September 24, 2008
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Breast Milk
As I was driving to work this morning, I heard on the radio that PETA had asked Ben and Jerry’s to use human breast milk instead of cow milk to make ice cream. Here is a link to the story: Link
That got me thinking. Imagine you were sitting around with some friends. Imagine that one of them dared you to drink breast milk out of a bottle.
Would you drink breast milk on a dare?
Comments (171)
hell to the no.
uh that’s gross! no way!
I’m disappointed in you, Dan. I came to this post expecting a photo.
Actually, when I was nursing I was curious what my milk tasted like so I had some. Very watery and not much of a taste. But to drink another person’s milk is just gross!!
that’s actually from a friends episode haha.
and absolutley never.
Heck no, techno.
By the way, I read about this on Lyricsninja’s site earlier today.
Seriously, though. When I was a baby, my father accidentally put breast milk in his coffee, thinking it was half & half. My mother burst out laughing when she saw the empty cup in the ‘fridge.
I don’t see why it would be gross–we all drank it at one time or another, unless we were strictly formula babies. I think it would taste a lot different than the homogenized cow’s milk we’ve become used to, but I don’t think it’d necessarily be gross.
Would you?
When I was still in nursing school I did a rotation in the NICU at my local hospital. They mentioned that a woman brought in cookies for the ladies made with her breast milk.
But that would be soo gross
Haha! That reminds me of that one Friends episode!
Odd that people find drinking milk from a grass- and dirty feed-eating, probably also steroid-fed and antibiotic-fed bovine, who walks around in muddy, manure – ridden pastures and lives outdoors, to be more appealing than drinking milk of their own species….
Just to totally gross you all out, a teacher at my school who pumps milk for her baby during the day, reported that some of the milk she had stored in the fridge kept disappearing, little by little…one day, she noticed someone putting it in their coffee, not knowing what KIND of milk it was.
The last time I drank breast milk I was an infant, and I intend to keep it that way.
No, I’m too gross out. Maybe, one day in the future.
I have tried it twice as an adult. From two different women under different circumstances. Should I be embarrassed?
Without hesitation.Titty milk ftw!
NO, I won’t.
I’d be curious to try it but doubt it would be a habit.
Erm…no…that just doesn’t sound right.
Why not? it’s not full of chemicals, growth hormone, pesticides, and blood like cow’s milk?
i’d do it for $50
Not on a dare probably, but I tried my own when I was nursing…
Sure, why not? I’d imagine that the BM would have to be tested to be commercially used like that, though.
Who’s breast milk is it? Depending on the source yes.
Why drink the dariy products of other species and not our own? It’s suposed to make infants smarter, if only… lol. But yes, depending on the source.
Well shit, if you think about it, it’s more gross to drink cow’s milk. We produce milk designed so specifically to suit our own organism, and we go and drink the same stuff made for a totally different organism – in fact, a cow.
angelina jolie’s, yes. rosie o’donnell’s, no.
why the hell not? i drink cow’s milk. the way i see it is i’ve had worse in my mouth.
try anything once…twice if i like it.
No; I got past that stage of feeling like I had to take every dare when I got out of my teens. Bosefius posted about this, too.
Maybe if money was involved.
ewww fXck no!!! >:(
As long as it is not my own, I would be interested in trying it. Since I have been told by several doctors that my breastmilk is too acidic to be considered edible on any level, I would not be able to participate in said dare for someone else.
Yeah, but I’d guess it’d depend on what woman it came from.
I was talking with a friend last night about a restaurant in Switzerland that is offering soups and sauces made with at least 75% breast milk.
I must say it stretches the envelope. Cows milk vs breast milk?
As a man thinking of “breast milk” I must admit it is hard to get beyond the “breast” part of the equation
Sure, but not out of a bottle. My breastmilk tasted like the milk that is left in the cereal bowl after eating lucky charms. Yum.
I don’t know…..
I’ve heard that it tastes good, though.
I didn’t even like human breast milk when I was a baby, haha. I only wanted the formula o_o
And…maybe. I am a little squicked out by the idea….
