TheInsideScooponInfantFormula

ByRebeccaMarkowitz

Therehasbeenalongstandingcontroversybetweenbreastfeedingandformulafeeding.Earlyon
companiessuchasNestlsawtheopportunityandbythelate1920s,whenformulawasseentosupportinfant
growthsimilartobreastmilk,companieslikeNestlconvinceddoctorsandmothersthatformulaswereasgood
as,orbetterthan,breastmilk(FoodPolitics,146).Itisunbelievablethatduringthattimeandcurrently,
despitealltheoverwhelmingevidencethatbreastmilkhassuperiorityoverformulafeeding,itiscommonfor
womenandsometimesevenanormtouseformulamilkinstead.Nestleisthebiggestand(inmyopinionand
manyothers)themostbarbaricbabyformulacompany,sellingitsproductbymisleadingparentsand
underminingthevalueofbreastfeeding.Becauseofthemisleadingfactsaboutinfantformula,theevidencethat
breastfeedingexceedsformula,andthesoliditythatbigcorporationssuchasNestlearebeingcorruptintheway
theymarkettowomen,societyhastochangethewaytheythinkaboutbabyformula.
Simplyspeaking,breastmilkexceedsallqualitiesofinfantformula.Infantformulascontaincow'smilk
orsoyproteinswithaddedsugar,vitamins,andminerals.AccordingtoConsumerReports,
breastmilk
containsasuperiormixofcarbohydrates,aminoacids,fats(includingomega3fattyacids),hormones,growth
factors,antibodiesthatoptimizethedevelopmentoftheimmunesystem,factorsthatdecreaseinflammation,
componentstypicallyknownasprobioticsandprebiotics,whichcontributetoahealthydigestivetract,
vitamins,minerals,andenzymes.
Becauseofallofthesefactorsitdoesntmakesensetomewhymothers
chooseformulafeedingoverbreastmilkevenwhentheyareperfectlycapableofbreastfeeding.
Breastmilkhas
theoptimalnutritionalvaluethatotheranimalmilkcantprovideinthesameway.Infactifweincreased
breastfeedingratesand
complementary
feedingpracticeswecouldsave1.5millionchildreneveryyear
(Baby
MilkAction).Thisisaremarkablestatisticbecausethesolutiontotheproblemjustseemssosimple:dontbuy
babyformulaunlessyouneedit.Thissolutioncouldsavethousandsofchildrenslives.
Obviouslyformula
doeshaveitspurpose,itisusefulforsomemotherswhocantbreastfeedtheir
babies.Beforeformulawasinventedandamotherdidnthaveawetnurse(Awomanemployedtobreastfeeda
childthatisnotherown)itwasalmostimpossibleforababytosurvive(WhattoEat,453).Pleasedonot
feelguiltyifyoureamotherwhoneedstouseformula,butcurrentlymothersareusingformulaevenwhen
theyareperfectlycapableofbreastfeeding.Formulafeedinghasbecomesuchanormthatsomewomendon't
eventhinktwiceaboutgivingittotheirbaby.Only17%ofwomenexclusivelybreastfeedaftersixmonthsof

theirbabybeingborn(
Ingall
).Itisremarkablethatsomanymothersareturningtoformulamilkevenwhenit
isclearthatbreastmilksurpassesformulamilk.
Sowhyaremothersbelievinginformulafeeding?Nestlisdeludingmothersintothinkingformulais
betterthanbreastmilk.AroundtheworldNestlemploysteamsofMedicalDelegatesorNutrition
Representativestotargethealthworkerstoencouragethemtorecommenditsinfantformulatopregnantwomen
andmothers(BabyMilkAction).Nestleisconvincingmotherstobuytheirproductandtheyredoingitpretty
sneakily.Thesemedicaldelegatestargetnewmothersinhospitalsandpushthemtousebabyformula,even
thoughformuladoesntcomeclosetoproducingthesamecharacteristicsofbreastmilkmostcritically,they
lacktheimmunesystemthatinfantsbuildfrombreastfeeding,whichhelpfightsinfections.Antibodiespassing
throughanursingmothertoherbabycanhelplowerinfectionaswellaslowerthegrowthoforganismslike
bacteriaandviruses.Antibodiesareproteinsinthebodyorproducedbythebody,creatinganimmunesystem.
Someinfectionsthattheydecreaseareearinfections,diarrhea,respiratoryinfections,andmeningitis.
Breastfeedingisparticularlybeneficialforprematurebabiesandalsomayprotectchildrenagainstallergies,
asthma,diabetes,obesity,suddeninfantdeathsyndrome(KidsHealth).Sadlyeventhoughbenefitsof
breastfeedingoutweighsthebenefitsofformulabyalotsocietydoesntunderstandthat,thankstotricky
companieslikeNestle.
AllParenting

