Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

When (Skinned-for-Their-Fur) Animals Attack! PETA Video Awesomeness

Sometimes a picture (or in this case, a well-made commercial) says more than ten books on the subject ever could. Next time I see a Croc bag or rabbit-fur earmuffs, I will totally think of this awesome ad.

“Stolen for Fashion”—Learn More at PETA.org.

What’s So Wrong with Human Breast Milk Ice Cream?

PETA – never one to shy away from controversy – stirred the pot yet again this week when the animal rights organization wrote a letter to Ben & Jerry’s asking them to use human breast milk instead of cow’s milk in their ice cream.  PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) had heard about a Swiss restaurateur who recently began featuring special dishes made with human breast milk, and they decided it was a plum opportunity to call attention to the fact that cow’s milk is not made for humans.

Predictably, the tactic provoked a visceral reaction from the public. Millions of people who read about the ‘breast milk ice cream’ suggestion were disgusted at the idea of consuming another person’s bodily fluids.  Yet, every day most of us happily dig into food products made with the bodily fluids of other animals.  Why is it acceptable to consume dairy that wasn’t even made for us, but not human breast milk, which is leaps and bounds more biologically appropriate?

It’s important to understand that on factory farms – which are the source of the vast majority of dairy products in the U.S. – have to keep cows artificially impregnated so they keep producing milk.  That doesn’t mean those mama cows are out there cavorting with bulls all day long – impregnation is usually accomplished through mechanical means.  Let the full meaning of that sentence seep into your brain for a minute.

When the baby cows are born, they’re taken away from the mothers – so they don’t even get any of the milk that was made for them.  Instead, it’s processed and sold to us (usually full of the hormones that are pumped into the cows so they produce more milk).  The poor mothers cry out for their young, which are shipped off to become veal if they’re male, or raised to be dairy cattle themselves if they’re female. When the mama cows get too old and tired to stay pregnant, they’re turned into hamburgers.  It’s not pretty, but that’s reality.

So, is human breast milk really an ethical alternative? Sure, it’s made for humans – human babies. As it stands, most babies born into our image-conscious, disconnected-from-nature society don’t even get the breast milk that their fast growing bodies desperately need. Why introduce yet another obstacle? Some unscrupulous mothers might put profits before their infants, ensuring that even fewer babies get access to the vital fluid that’s biologically perfect for their needs in every way. How long would it take before black-market operations were set up where human females were kept pregnant?

Plus – have you ever seen the tiny amount of milk that most lactating women produce after hours of pumping? It’s not much.  It would take a whole lot of lactating women to provide enough milk for commercial usage.  Any woman who’s pumped for her babies knows how hard it can be to get a let-down while hooked up to a machine.  For most women, it’s the hormones produced by the close contact and suckling of her baby that causes the milk to flow. That’s how nature designed us – and every other mammal.  Imagine, for a moment, thousands of women getting paid to have their breasts hooked up to pumps at some human farm, many of them injected with synthetic hormones so they get around that inconvenient little ‘low supply’ issue.  Sick, isn’t it?

Of course, PETA’s letter to Ben & Jerry’s was tongue-in-cheek – they don’t really think we should all start eating human breast milk cheese and ice cream (at least, I don’t think they do). The point that PETA is trying to make is that cow’s milk is for baby cows. If you think it’s wrong for a woman to be kept lactating, and for her milk to be sent off for processing into food products instead of fed to her infant, then what does that say about what we expect from cows and other dairy animals?

We’ve had it pounded into our heads that we need cow’s milk to be healthy, but when you think about it, how logical is it that one species would be biologically engineered to require the mother’s milk of another species in order to survive? Not to mention the fact that adult cows don’t need cow’s milk to survive, just like adult humans don’t need human milk to survive.

There are plenty of delicious, healthy alternatives out there made from things like soy, rice, almonds, hemp and coconut.  And if you just can’t bring yourself to go totally vegan, the responsible choice is to buy organic dairy products produced by farms that let cows live natural, healthy, happy lives.

Design a Shirt for Animal Rights!

Peta2 and the animal-free clothing label April 77 are looking for designs for a t-shirt! Check out the deets here:

The only condition of the competition is that the design must promote an animal-friendly, vegetarian message and feature the tagline “Meat Is Still Murder.” April77 doesn’t use any leather or fur in any of its collections—after all, it doesn’t take a creative genius to rip the skin off an animal’s back!

Solar to power the world

The amount of energy hitting the earth from the sun every minute is great than the amount of energy the would burns up in fossil fuels in one year.That’s a whole lot of energy just sitting around waiting to be used while we continue to use oil and crap that is ruining our earth…

Solar energy is wicked. About 89 petawatts of sunlight reach the earth. We use 12 terawatts as a collective species. It is completely renewable and pollution free. The facilities, once they are set up, need little maintenance and virtually no intervention. It’s easy to collect solar energy anywhere on the planet, and we have a lot of empty space. It may be deemed as highly expensive, but once it’s in place… It’s operating costs are extremely low.

Sadly… people don’t have their priorities quite right… Granted, the cells cost a huge initial capital investment that people aren’t willing to get into. You may notice we’re more of a short term gain, long term pain kind of society rather than the opposite. Also, the solar cells are pretty inefficient right now, and they take up a lot of space. It also needs to be put into something like a battery to be transported, which is gross and costly. But, could it really be in the very near future that solar power finally takes lead?

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Vegan and veggie products

As a newly proclaimed vegan I found this site extremely awesome and helpful. I’ve been a vegetarian for about 8 years but I never wanted to get into the vegan thing because of milk and cheese. But 3 weeks ago I decided to go for it! Now it’s great to have that site as a resource for what to look for. Any other tips on how to make it an easier transition for a pre-milk lover would be great too.

I’m not a huge fan of the PETA acts, you know, throwing pictures of dying baby pigs in your face and chickens living in cells with little to no space to even breath… But I will tell you that veganism and vegetarianism is a lot better for the environment.

Climate change: With rising temperatures, rising sea levels, melting icecaps and glaciers, shifting ocean currents and weather patterns, climate change is the most serious challenge facing the human race. The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is a higher share than transport….Livestock are also responsible for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems.

Water: The livestock sector is a key player in increasing water use, accounting for over 8 percent of global human water use, mostly for the irrigation of feedcrops. It is probably the largest sectoral source of water pollution, contributing to eutrophication, “dead” zones in coastal areas, degradation of coral reefs, human health problems, emergence of antibiotic resistance and many others. The major sources of pollution are from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feedcrops, and sediments from eroded pastures.

Land degredation: Expansion of livestock production is a key factor in deforestation, especially in Latin America where the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring – 70 percent of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by pastures, and feedcrops cover a large part of the remainder.

Biodiversity: Indeed, the livestock sector may well be the leading player in the reduction of biodiversity, since it is the major driver of deforestation, as well as one of the leading drivers of land degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas and facilitation of invasions by alien species.

It’s something to consider, and getting easier to do every day!