I just don’t know what to say about that.
YEAH!
That’s so funny. Not minutes ago, my husband just called me and told me the same thing. He is addicted (no seriously) to ice cream, especially B&J despite their liberal tendencies. I think it’s the on thing that would actually get him to break his addiction!
Even funnier, I’ve been lactating for the last 4 years despite never having been pregnant a day in my life. He didn’t think it was funny when I said my unused but rather abundant supply of breastmilk might actually come in handy. When I expressed quitting my job and hooking up with B&J to make this thing happen, he didn’t think it was funny.
You know, you try to make a buck and provide for your future, and what do you get?!
As for trying it, sure. I mean, we are the only species of animal to normally drink milk from other species rather than our own (except in infancy). To quote “Friends”, it really does taste like Cantaloupe juice. No big deal.
lol my dad tried it WITHOUT being dared. he said he was curious and wanted to know how it tasted. Its sweet and mellow, according to what he said.
They’d have to name their price.
Ugh…like women can produce that much milk.
No way, I wouldn’t even drink regular milk on a dare.
it’s not bad for you…
Would I drink breast milk on a dare? Just a dare? Probably not. Put enough money on it, though…
Do I think we need to line women up and attach them to the machines just to feed the populace? Given that I’m not insane, no.
Problem with that is – breast milk contains traces of anything the mother has eaten, which is why mothers can’t eat things their children are allergic to while breastfeeding. Do I want traces of mexican food in my ice cream? Not particularly……
@DirtyAndShaken - Really? You lactate but haven’t been pregnant? Is there a reason? Yeah, not my business, but I read your comment and found it interesting (particularly since I’ve had two children and couldn’t produce breastmilk…..)
Eww that is gross…I would never buy their ice cream again & so many other people won’t either. What’s wrong with PETA???
And no I wouldn’t.
That depends . . . can I use chocolate syrup in it??
@TashaDW_18 - Yes, actually. I had a tumor on my pituitary gland causing all kinds of reasons. We think that was the reason. I just had brain surgery on Sept. 11 to have the tumor removed. It caused lots of complications, but it seems it was successful. I’m still lactating at this point, so we don’t know what will happen over the next few weeks as my body evens back out. It’s a weird thing to get used to!
Yeah, I don’t see why that’s so gross. You stick your tongue in someone’s mouth, or on a penis… but you won’t drink something natural that’s meant to be nutritious? Wtf.
LMAO THEY WANT TO USE BREAST MILK FOR ICE-CREAM?!
but no. i wouldn’t.
um breastmilk for icecream. are you fucking kidding me?
On a dare…no probably not. For money, yes.
Store bought milk is pasteurized. So it actually IS cleaner than breast milk.
@DirtyAndShaken - Wow. That’s crazy – it’s weird the things our bodies do, isn’t it? I hope that you surgery was totally successful and that you will heal completely!
I think I’m gonna try my own breastmilk.. c’mon, my baby is gonna be eating it, I want to know what it tastes like! However.. I don’t think I could eat ice-cream anymore knowing it was made from breast milk. I don’t think I could even try another womans milk.. just because, I couldn’t do it. Nope.
Good thing I don’t eat that type of ice-cream though.. I would NEVER give up my chocolate.. NEVER!!
I’m intolerant…
sure, why not?
OMG THAT IS SO GROSS!!!!!!!!!!
No.
Sure I guess
I would much rather prefer to drink it straight from the source, as long as it’s clean and no diseases or infections are contracted upon consumption.
@musicmom60 - Haha, that’s so funny!
Well I did taste it once, I had just had a baby. But to use it for food on a daily basis? Ummmm… no thanks.
And how would they go about doing that anyway, bring lactating women to dairy farms like with cows, how would they possibly get enough?
hahaha
NO THAT’S GROSS I’VE NEVER DRANK HUMAN MILK IN MY LIFE BOVINE GROWTH HORMONES FTW
…get over yourselves, people
@ChrisRusso - oh tsk tsk!
ewww um no and who would produce the milk I wonder… how much would they pay these women too – sounds like an easy job – lol!
