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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Would You Donate Breast Milk to Make Ice Cream?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
BREAST IS BEST — BUT NOT FOR BECHAMEL
Photo: Laura Noel/AJC
Okay, here’s one for the record books. The crazy courier. The whack-a-doodle times. Honestly, I’ve been laughing out loud: There’s a press release going around purporting that PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) has petitioned Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to use human breast milk instead of cow’s milk in their famous ice cream.
According to the release, a restaurant in Switzerland called Storchen (sounds an awful lot like ‘stork” eh?) in the prestigious Winterthur resort (read a related article, here will be serving soups, stews and sauces made with at least 75% human breast milk.
Did aliens just land from outer space and no one told me? What planet were these folks raised on? Forget the lactose-intolerant-dairy-free-or-die debate. My biggest question for the chef, Hans Locher, is where the heck is he getting the milk? That’s an awful lot of breast milk. Apparently he’s offering “just over three pounds” (that’s about $5.40) for 14 ounces. Women of Switzerland: Unite! Use those breast pumps! You can make a fortune … or maybe just a few extra quid for the moo-vies. Do you know how hard it is to pump 14 ounces of breast milk?
Has anyone told this guy, a so-called “gastronomist,” that human breast milk has a completely different physical and chemical makeup than cow’s milk? That it will react very differently when exposed to heat and cold than other mammal’s milk? I guess so, because apparently he’s supplementing his use of breast milk with “whipped cream.” Oh. Well then. That must go under the same “what’s the point” heading as a rum and Diet Coke.
Whether or not the letter enclosed in the release is authentic or not is uncertain. It is signed by Tracy Reiman, PETA’s exec VP, with a cry for giving “cows and their babies a break and our health a boost by switching to breast milk in Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.
This brings a whole new meaning to Chunky Monkey.
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