner, who is an omnivore.
I asked him how it made him feel to hear that PETA was asking Ben and Jerry's to use human milk.  His response was far from a positive one, and if it weren't for the fact that I am vegan and an animal-rights activist, and that he loves me, in all likelihood he would have ended up with some very unpleasant conclusions about the misogyny and misanthropy of PETA and animal activists in general.  as the_starveling wrote: "Peta has the ability to make a fool of us sometimes".

It seems that PETA does not even try to stimulate serious discussion about the issues of animal exploitation; they are stuck in shock-value mode and pandering to the pornographic mass media.  Even some long-term vegans have posted on this thread that the campaign confused them, and did not make the connections to exploiting female animals for THEIR breast milk - which obviously SHOULD be the point.  Our interference in the sex and reproductive lives of animals, the rape and artificial insemination of cows, then tearing their children away from them and making veal out of the calves just so we can drink from their mothers' udders ... none of this is brought to the forefront, but instead a stupid media stunt which gives omnivores an EXCUSE to not even think about all of this.

So, campaigns like this leave serious activists stuck in damage-control mode: even though my partner is not going to conclude that all activists are crazy and stupid, I was absolutely unable to get into some of the SERIOUS issues around dairy consumption which the ice cream issue raised, because he was indignant and defensive against the idiotic campaign from PETA.  As he had all rights to be.  How can I engage in serious discussion with someone whose hackles are raised?  We should be seeking connection and understanding with those who are not yet attuned to the vegan message; not demeaning, shocking ad campaigns of dubious value which anger and confuse the average person ...

for this and many other reasons I do not support PETA ... and actively campaign against them.  :(

Lauuren: Sorry everyone at school and work is giving you a hard time because of this. I remember my days in high school well, sadly enough.

I'm actually in grad school, so school/work means both, because they're the same place  ;) 

I don't really know what it's like to be a HS vegan, because I was ovo-lacto back then - I'm a lot wimpier than many of you vegwebbers, and I didn't feel comfortable standing up for myself enough to really go vegan until I was older (not that I'm infinitely great at it now, but enough).  Mad props to those who did it, though.

Yea, that's wierd. Human milk might be more suited for our body's than cows milk. it would be hard hooking people up to milking machines, most wouldn't like that. You could probly get away with it in some poor 3rd world countries.