Its funny, but it grosses me out, but somehow milk from a cow, just does not.
I am a human, I first grew up on human breast milk, it should even be better for humans than cow milk, hmm, I just could not go back to it however.
From the link >>>>>>> “PETA says cow’s milk has been linked to juvenile diabetes, allergies, constipation, obesity, and prostate and ovarian cancer.”
As these PETA people are concerned with the “People concerned with the Ethical Treatment of Animals,” why do they not justify their request with reference to their mandate principle, instead of attempting to strengthen their impractical idea by a show of concern for public health? Or do they now see humans too as animals to be protected?
But nvm, on with the circus. I like ice cream, but human milk has a different consistency, so we need a recipe, which PETA can supply. Dan can organise the milk supply – he’s shown us that he’s good with boobs – so he’s the boob-wrangler, and we’ll churn a batch.
i’m pretty sure their sales will drop dramatically.
Sure, but like others have before it depends on the source.
do i HAVE to use the bottle?
Judy nursed all three of our boys and I enjoyed leftovers out of the tap on more than one occasion
I would, but I would pretend to be disgusted and demand to be paid.
I would rather just fondle some pretty lady’s breast though.
Yeah. It’s healthier than cow’s milk.
I drank human breast milk once, accidentally.
@darkoozeripple - ”why do they not justify their request with reference to their mandate principle”
Because they are PETA. Their ultimate goal is to confuse and baffle the masses into submission.
Sure why not?
that is R-O-F-L positive. Good one man.
EWWWW NO!
I’d love to try it, especially around women! Good way to break the ice, eh? Surprised that so many females responded the way they did. Hmm
I would drink it anyway. It’s supposed to be good.
Depends how much money is involved. Remember that group of people adrift in a little bitty boat and the men pretty much attacked the lactating women?
I have tasted my own. So, yes.
Maybe my own. Just to try. But another person’s, absolutely not. I can’t believe they were acutally serious.
Maybe we can convince PETA that water is a resource that should be used for animals only and if you truly support PETA that you will refrain from drinking anything made with water.
But all the hormones, chemicals, and blood and stuff inside of cows’ milk is what makes milk so darn tasty. If we switch over to breast milk, we lose out on that distinct flavoring. I’m being sarcastic, obviously.
Actually, I don’t care what they do as long as we all don’t get AIDS or something from eating the ice cream because they didn’t screen the breast milk properly.
I don’t eat ice cream to begin with, so I guess it wouldn’t really be a problem for me. However, I think it’d be an interesting concept to see women in the same position of a cow. I wouldn’t drink it, but I wouldn’t oppose it. I mean, you have to consider the future– what if all cows, goats, and other milk sources died but humans?
I’m sorry, but I don’t see why everybody thinks this is so disgusting. I would try it regardless, if given the opportunity. I heard it’s supposed to be good / sweet. I’d be more apt to try it if I knew the foods the woman had previously consumed beforehand though, as apparently that affects the flavor.
and I think I’ll stick with soy milk.
Only if I could drink it from the source and put it on xanga TV.
She must be under 24.
@Xyour_bloody_valentineX - You fuck with your hair and mutilate your body. I don’t know why that makes me want to pin you. I want to pin most everyone on this damn site.
I think that people see this as disgusting for the same reason that they see our other bodily fluids as disgusting. I have never understood this. I don’t see any reason why anything naturally produced by our bodies is gross. They are all apart of the way that God designed us.
The only things that I find gross are things that are related to death and decay. A good example is when I clean out my fridge and find mysterious green leftovers. I am just philosophically speculating, but could all of this be related to the Fall? Death was not a part of God’s original plan, so we have a natural revulsion to it. Under this theory, it would make no sense to be grossed out by breast milk, since it is a direct symbol of life!
Just throwing out ideas here, let me know what you think.
