| Comments: |
whats the difference between drinking it as a child, or as part of a dish as an adult?
Practically? A whole bunch of things, including the difficulty children have getting adequate nutrition from anything else, the numerous developmental functions that are specifically supported by mother's milk, and the function of suckling in parental bonding. Ethically? Probably depends on how it's produced and traded.
Or if the question is, why is it okay in one case and gross in the other, I'm not sure. Personally, I think it's kind of weird because drinking another person's milk is such an intimate act. Babies are fed by their mothers, or by close relatives or other people who will be close to them for a long time to come. Seems weird to buy that from a stranger.
Dunno, what's the difference between tasting/swallowing your lover's semen/vaginal juices and tasting/swallowing a stranger's?
"Also I like how they refer to it as "human breast milk", you know, as opposed to that other kind."
Be glad they clarified that point. This is China we're talking about.
So. Vegan?
in the sense of vegan being "choosing a lifestyle that does not support animal exploitation", and if the 6 women weren't - i would argue yes.
although the "peasant" reference doesn't inspire much confidence that this is what we have here.
I guess when vegans get philosophical about it, most of them end up concurring that it's about consent. In this case if the mammals gave informed consent to how their breast milk would be used, I think most vegans would say it's vegan. (Animals aren't capable of consenting to have their bodies or labor appropriated, so they never qualify: cf. bestiality.)
Apart from the, you know, abalone and perch.
But I'm a vegan too -- and whatever you call it, there's no way I'm touching that stuff, with or without the fish. Ewww.
I guess this is what the 'milk of human kindness' means??
PS: Does cooking human milk cause it to curdle? I thot even with breast pumps etc, the milk was supposed to be kept at such-and-such temperatures and only for so long? I thot it was more perishable than the bovine kind.
Well, it's neither pasteurized nor homogenated when it comes out! But who knows what they do between the, uh, donor and the table.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/43659204/942620) | From: ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) xenogram
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 9:23 AM (UTC)
Monkey Butter | (Link)
|
Also I like how they refer to it as "human breast milk", you know, as opposed to that other kind.
What, monkey-breast milk?
noooo.....south of the border milk...use your imagination just a bit.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/84225994/3256134) | From: duskwuff
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 3:35 PM (UTC)
Re: Monkey Butter | (Link)
|
Cow-breast milk, I suppose.
Better than a steaming bowl of man-chowder.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/81209501/6355587) | From: drhoz
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 11:27 AM (UTC)
| (Link)
|
well, they could be milking it from the African Multimammate Rat, Mastomys.
Yes, there really is a rodent best-known for its tits.
"the function of suckling"
There is something oddly captivating about this phrase....
Appropriate post / avatar combo if I've ever seen one.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/3451519/351844) | From: msjen
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 2:41 PM (UTC)
| (Link)
|
Ewwwww. Well, I suppose you could go either way on the vegan thing...I would say no because it's still kind of exploitative, you don't really know what the situation was in which the milk was procured. Plus, it has meat in it anyway.
And, looking at that dish is making me feel quite ill. I can always count on you for nauseating internet content! ;)
So what if Hooters starts offering milk shots straight from the tap?
Finally! Thank you China!
Generally breast milk is vegan, because it's given consensually. Some might argue that it being sold commercially, for profit makes it not vegan, but that's like level 6 veganism.
I like the concept of the not-really-a-word "consensually".
even more fun than "consentually".
Hm. Well granted, I do like breasts and all, but in the sexual way and not the food way considering that I'm not exactly an infant anymore.
Unless you're talking milk from big dumb bovine animal teats, then sure, that's a food source. I don't look at cows in that way so it doesn't weird me out.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/55578650/9726429) | From: heliocide
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 9:36 PM (UTC)
possible health benefits / dangers | (Link)
|
I suppose an at least vaguely relevant point is that breast milk is a) the most important immune-boosting substance in the first two years of life for mammals, as it contains colostrum, high concentrations of IgA, and is otherwise close to perfect nutrition (at least for an infant), and at the same time it is b) a potenttial vector for deadly diseases, like AIDS and Lyme Disease, to name a couple.
Sort of a two-edged sword, that. Though, in the final analysis, I think the fact that chinese peasants are the ones "donating" their milk, and the exorbitant prices involved, I think it's safe to say that a) exploitation is virtually guaranteed, and b) they almost certainly have things in their milk that you don't want.
Oh well, back to getting breast milk the old fashioned way...
"Netscape" is now a Digg ripoff ... it's got tags, Ajax, RSS, user icons, comments ... a veritable Web 2.0 cargo cult.
From: mikesol
Thu, 15-Jun-2006 11:21 PM (UTC)
Re: OT: Brand Necrophilia, part ??? | (Link)
|
JWZ is undoubtedly aware of this, and if he finds it important I'm sure we'll see a post. Otherwise, concentrate on the mommy milk, okay? :)
I'm willing to bet the only reason that this hasn't happened in the US yet is because they'd be shut down almost immediately for violations of health codes. Unless I'm mistaken the FDA forbids the sale of human milk due to the disease risk. | |
Breast milk enters Chinese cuisine