National Pork Board Threatens Mother and Breastfeeding Activist with Lawsuit

Jennifer Laycock, a work from home mother and breastfeeding support person is being threatened with a lawsuit by the National Pork Board. Yes - you heard me right. Apparently a tee shirt promoting breast milk is slanderous to their reputation.

Jennifer owns and runs a website called The Lactivist which promotes breastfeeding and supports mothers who are trying to feed their infants naturally, something we all know can be difficult under the best of circumstances. Her website uses humor, tongue in cheek parody and funny slogans to promote breastfeeding and milk banks. In fact, large portions of the proceeds are donated to local milk banks or spent to help publicize this growing health choice. Milk banks provide alternative sources of breast milk for babies who are not able to be nursed by their own mothers due to adoption, medical conditions or other factors.

So how could a simple tee shirt make the National Pork Board, a government funded association, take such an offense to that they threatened this small town mother with a heavy-handed lawsuit? One of her tee-shirts simply read "The other white milk". Apparently they are so opposed to breast milk they can't even spell it correctly. Nor do they have any clue what breastfeeding or The Lactivist website is about as evidenced by the following.

In a Cease and Desist letter they sent Ms. Laycock on February 1^st they stated, "In addition, your use of this slogan also tarnishes the good reputation of the National Pork Board's mark in light of your apparent attempt to promote the use of [breastmilk] beyond merely for infant consumption, such as with the following slogans on your website in close proximity to the slogan "The Other White Milk." "Dairy Diva," "Nursing, Nature's Own Breast Enhancement," "Eat at Mom's, fast-fresh-from the breast," and "My Milk is the Breast."