I agree with ChrisRusso. From what I heard, to us it would not take that good because we are so used to our store bought milk. Though I am in no hurry to be dared to try some woman’s breast milk, I think there would be much more disgusting things to be dared to do.
yes sure why not..
Putting aside the fact that I hate PETA, just the sheer amount of milk needed to run something like a single ice cream factory would make the assertion pretty impossible. Having said that it WOULD be an interesting thing to see/taste.
As far as my friends asking me to? They wouldn’t ask me so much as replace my chocolate milk with a breast milk/hershey mix while I was’nt looking, and laugh at my confused and suprised look.
Why not? Yeah, the idea seems a little gross, but how is it any weirder than drinking something squeezed out of a cow’s udder after the calf has sucked on it, after putting who knows what in its mouth?
I want to know if Ben and Jerrys is hiring people to milk the women. LOL
PETA is such a joke,I don’t think that anyone will take this seriously. I like to piss members of PETA off by saying that I am a member of People Eating Tasty Animals.
that is so nasty.
It would be better than the milk you get from China. Chinese would pay top dollar right now for that milk.
i wouldn’t mind (i was fed the stuff as an infant)
though…
would it be a sexual act? (i just remembered an ep of CSI)
or natural?
Totally. It tastes better than cow’s milk anyway. Worked for me after all.
wow breast milk… I guess it would depend on whose br… no nevermind. I remember when I was littler my older sister was breast feeding my niece and she popped my niece off to shoot milk on the back of my head! I wasn’t enthused about that and I deffinately don’t see the point in putting it in ice cream? We’re old enough that the proteins and antibodies/vitamins that are in breast milk are pretty much irrelavant, and PETA I thought was all for preserving all things natural, if nobody eats it that is a pretty massive waste of a mommies donation… I don’t think there are enough women breast feeding their own kids for that matter. I give it two thumbs down and five snaps in a circle!
~Port
sounds good to me
Everyone’s got their price, Dan.
as long as it was from “free range” women
@benjimau5 - What exactly does fucking with my hair and mutilating my body have to do with trying someone else’s breast milk? I’m just saying I would not feel comfortable having some anonymous person’s breast milk in my ice cream. It just seems strange to me and I’m not comfortable with it. My mind may change in time though. Everyone has thier limits if you will.
I would. This reminds me of a question one of my friends asked the other day, if you were a mother, would you buy breast milk if they sold it in supermarkets? ..especially if you needed it, and knew of breast milk’s advantages over infant formula?
That breast milk suggestion is the stupidest thing I have ever heard in my entire life. How would they find enough women to do that, anyway? And can you imagine how ridiculous the sight of that would be? Women standing around in factory, squeezing their boobs, and trying get milk out.
@number1puddlesplasher - Technically, you are right. However, because it’s so unheard of to consume someone else’s breast milk in ice cream, it’s getting knocked. It’s just like how we eat chickens and cows, but when most of us hear about someone eating a dog or cat, we cringe and find it repulsive. An animal is an animal, what difference does it make which one it is, but because it’s not the norm, it’s not acceptable. That was an abstract analogy there, but you get the point. Sad, but true.
lol thats just not right. cows produce milk naturally…so why not use the excess?
and no, i wouldn’t drink breastmilk…only for money
I don’t drink milk anyway. And I am certainly not going to drink breast milk that came from another woman’s breast.
@benjimau5 - What does that mean, “pin” people?
@Xyour_bloody_valentineX - I like your hair! I don’t understand why he said that.
My mom’s Lamaze teacher gave her students a recipe for breast milk pancakes.
No way!
Well, at some point I’ve drank my mother’s!
I feel awkward writing this, but if it was hers, then maybe.
@annadrummergirl - sex in missionary position. Hence “pin”
@Xyour_bloody_valentineX - rawr
I love milk, but I think I’d have to pass on that one. :/
GGGGGGGGGGGGross!!!
Honestly, it will never happen. Breast milk is freakin’ expensive. Women don’t produce as much as cows do, and, unlike cows, women expect to be compensated, especially when it is being used for profit. Unless Ben and Jerry’s plans on their ice cream being $40 a pint, it will never happen.
