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Breastfeeding: Planet Friendly

© Jessica Williams

Editor's note:If you are looking for the Mother's Day article, please click here.

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Before I begin this special Earth Day article for the Suite 101 Special Earth Day Event, I want to make something very clear. What I state here is not a comparison of breastfeeding mothers and bottle-feeding mothers, but rather the facts about breastmilk and formula. A mother who breastfeeds is not necessarily better than the bottle-feeding mother, but breastmilk is undeniably better than formula in numerous ways. The studies have shown it, and the formula companies acknowledge it. It is that simple.

Breasts were designed to feed babies. Women have been doing it since the beginning of time in all countries and all cultures. A woman's body is designed to support a human life in her body, and continue to support that life with the milk her breasts produce. So, breastmilk is nature's way - but is it necessarily environmentally friendly?

You bet. When you consider the alternative (artificial breastmilk - formula), the environmental and economical drawbacks compared to breastfeeding are enormous. Here are some common questions about the differences in relation to the environment. The answers provided are taken from studies, organizations, books, articles, and reputable web sites (sources listed below):

What is one of the main ingredients of formula?

Regular formula is made with cow's milk while soy formula is made with soybeans. With formula companies make an estimated $22 million dollars every day in revenues (1), it is easy to see how much they depend on their resources. Over grazing of cattle, along with the damage herds to do our precious top soil, are just being compounded by the need for cow's milk for formula. Soybean farmers are not the exception when it comes to using chemicals to help growth and pesticides to prevent infestations. Breastmilk uses neither of these resources, so in turn, does not cause damage to our land.

But media and environmental groups have warned the public about environmental contaminants such as PCB's for years. Shouldn't we be concerned about what is being passed through breastmilk?

I could talk about how any contaminants in the mother's body would obviously be passed to her child during pregnancy, but I would rather talk about how studies (2) have shown that unless the mother has been eating fish from contaminated waters, been seriously exposed to toxic spills or has lived or worked in a hazardous area, breastfeeding has caused no ill effects in babies. Also, consider the fact that cow's are not immune to contaminants such as PCB's, and some cattle ranchers are using growth hormones.

The copyright of the article Breastfeeding: Planet Friendly in Breastfeeding is owned by Jessica Williams. Permission to republish Breastfeeding: Planet Friendly in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.