Drastic shortages of baby formula are being reported across the country and may eventually affect Western North Carolina.

Although the White House recently reached an agreement with Abbott Labs to re-open its Michigan plant this does not address the longer term issue, which is: 

Why are we so dependent on artificially manufactured baby formula produced by four companies nationwide?

Is baby formula the best option for new mothers who cannot breastfeed and what if the growing shortage of diesel fuel leads to trucking companies not being able to widely deliver the formula throughout the country? 

We are already experiencing shortages of just about everything as supply lines continue to be snarled by the after-effects of the pandemic. 

What if a new variant of the virus strikes as some experts have predicted? At present, fear of looming shortages is driving many new parents to stockpile formula, which is exacerbating the problem. What’s a mother to do?

Let me first say, with reasonable certainty, that this is not Vladamir Putin’s fault. 

Did you know that the master of disaster Bill Gates and his merry band of billionaire thieves have recently invested in a startup artificial breast milk company that will produce formula from cultured human mammary epithelial tissue? 

The new firm, called BIOMILQ, has received millions in funding from an investment fund co-founded by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson. 

What a coincidence that this production process is well under development at the very time we have a major shortage of commercially produced baby formula.

How fortunate that Gates and company always seem to come to the rescue? 

It is uncanny how they alway seem to know what the future will bring. 

Finally, we must ask, why has big pharma been pushing formula over a mothers own breast milk?

With their recent denial of natural immunity being a proper defense against COVID-19 is it any surprise that they would deny that breastfeeding is a mother’s best source for bolstering her infant’s immunity?

Let’s get back to the problem at hand. 

Question: What did mothers do back in the day when they could not breastfeed? 

What did they do in the many years before commercial baby formula was widely available? 

I was such a baby. Adopted and not breastfed. Unfortunately my dear parents are not alive today to tell me what they did. 

Later in this commentary I will reveal to you what a real, now 92 years old, mother did in the mid-1950s with her own children whom she could not breastfeed. She had three boys who are all going strong today, ranging in age from the mid 60s to early 70s. 

Of course, you should consult your pediatrician and if he or she happens to be versed in holistic, integrative or functional medicine that would be best because they are less likely to be under the thumb of big pharma. 

The reality of this possible shortage in our area raises some important questions in my mind. Is commercially mass-produced baby formula the only option to mother’s breast milk? We know that breast milk, despite big pharma’s campaign against it, is nature’s perfect food for babies. So with this looming shortage, expectant and new mothers should seriously consider using their own breast milk which is better for their infants anyway. 

Unfortunately, not all mothers can breastfeed their babies. It should be noted, however, that there are breast milk donation services and it may be worth your while to look into those services in your area. One excellent resource for finding donor milk is the Human Milk Banking Association of North America and can be found on the net at: https://www.hmbana.org/

It is important to note that infant formula may not be as good for infants as we have been led to believe. Drugwatch, a respected industry watchdog, reports that:

“Baby formula has all the nutrition needed by a baby, but studies show formula-fed babies may have a greater risk of respiratory infections, allergies, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), obesity, cognitive development issues and other health risks compared to breastfed babies.”

As a parent with a new baby, this fact alone would be of concern to me. Next time you have a can of baby formula in your hands, take a careful look at the ingredients. Like much of the processed food of today, some of these ingredients should raise serious questions. 

The first non-milk baby formula available commercially in the United States was introduced in 1929. It was soy-based and lacked many of the healthy nutrients and minerals. 

Although there was formula available when I was an infant in the 1950s, many mothers chose to create their own formulas. I recently got some interesting feedback from the 92-year-old woman that I mentioned earlier. 

The question I put to her was what had she done in the mid-1950s, when baby formula was not in wide commercial use? 

Her answer: She gave them regular pasteurized cow’s milk that was boiled before giving it to them. This is not a recommendation that you do the same. Again, consult your pediatrician on this. If you have an older family member you may want to consult them as to what they fed their baby(s) providing that they did not breastfeed them.

For alternative formulas you may want to consult the “Else” website, which is hosted by a group of leaders in the infant nutrition industry. They have recently posted an article titled: “A comprehensive look at Alternatives to Baby Formula.” This resource can be accessed at:

https://elsenutrition.com/blogs/news/a-comprehensive-look-at-alternatives-to-baby-formula

My biggest immediate concern is that, if the diesel shortage and high gas prices persist, we may see shortages across many categories of consumer goods including baby food and diapers. 

Is diapermaggedon next?