I've never been a PETA fan, but this tops it all

[Misfit]

OK, which avenging angel at PETA cooked up this (http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20080925/48db0cc0_3421_1334520080925-1691449626)idea?

[Leyland]

"PETA wrote a letter to company founders Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield on Tuesday, telling them cow's milk is hazardous and that milking them is cruel."

I'm confused - don't dairy cows need to be milked? Isn't it cruel not to milk them? Or does PETA object to mechanical milking methods?

And, what a ludicrous idea, encouraging the use of human breast milk to ice cream producers! I'm very much in favor of intense means of preventing cruelty to animals, but I lose respect for an organization that acts in a way to invite ridicule instead of support.

[LCW]

Ugh! How gross is that! :eek::eek::eek:

PETA is a bunch of wacko nutjobs whose hidden agenda is to make any and all pets illegal and to spread veganism throughout the world! They should seriously have their tax exempt status revoked...if nothing else for funding the legal fee's of known criminals.

And I just love that PETA and the other animal rights nutjob org., the HSUS, had to eat crow after they went all over the media proclaiming how the "vicious" fight bred pitbulls from the Micheal Vick case were too much of a danger to the public to be adopted and should be euthanized. All but one are living in loving homes as beloved FAMILY PETS!!! So suck it, PETA and HSUS!!! :D

[SonjaMarie]

Gross! No thank you!

Sm

[Grasshopper]

Ugh is right!!

There is a big difference between animal rights and animal liberation. (http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/2006/09/peta-makes-itself-ridiculous.html)

[Divia]

I live in the country so my view is slightly different. But common they are animals adn as long as you dont torture them then I dont see anything wrong wtih killing them. If we believed everything screamed when we killed it ex. apple then what the hell would we eat?

Sometimes I think PETA would like it if we ate each other instead of animals.

BTW, my stepbrother made a mudslide for my other stepbrother using his wife's breast milk. I guess it tasted the same. :p

[Ash]

Ew!! I can't say I am surprised, but ew!

[boswellbaxter]

If it was April 1, I'd have thought the article was a joke. Sorry, PETA, no mama's milk in my Ben and Jerry's Vanilla! Just Bossy milk, please.

Now I have this image in my mind of all these women standing docilely side by side being milked.

[Amanda]

And most breastfeeding women have better things to do with their breastmilk than make ice cream with it!

[SonjaMarie]

Yeah, like feed their babies with it!

SM

[Carine]

Gosh !! That is gross !!!

[Volgadon]

Not only is that unbelievably gross, wouldn't it be cruel on the thousands of mothers needed to make ice-cream?

[Alaric]

I'm confused - don't dairy cows need to be milked? Isn't it cruel not to milk them? Or does PETA object to mechanical milking methods?

That's what I always thought too. :confused:

[diamondlil]

If it was April 1, I'd have thought the article was a joke. Sorry, PETA, no mama's milk in my Ben and Jerry's Vanilla! Just Bossy milk, please.

Now I have this image in my mind of all these women standing docilely side by side being milked.

We were on the same wavelength - all I could think of was fields full of women waiting their turn!

[Divia]

Its my understanding that yes cows need to be milked after they have their first calves becuase they contiune to produce milk. But I guess I could be wrong.

A person on another forum said that the new breastmilk icecream could be called : Mother's Best.

[Misfit]

Now I have this image in my mind of all these women standing docilely side by side being milked.


I believe that image is now going to be stuck in my brain all day. Thanks :o:p:)

[Ash]

Its my understanding that yes cows need to be milked after they have their first calves becuase they contiune to produce milk. But I guess I could be wrong..


Dumb question - friend told me that cows have to keep having calves in order to keep lactating. Is that right?

[Leyland]

Ash's friend is right. I Wiki'd dairy cows and found out thay are continuously bred to keep producing milk

Dairy heifers are of great value to their breeders, as they will become the next generation of dairy cows. As a cow cannot produce milk until after calving (giving birth), most farmers will begin breeding heifers as soon as they are fit, at about fourteen months of age for Holsteins. A cow's gestation period is about nine months (279 days long), so most heifers give birth and become cows at about two years of age.A cow will produce large amounts of milk over its lifetime. Certain breeds produce more milk than others; however, different breeds produce within a range of around 4,000 to over 10,000 kg of milk per annum. The average for dairy cows in the US in 2005 was 8,800 kg (19,576 pounds).

Production levels peak at around 40 to 60 days after calving.[1] The cow is then bred. Production declines steadily afterwards, until, at about 305 days after calving, the cow is 'dried off', and milking ceases. About sixty days later, one year after the birth of her previous calf, a cow will calve again. High production cows are more difficult to breed at a one year interval. Many farms take the view that 13 or even 14 month cycles are more appropriate for this type of cow.

So now I know! But how is milking a cow cruel? I guess PETA thinks that a calf suckling its mother is a bad thing? :p

[LCW]

Not only is that unbelievably gross, wouldn't it be cruel on the thousands of mothers needed to make ice-cream?

