what flavor is that ice cream?

Just when I thought I had heard everything, I read yesterday that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has petitioned Ben and Jerry's ice cream company to substitute the cow's milk in its ice cream with human breast milk!! This is no joke. You can read the official letter on PETA's website.

PETA thinks that by doing this they will reduce the suffering of dairy cows. A blogger named Sadie Stein responded to this by saying, "Apparently no consideration is given to the lactating women who would need to be "milked" to make a single pint of Cherry Garcia..." (link) . Sadie also posted part of Ben and Jerry's reply to PETA: "We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child."

PETA got this idea from a Swiss restaurant which had planned to use 75% breast milk in their cooking. However The Times Argus, a local Vermont newspaper (Ben and Jerry's is based in Vermont), went more into depth and reported that the Swiss restaurant called Storchen "ran afoul of health regulators in Switzerland. The restaurant made headlines in Europe when it began advertising in German newspapers looking for human breast milk, but the plan was scrapped after government inspectors threatened to take legal action." If you want to read about how crazy the Swiss are about animal rights, check out this great article in Salvo magazine. Some people have too much free time.

conspiracy?

I heard this on the TV news a couple of days ago then yesterday read this article from the Washington Post. The FDA is banning generic drugs made in India, for what amounts to no good reason. The article says,

"The Food and Drug Administration said yesterday that it was halting importation of 28 drugs made by the giant Indian generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories because of manufacturing deficiencies at two of the company's plants.

Douglas Throckmorton, a physician with the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said there was "no evidence of harm to consumers" from drugs made at the Dewas and Paonta Sahib plants, both in India. He called the import ban 'a preventive action.'

FDA officials said numerous tests of the drugs have found they are not contaminated, sub-potent or unsafe and urged patients taking the drugs not to stop."

There something really fishy about this to me. Here's how I see it: There is nothing wrong with these drugs. They are cheaper than American brand name drugs. American drug companies aren't happy. So they're pressuring the FDA to have these Indian drugs kept out of the country. Conspiracy theory? Maybe. But it also might be true. The pharmaceutical lobby is one of the most powerful ones in the nation. They put lots of pressure on government officials. Why? In short so they can continue to make money. Greed makes me sick.

You might think I'm being paranoid, but it wouldn't be the first time a special interest lobby has changed governmental policy. How about the food pyramid and the USDA's recommendation for healthy eating? Take milk for example - it does a body good right? That's what the adverts say right? And how much milk and dairy products does a person need? What about meat, how much do we need? Are people actually being encouraged to eat healtheir? Is the food pyramid based on what we need or is it based on what special interests groups have paid the government to promote?

Here are a couple of articles if you're interested in reading more:
http://www.oligopolywatch.com/2004/09/12.html
http://www.nutritionalconcepts.com/Articles/USDA%20Won%27tTellYou.htm
http://www.rollcall.com/issues/49_35/vested/3114-1.html?type=printer_friendly
http://nutrition.suite101.com/article.cfm/problems_with_the_food_pyramid

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but I do believe that money runs our government and that legislators aren't concerned about the best interests of our nation, but themselves. There, that's my soapbox for today.