Breastfeeding is good for the environment too!

There are many important decisions to make when preparing for your new baby.  Numero uno on the eco-mamma's list of concerns is preserving the stability of our planet which will be her lifetime home.  In years past environmental issues have taken a back seat to seemingly more pressing concerns, but with climate change creating rampant chaos around our globe, the integrity of our atmosphere has found itself a seat at the head of the table.

As with most modern comforts, there are hidden environmental costs to the most accepted form of feeding your baby.  Bottle feeding is so widely practiced that it's almost expected of each new mother, that she will give her baby formula from a bottle: synthetic mother's milk from a pretend breast nipple.  It seems a little strange when you stop to ponder it, but let's really dig deep, shall we?

I was just reading that the average bottle-fed baby will go through 8-10 cans of formula per month.  Even at $25 per can, that's a couple hundred bucks a month at least...wow.  Well, that's hard on the pocket book, but let's take a look from the earth's viewpoint:

• The base of most formula begins it's journey inside a non-organically fed dairy cow's painfully enlarged udder.  After consuming 30 gallons of water and 100 lbs of grains each day, some of her milk may be reserved to make formula for human babies.  First the milk is heat pasteurized to kill any offending bacteria the antibiotics might have missed, which also kills the enzymes that would have benefited her calf (or the human baby) in digesting her milk. The milk is then dehydrated and enriched with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids (if you buy the more expensive kind) and all the other healthy things that human mother's milk naturally contains.  The powdered formula is then packed in cans (most likely) lined with BPA, a known hormone disruptor that may leach into the product.  The packed cans are shipped by carbon emiting diesel trucks to the local grocery store.  The new parents will purchase the formula on their weekly shopping trips, bring it home, mix it with sterile water and put it into sterilized (maybe plastic) bottles which will be slightly warmed by some means of energy production before being fed to the hungry baby.  Whew!
   
  
• While there are some soy formulas and some "organic" cow's milk formulas, the majority of baby formula has a conventional cow's milk base.  All cows produce methane; a greenhouse gas which is 260 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming our atmosphere.
   
  
• Another environmental concern is that of water shortage.  It takes 2,000 gallons of fresh water to produce just 1 gallon of cow's milk., when considering the amount of water she drinks as well as the amount needed to grow her food.  (Source: Natural News)
   
  

Now, barring any unforseen circumstances... baby can count of a constant supply of nutrition.  But, as we have in recent times, global warming has made it hard to pedict our Earth's behaviours.  What if there is a natural disaster in your area?  What if the water treatment plant shuts down and the stores sell out of bottled water?  What if there is a problem with the transportation that delivers the packed formula?  What if you or your family becomes stranded in a vehicle or even in your own home for an unspecified amount of time?

It's been two years since, but I'm still inspired by the story of Kati Kim, a mother who kept her baby and 4 year old daughters healthy and well for 9 days while trapped in a snowbound car in the wilderness.  When they were rescued, the trio was in excellent condition given their ordeal. (Source: abc News)

My obviously strong position on the matter of breastfeeding is this:  I feel that all women should be given unlimited educational and personal support to protect the nursing relationship between mother and baby.  I have found in my conversations about breastfeeding that most women want to nurse or try to nurse their baby at first but many don't continue due to lack of support.

I've  learned to type one-handed as my free arm frequently cradles my 15 month old nursling.  All children are creatures of habit.  Mine have an impulsive need for attention as soon as I sit down to write.  For the youngest, this means climbing into my lap for a little nurse and nap session.  He must get that snuggle-down feeling as soon as he hears the click-clack of the keyboard.  Sweet dreams, little guy.

By the way, I really regret that delivering information is such a somber mission somtimes.   Unfortunatly though, we are inheriting a system permiated with short-sightedness.  For environmentally conscious persons who are trying to live life in a more simple and sustainable way... the art of inspecton can be a dampering ordeal.  When it comes to children though, and their safety, their futures, their right to purity; I try to speak up whenever possible.  Thanks for listening!