states,Inthe1970sand'80s,Nestlwaswidelycriticizedandeffectivelyboycottedfor
marketinginfantformulaindevelopingcountrieswithoutcleanwaterandwheremotherscouldn'taffordtouse
theformulaasdirected.Thisresultedinthedeathsofthousandsofbabies.Thoughrelevantmarketinglaws
havebeenenacted,Nestlstillisn'tdoingmuchgood(Hanchett).Ithinkthatthisisterrible.Theworlds
largestFoodCompanyhastosellbabyformulatowomenthatjustcantafforditisoutrageous.Duringthefirst
yearoflife,thecostofbasicformulacanrunabout$1,500.Whereasbreastmilkisfree(KidsHealth).Butnot
onlyiscostaproblemforthirdworldmothers,therearealsoalotofotherresourcesneeded,includingaclean
watersupplyforthedilutiontoavoidfrominfectiousbacteria,educationrequiredtounderstandthedirections,
andlastlyrefrigerationisneededtopreventfromharmfulbacteriagrowth.Ifamotherdoesnothaveallof
theseresourcesitcancausediarrhea,whichleadstomalnutrition,inturncancausedeathandstuntgrowth
amongchildrenindevelopingcountries(FoodPolitics,146).Onceawomangetspersuadedtousebaby
formula,andhermilkdriesup(becausethebabyisnotusingit),shedoesnthaveachoicetogoback.People

allaroundtheworldarestillboycottingNestlwhichmakesmethink,isNestlstillascorruptastheywerejust
betterathidingit?
Societyhastothinkabouttheiractionsbeforetheybuybabyformula.Theyareunawareofmisleading
factsaboutinfantformula,theevidencethatbreastfeedingexceedsformula,andthesoliditythatbig
corporationssuchasNestlearebeingcorruptinthewaytheymarkettowomen.SincetheoriginalNestle
boycotttherehasbeensomelawstoenforcecompaniessuchasNestltomarketinhospitals,givefreesamples
tomothers,givegiftstohealthworkersormothers,andgivemisleadinginformation.Althoughtheselawsare
inplacetherehasbeensightingsofNestlegivingdeceptiveinformationwhichleadsmetothinktheyarent
strictlyfollowingthelaw.Becausecompaniesaremisleadingparents,wemustbeawareofwhatweare
buying.Educateyourselfonwhatyouchoosetoeatandwhatyouchoosetogiveyourbaby.Weneedtoraise
awarenessthatbreastmilkismuchmorenutritiousandbetterforthehealthofbabies.Babiesallaroundthe
worlddeserveagood,healthystarttolifeandtheirparentsdeservetohavealltheinformationinfrontofthem
tomakeinformeddecisionsaboutcare.

WorkCited

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Hanchett,Janelle.IsNestlestillmakingpoorchoiceswithbabyformula?.AllParenting.September232013.
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Nestle,Marion.
FoodPolitics
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Nestle,Marion.
WhattoEat
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WhytargetNestlwiththeboycott?.BabyMilkAction.25September2014.BabyMilkAction.October23
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http://www.babymilkaction.org/nestlebriefing
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Ingall,Marjorie.TheBreastfeedingMyth.Babble.November132014.Disney.2004
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