@musicmom60 - ha! ha! so true.
I have tasted my own breast milk, and it is WAAY to sweet for me. I could not imagine ice-cream made from it. If the dare involved money, and the person was disease free, I would drink it from a cup. No way would I nurse. THAT would be gross to me.
@Lydrock - ROFL. Since when has PETA been realistic?
Intriguing. People are disgusted by the consumption of milk that comes from a human being (formed for the consumption of human beings) yet they are all to quick to drink what comes from the underside of a cow (formed for the consumption of calves… not humans). This deserves a follow-up post asking the question of why that is.
My husband and I tasted mine. It’s sweet. Surprisingly too sweet to be any good for ice cream. PETA should go take a nap.
I would do it for money…
…but all I got right now is like twenty dollars
@ChrisRusso - I agree, I don’t see anything wrong with it.
Considering that I chose to breast feed my son….I do not have to be dared. I did on occasion take drinks of my breast milk to make sure that it was not soured. If I was running a fever, I tasted it to make sure it was not soured. There is nothing wrong with it. I know we were out of creamer and milk one time and I made my hub a cup of coffee and squirted breast milk into his coffee. He said it was the best cup he ever had. When I went to get him another, he walked in and saw me adding the milk and when he realized what I had beeen doing, did not drink coffee that I prepared. He does now considering I am dry. I only did this because he pissed me off.
To be perfectly honest it’d probably have to be a sexual thing, which would require me to feel perfectly certain that my partner was safe to feed from. I’m embarrassed to admit that I don’t know how many diseases can travel through a woman’s breast milk.
Also, to all of those complaining about the sorts of things wrong with a cow’s milk, I believe that most human sources of milk in the modern US would be just as toxic to your health considering the amount of chemical and genetic manipulation in most of our produce and animal sources of food, not to mention the outrageous amount of preservatives found in our processed foods.
If you just buy organic cow’s milk, all should be fine. Additionally, I believe that Ben and Jerry’s already avoids bovine growth hormone and those sorts of things in their ice cream.
While I support breastfeeding women… (and will be one shortly myself), I would NEVER drink another woman’s breastmilk. Breastmilk can transmit HIV and other serious illnesses, and I don’t think it’s worth a dare to put my life potentially at risk…
No.
EDIT: What the heck, this site has taken up refreshing for no reason, it posted my comment before I was ready.
Anyway, while I think PETA makes some good points sometimes, this particular suggestion of theirs was batcrazy.
Breast milk is tasty. It’s liquid gold, though. Way too expensive for ice cream. PETA just wants the rest of us to stop enjoying our ice cream while they’re stuck with their tofutti dreamsicles.
@LeaderOfTheKnightsWhoSayNI - Definitely we must say “ni” to that.
OMG PETA!..what will you say next???…I can’t even imagine that there is enough breast milk produced to keep up with the supply and demands of Ben and Jerrys. I do give my family organic milk, because honestly, i do not agree with the bovine hormone added to make cows produce milk etc…. I would buy organic ice cream, but do not see it near me…. Ben and Jerrys does not use the hormone….. Eggs yogart, cheese milk etc…is avail now everywhere. La Leche League members give there extra supply of breast milk to babies whose moms connot produce or feed it to the infants for various health reasons. ….
SOOOOOOOOOOOO that said,…more info then you wanted…but humans are already drinking other humans breast milk…as for myself…i have tasted mine….. Do not care to drink anyone elses unless proven to cure some horrible disease…
How is breast’s milk grosser than cow’s milk?
Breast milk is probably WAY healthier for us than milk that’s designed to provide nourishment for a COW.
I think people that are past weening age shouldn’t drink milk at all. That’s just my opinion…
Did you know guys produce breast milk too?
I think that would be really wierd. Pumping milk out of ladies I don’t even know to make icecream. It sounds gross.
People
Eatting
Tasty
Animals
@benjimau5 - So I should be flattered? lol
@annadrummergirl - Thanks. Sadly, that’s an old picture. It doesn’t look like that anymore.
