[Avodah] In its mother's milk

[Akiva Miller via Avodah]

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Pop quiz: How do we know that cooking chicken and milk is "only"
d'rabanan? It's because the pasuk says, "Don't cook a kid in its
mother's milk," and chickens don't have milk, right?

Wrong! The above would be correct according to Rabbi Yossi Haglili,
but we don't hold like him.

In yesterday's parsha, we have the third occurrence of "Lo s'vashel
g'di b'chalev imo", in Devarim 14:21. Rashi on this pasuk (as
explained by Sifsei Chachamim) says that the three occurrences of "lo
s'vashel" teach that there are actually three prohibitions (cooking,
eating, and benefitting), and that the three occurrences of "g'di"
come to exclude tamei animals, chayos, and birds.

Rashi doesn't say so, but he is actually quoting Rabbi Akiva, from
Mishnayos Chullin 8:4. This mishna appears in the gemara on 113a -

<<< Rabbi Akiva says chayos and birds are not Min HaTorah, as the
pasuk says "Lo S'vashel G'di B'chalev Imo" three times, to exclude
chayos, and birds, and tamei animals. Rabbi Yosi Haglili says there's
a pasuk [Devarim 14:21] "Don't Eat Any Nevela" and the [same] pasuk
says "Lo S'vashel G'di B'chalev Imo," so whatever [species] is assur
from nevelah is also assur to cook in milk. [R' Yosi continues:] Birds
are assur from neveilah, so you'd think that birds are assur to cook
in milk, but the pasuk specifies "B'chaleiv Imo", to exclude birds,
who don't have mother's milk. >>>

Gemara Chullin 116a asks what practical difference there might be
between R' Akiva and R' Yosi, and the simple answer is that R' Yosi
says it is assur d'Oraisa to cook a chaya in milk, while R' Akiva says
it's d'rabanan.

We hold the halacha to follow Rabbi Akiva in this. I got that from
Bartenura, Kehati, and ArtScroll, not to mention the many kashrus
seforim that tell us that chayos are only d'rbanan. And I think it's
significant that Rashi on this pasuk does NOT mention Rabbi Akiva,
suggesting that this is indeed the halacha.

So here's my question: What does Rabbi Akiva do with the word "imo"?

Suppose this pasuk had been written "Lo s'vashel g'di b'chalav",
WITHOUT the word "imo", in all three cases. Wouldn't the halacha be
exactly as we have it now? The three times "lo s'vashel" would still
teach us about cooking, eating, and hanaah. And the three times "g'di"
would still exclude tamei, chaya, and birds. So what is it that we
learn from the word "imo"?

Akiva Miller