Oh no, they di-int, I thought when I came across this scrap of news. Mommy milk cheese. Yes, it’s what you think it is. Cheese made from human breast milk. New York chef Daniel Angerer and his wife, who is nursing, happened to have an abundance of breast milk – which they decided to put to use. Not just for feeding their babies, but also for making *gourmet* cheese.
Here’s the AP video:
I have no idea what to say about this. My knee-jerk response is to say bleah. Breast milk should go to but one kind of recipient: a nursing child.
Though I’m curious to hear the vegan response to this. I’ve seen some say it’s good since it’s not taking from nonhumans for human consumption, and others take issue with breast milk in general.
(I try to respect such personal choices as much as I can, but I just have to throw in a point here that breast milk has all kinds of important hormones and nutrients, so if you can give your child breast milk, it seems more important than making an ideological point. IMHO. But I’ll shut up now because I don’t know people’s individual circumstances.)
But back to my original point. I had one. I’m pretty sure.
Oh right, my initial reaction is to shudder and say “no thank you!” But then, I wonder why? What is it about breast milk that seems less sanitary and edible than cow’s milk? Breasts aren’t any dirtier than udders. (You hush. I know what you’re thinking.) Probably cleaner in fact. Is it some form of abhorrence to cannibalism maybe? We don’t eat humans, or anything that comes from humans…but why is this different for babies than adults? Or maybe it’s just an ick factor, like being over the age of 10 and not eating your boogers.
Or is it that what is produced by the female body is inherently unsanitary? Am I reacting in a way that reflects centuries-old belief that women are unclean?
If that’s the case, I’ll take my mommy’s milk cheese on a slice of pumpernickel, with a dollop of lingonberry jam, thankyouverymuch.
P.S. My hubby’s reaction to mommy’s milk cheese? “I’d try it. It’s gotta’ be better than balut*.”
*Balut: fetal duck eaten out of the shell. A Filipino delicacy.
Oh man, Balut…*shudders* My Vietnamese friend tells me stories about those….
And I think we react that way because of societal norms. Looking at how people react to breastfeeding in public, even. That mixed in with the fact that using humans as a food producer. We’ve always used animals as food creators. I think it would be into the mode of cannibalism if we start using people as food creators. That, and the thought of having lactating women in some form of “dairy farm” I think puts people off as well.
It’s funny that you post this, because I just had this conversation with TheBoyfriend. I was telling him how a few months ago PETA was suggesting that ice cream should be made from breast milk, because it’s cruel to use cows solely for the purpose of milk. After the dry-heaving subsided, he told me there is no way he would do that, unless he knew the source. I don’t think it’s “icky” because we view women as icky, so much as you just don’t know the source, and we are talking about a bodily fluid…the same reason you would not touch blood you saw on the ground, or sit on a wet toilet seat. Ick.
Oh, I hadn’t even thought as far as having lactating women in for mass production. Gah! I never had a problem with breastfeeding, though I have to admit it weirds me out a little to see pumping. I mean I totally understand its necessity and don’t think any differently about a woman because she does it. Just the act of it is a little strange to me. Maybe because of the juxtaposition of something so mechanical against something that is so natural, round, and organic.
That is true you don’t know the source and we’re certainly not going to hold women to strict diets to ensure the proper taste and quality of breast milk.
Bleah.
Hmmm…that has a bit of a skeeve factor, don’t you think?