PETA cracks me up.
This reminds me of the end of “The Grapes of Wrath…”
I might try my own someday- I am currently nursing and the baby loves it…
breast milk tastes alot like vanilla soy milk…
babies like it… you liked it when you were a baby… why wouldn’t you now? 
yes, i would drink it on a dare, so long as i knew that it was not contaminated.
I’m a breastfeeding mother, a HUGE Lactivist and I think this is just disgusting. And I have a problem with the idea that it’s cruel to hook up cows to machines to extract milk but it isn’t for humans? Does that make any sense? And exactly HOW MANY nursing mothers will you need to supply a huge company such as that?
ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww
The dare goes on all the time. Some men even have a breast milk fettish,lol. I think if Ben and Jerry’s ever go throuhg with it, they will make their ice cream more popular with men and lesbians,lol
DAM, this post makes me want to vomit
@Tavia_n_Jones - ILLL !!! i dont want to picture it at all!! probably double humans, cause cows are HUGE
@starfall56 - WOW thanks for the heads up on that .. i didnt know u could catch aids through boob milk..
Uh nope…no way…ugh!
Is the new season of Fear Factor is directed by PETA now? lol.
I wouldn’t mind the human female breast milk, I’ve drink goat milk when I was a kid, godknows it taste better than cow milk.
@Xyour_bloody_valentineX - Well, I’m sure it looks good no matter what you do to it!
That guy who said stuff about your hair and piercings said something about pinning and then I asked him about it and he said it meant sex in the missionary position. Like that has anything to do with breast milk? He confuses me and is a very odd person if I’m not mistaken.
@CormackMcKinney - How? And well, when? Don’t you need to be pregnant for that?
@mulleina - Lol. I sure don’t!
that’s nasty… all i gotta say is body fluid precautionary
@Mieko_Ali - Hahaha! That’s a good one! After the first sip I would’ve given it away and cracked up! I believe my mother once squirted hers across the room at my father. Lol. And I even think I unbuttoned her shirt in the checkout line at a grocery store when I was nursing. Hah.
i just want to know where PETA thinks B&J’s could get THAT much breast milk from…
I think that PETA was probably trying to make a point, people are repulsed at the thought of drinking someone else’s breast milk, but not repulsed by drinking milk from a cow meant for calves, and the cows are living in disgusting filth on top of that…
only if it came straight from the source…
I saw this on the TV while I was working at the bookstore, it made me rather nauseous.
So, to answer the question, no.
Well.
Even though I’ve realized in our culture it would be very hard to go vegan, I do think drinking milk is disgusting past infancy.
Milk is specifically designed to bring a babies weight and height up in a short period of time. That’s why we stop drinking breast milk around one.
Breast milk, I believe, is supposed to bring a 8 lb infant to a 25 lb toddler.
Cows milk is supposed to bring a (guessing weight) 40 or so lb cow up to a 2000 lb cow. And we’re drinking THAT?! Weird.
But no, I don’t think I would brink breast milk. It would creep me out.
Why not? Most of us have had it at some point or another, and it’s definitely more “normal” than drinking another mammal’s milk.
breast milk is really good, actually.
Minus the milk…
For cash maybe.
@mangotini - AGREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!
@annadrummergirl - They produce it the same way girls do…
just nowhere near as much. You don’t have to be pregnant; I think it
has more to do with hormones and estrogen and stuff. Some people (guys
too) even have a disorder where they lactate without control.
No. That’s gross at my age. I seriously hope Ben and Jerry’s declined, or that at least PETA was kidding.
@CormackMcKinney - Haha. Wow. This is all very new to me.
I think that all mothers should breastfeed
But at seventeen
I must say I’ll have to pass.
Nope, I don’t even drink cows milk. I think milk’s icky.
Depends on what we are wagering. If what we are waging on is worth my while I’d totally do it.
No- ewwww!
Believe me, it doesn’t taste good, and can carry a lot of diseases.