Monday, February 28, 2011

From the "Make That 32 Flavors" File...

Where's Mikey from the Life Cereal commercials when you need him?

Remember Mikey? He was the kid in that 1972 commercial (that stayed on the air for about a decade, longer than any commercial ever made) who was so picky that he wouldn't try any new foods. But when two of his older buddies at the breakfast table pushed a bowl of Life cereal in front of him, the finicky child chowed down.

I wonder what Mikey would make of this Human Breast Milk Ice Cream (pictured right) they're now peddling at a joint called Icecreamists in London's Covent Garden? They call it Baby Gaga Ice Cream, and they were able to make the first batch thanks to donor Victoria Hiley of Leeds, who apparently furnished enough milk to create 50 servings of the stuff. As AlterNet blogger Sarah Ditum notes:

The milk comes from the breast of Victoria Hilley, apparently, who receives £15 for every 10oz she supplies. (Source)

Well, the finicky young eater might not get a chance to sample the goods. Turns out that local officials raided the restaurant and confiscated their supplies to make the creamy dessert. (Source)

It turns out this is not the first delicacy to be made of human breast milk. You may recall last April, foodies in the New York City area were abuzz over cheese that was made of the human breast milk. The human breast milk cheese caused a lot of controversy and prompted much debate about the use of human milk versus cows' milk in food.

The same debate seems to be starting up again, thanks to Baby Gaga. As the founder of Icecreamists Matt O'Connor explained:
We were debating is it better for us to use milk from cows, which are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics and are impregnated every nine months, or is better that we use mother's milk. It's the most natural thing in the world, and we thought, why not do an ice cream that celebrates the miracle of motherhood. And the Baby Gaga was born. (Source)

Unfortunately, right after Baby Gaga was unveiled last week, there were complaints to the local city council from a couple of busybodies that the breast milk ice cream might be potentially harmful. The council ordered the remaining ice cream confiscated until a verdict on the product's safety could be handed down by the country's Food Standards Agency.

So the $64,000 question for vegans is: Would you try a bowl of Baby Gaga if it were sitting right in front of you? Hmm. We vegans understand the profound irony of human beings consuming cows' milk, which is not meant for us to consume, yet being grossed out by foods containing human breast milk.

That said, I'm not sure I'm ready to trade in my mint chocolate chip Tofutti Cuties for a dish of Baby Gaga.

I know! Let's give it to Mikey!

Yeah, he won't eat it! He hates everything!

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