ROTFLMAO!! I think as long as there were no gestation crates involved it would be OK!! :D:D:D

[amyb]

I'll pass thanks. Suddenly I feel lactose intolerant.

[Catherine Delors]

Well, I have driven many, many times past the dairy farms of the Central Valley of California, and believe me, that will turn you off from non-organic milk.

I do believe it is torture to keep animals in such conditions, parked in 100 degree heat, stuck thigh deep in their own excrement for their entire lives. You can smell those operations from miles away and the stench is enough to make you sick. So that ad campaign about happy California cows frolicking in green pastures was totally shameful. I believe the California Dairy Farmers Association was sued for deceptive advertising, and got away with it.

The only way cows can survive under those conditions without rotting alive is by receiving mega-doses of antibiotics. After ingesting their milk, kids develop immunity to those life-saving medications. I am no PETA activist, but I draw the line there. I refuse to buy any dairy product that is not organic and antibiotic-free.

[Misfit]

I'll pass thanks. Suddenly I feel lactose intolerant.


LOL. I am so glad I am not a dairy person. I hate milk and much as I love ice cream I've got enough on my hips as it is so I skip it. Calcium tabs work just fine.

[LCW]

Well, I have driven many, many times past the dairy farms of the Central Valley of California, and believe me, that will turn you off from non-organic milk.

I do believe it is torture to keep animals in such conditions, parked in 100 degree heat, stuck thigh deep in their own excrement for their entire lives. You can smell those operations from miles away and the stench is enough to make you sick. So that ad campaign about happy California cows frolicking in green pastures was totally shameful. I believe the California Dairy Farmers Association was sued for deceptive advertising, and got away with it.

The only way cows can survive under those conditions without rotting alive is by receiving mega-doses of antibiotics. After ingesting their milk, kids develop immunity to those life-saving medications. I am no PETA activist, but I draw the line there. I refuse to buy any dairy product that is not organic and antibiotic-free.

You are so right!! And if you go up the I-5 somewhere in Central CA there's a huge feed lot for beef cattle that stretches as far as the eye can see. You can smell for miles before and and after it. It's really pathetic to see!

Also the corn based diet most cows are fed makes them sick also. Corn is not a natural food for cows so it irritates their digestive system and causes illness, which of course they treat with massive amounts of antibiotics leading to resistant bugs and so on!

I wonder if the industrialized agriculture is a phenomenon specific to the USA or if it's a problem in other developed countries as well!

[SonjaMarie]

I don't drink a lot of milk, but my mom does like it's going out of style. I was at the store yesterday and saw that a gallon of organic milk was $6.29! I can't afford that even if I wanted to drink it! I'm bulking at paying over $3.30 for regular 2% gallon's for mom to mainly consume!

SM

[Catherine Delors]

Lila - I do believe, with globalization, industrial agriculture is a worldwide phenomenon. Maybe more prevalent in California and the UK, though. See the impact of mad cow and hoof-and-mouth cases there.

SonjaMarie - I am with you about the cost issue. Everytime I come back to the US, I am shocked by the price of basic groceries. When it comes to dairy products, I think we, as adults, can make the informed choice of ingesting antibiotics and growth hormones, but for kids the health consequences are far more worrisome. At the very least that's a public health issue that should be more discussed in the media.

[Misfit]

I've done some googling on this and found a story (http://www.wnbc.com/health/17539627/detail.html) that has the original letter from PETA to B&J's. Just look where they got the idea from :eek:

[Catherine Delors]

Thanks, Misfit, I'll stay away from those Swiss restaurants! ;)

[Telynor]

I find the PETA people to have entirely too much time on their hands, and are truly out there as far as reality is concerned. As someone who grew up having to cope with livestock -- a milk cow, chickens (who had the prosaic names of Stew, Enchilada, and Roast (to name a few), along with a big herd of sheep), I don't have a problem at all with eating meat. The human being has evolved from eating it, and domesticated animals to provide for that need. Yes, if a cow is not milk regularly and she is lactating, she gets mighty uncomfortable and she lets you know it. If you're clumsy or startle the cow she might kick, but most of the time talking softly and carefully will keep those hooves away from tender body parts.

I do know that the majority of farmers don't let their animals get overrun with excrement if they are smart. I was out shoveling various sorts of manure when I was growing up, and learning the smart way of taking care of animals, which meant doing a lot of cleanup and never skipping a day.

[michellemoran]

As a strict vegetarian myself (and often vegan), I find that revolting.

[Catherine Delors]

Telynor - I grew up on my grandparents' farm in Normandy, and cows were indeed out to pasture in the fields. I have no problem with traditional farming, which does require hygienic conditions and careful animal husbandry.

But routine doses of antibios and growth hormones (which are, by the way, banned by European regulations) have changed the deal for agribusiness. Now apparently it makes economic sense to keep dairy cows tightly packed in feedlots, mired in dung. I wish schools organized field trips there for kids (and parents) to learn where the milk they drink comes from.

