Breastfeeding is Eco-Friendly

Score another one for the breast-is-best brigade. Breastfeeding is eco-friendly. (Or is this a d'oh moment for all you tree-hugging parental types?)

Says Jessica Gunsch from BellaOnline:

The use of formula makes a huge negative impact on the planet by consuming energy, taking up space in landfills as well as polluting the air, water and ground. The production of formula uses hundreds of resources to create the final product including paper, metal, ink, pesticides, land, fertilizers, animals, water, fuel, crops, etc.

Feeding a baby formula costs about 2,000 USD annually. That equals a lot of packaging and cans that must be recycled (hopefully) or ends up in a landfill. Additionally bottles, nipples, liners etc. are not reusable. I don’t think many mothers would feel comfortable buying used feeding equipment at a yard sale or on EBay! So these things all add up to a ton of unnecessary waste which is not a burden placed on the shoulders of breastfeeding mothers.

This reminds me of a nasty kerfuffle involving Nestlé years ago, when the company was skewered for its aggressive marketing of baby formula to nursing mothers in developing countries, leading to the alleged deaths of 15 babies a year as a result of mixing the formula with contaminated water. Another worrying trend: hospitals giving away goodie bags containing formula samples to new mothers. I'm no mothering or infant-nutrition expert, so perhaps someone who is can chime in about that? :: BellaOnline