A Product to Honor Feminist Icons Shouldn't Rely on Female Exploitation

Recently, a woman, Amanda McCall, called attention to the fact that Ben & Jerry's has largely ignored women in creating ice cream flavors to honor famous people. As a result, she has created ten fictitious ice cream flavors honoring feminist icons.  Most recently, she added an eleventh flavor, Ruth Bader Ginger, in honor of Supreme Court Justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg. There is even a Change.org petition urging Ben & Jerry's to create Ruth Bader Ginger. It currently has almost 750 signatures.

There is only one problem. Ice cream, if it is made from dairy milk, exists only because of the exploitation of female cows. Because cows must have recently given birth in order to produce milk, cows are forcibly impregnated. Then, rather than allowing the newborn calf to drink the milk that nature designed for him or her, the mother and baby are separated so that we can use the milk, a very traumatic experience for both of them. Female cows are forced to go through this over and over until their bodies break down. They are usually slaughtered and turned into meat after about five years, despite a cow's natural life span of more than 20 years. This is not feminist.


One of McCall's fictitious flavors actually is vegan: CaramEllen Degeneres Fudge. That is apparently in respect of Ellen Degeneres' veganism, but it fails to take into account the underlying reasons for her veganism. Feminism and cow's milk consumption are not compatible.

Luckily (and deliciously) feminism and ice cream are not mutually exclusive. There are numerous delicious vegan ice creams on the market, but as of yet, Ben & Jerry's does not offer one. Coincidentally, however, at the same time as the RBG petition, the Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) has launched a campaign, in concert with free cone day on April 14, urging Ben & Jerry's to offer vegan ice cream. There is also a Change.org campaign for that. It currently has almost 12,000 signatures. Were these campaigns to join together, they'd be that much stronger, and, if Ben & Jerry's were to create an ice cream flavor honoring Ruth Bader Ginsburg or another feminist hero, it wouldn't rely on the reproductive oppression of our nonhuman sisters.

Cow's milk is for calves. Feminist ice cream should be vegan.