[Charliekat]

You know, I can understand PETA's concerns, but they totally lose it by making stupid suggestions. Maybe people would listen to them more if they were more realistic.

[Volgadon]

What I dislike most about PETA is how callous they are.

[Leyland]

They don't seem to want to save animals' lives, but only to prevent their exisitng or possible future suffering. Once they have unwanted animals, they prefer to euthanize and dump them in the trash.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,159861,00.html

Perhaps they need a new name - People for the Ethical Euthanization of Animals. PEEA. They've got quite a kill rate. I guess they don't believe in fostering pets until adoption.

http://sev.prnewswire.com/publishing-information-services/20080111/DC1129510012008-1.html

[LCW]

Very good information, Leyland! PETA is such a wolf in sheep's clothing but they are so slick that so many people are completely unaware of their true agenda. Many of the causes they fight for are just but a little bit of good in something that's completely bad is more dangerous than something so obviously bad that noone takes it seriously!

[Misfit]

A lot of these so-called do-good organizations do much more harm than good. So you're opposed to abortion and they harass workers and clients and burn the offices down. We've had several high end homes burned in the Puget Sound area in the last couple of years with the initials ELF showing up afterwards. So they're opposed to these houses for the environmental impact they think it's causing, but WTH do they think the impact on the environment is from setting all that smoke and carbon lose into the atmosphere? Let alone all the crap from the fire efforts that will end up in the streams and oceans? Putting the firemen's lives and safety at risk? Hellooooo?

[Ash]

One of my favorite books as a HSer was Monkey Wrench Gang by Edward Abbey, about a group that vandalizes equipment used for development. Lately I have seen that idea taken way out of proportion. We had a guy here a few years ago that went around burning houses under contruction. He wasn't just hurting the environment, but the families who bought those homes. I think he got eleven of them by the time he was caught.

PETA has some points - I also don't like animal research, tho I understand that for medical research that is the only way. But they don't care, its all bad to them. Like other extremist groups in all controversial subjects, its all black and white. Issues are always more complex than they know.

[LCW]

PETA has some points - I also don't like animal research, tho I understand that for medical research that is the only way. But they don't care, its all bad to them. Like other extremist groups in all controversial subjects, its all black and white. Issues are always more complex than they know.


Nobody "likes" animal research. It sucks but those same people bombing research labs will then take their beloved pets to the vet the next day hypocritically taking advantage of said medical research. It's a necessity but trust me, it's strictly controlled. You have to jump through hoops just to use animals in your work and if ANY amount of discomfort is involved then you have to jump through triple hoops. It is very tightly controlled and regulated. Besides, the % of research animals that feel discomfort is much lower than the public thinks, despite PETA propaganda!

Although it does break my heart to see rats, such loving and intelligent animals, in those tiny boring research cages. If people really want to help animals they can petition their government to include rats and mice in the Animal Welfare Act. As of today rats and mice make up 97% of research animals are not afforded the same protections as the other 3%, the cuter animals like cats, dogs, and horses. It's just not right!

[Alaric]

PETA is such a wolf in sheep's clothing

How much of an effect would having many name celebrities - Pamela Anderson being the most obvious - contribute to that? They're generally seen as "good guys" because they've got someone like her as a spokesperson. At least South Park ripped into them.

I'm all for treating animals properly, I'm all for ending chemical testing on animals (not animal research in the sense where they've taught gorilla's how to sign but the other kinds, medical excepted), but they are just deluded hypocrites.

[Leyland]

I've revived this thread because PETA keeps getting such ludicrous press. Please read the attached Yahoo article about the athlete who loves Spam more than anything else!

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Shane-Victorino-s-abiding-love-for-Spam-dish-ang?urn=mlb,115113


You gotta love Shannon's sense of humor - "We suspect that the cruelty in every can of Spam will infuriate Shane more than a high Hiroki Kuroda fastball," says Shannon. "If Shane likes Spam a lot, he should buy tickets to the Broadway play but leave it off his dinner plate."

I have this vision of PETA crazies running with cans of spray paint though the aisles at grocery markets and nailing the Spam displays on the shelves!

[donroc]

I have not had liquid milk since high school graduation in 1949.

I am still a voracious carnivore, specifically beef and Anzac lamb. We found the beef to be tastier in Brazil when we visited and lived there.

[Ellie]

Where I come from (Tasmania-Australia) Dairy Cows are often kept in the greenest parts of the state so they get good food. My Dad used to work on a Dairy farm waaay back and said nothing cruel ever went on there. The cows were even fed as they were milked. But then again we aren't in America and don't have any feed lots that I know of.

Ever seen this site: http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

In 2007 PETA euthanised 90.9% of animals surrendered. 2006 was 97.4%!

Kinda ironic 'ethical' is in their name hey? I can't stand PETA.