U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

A resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered this spring in Geneva.......................Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.

The Americans were blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid........Health advocates scrambled to find another sponsor for the resolution, but at least a dozen countries, most of them poor nations in Africa and Latin America, backed off, citing fears of retaliation.....................It was the Russians who ultimately stepped in to introduce the measure — and the Americans did not threaten them.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

I find it extremely embarrassing that the U.S Gov't would take the side of big business rather than the welfare of millions of infants world-wide.

All of us are aware, or should be aware, that mother's milk naturally passes on immunity to a host of diseases. Infant formula is fine if the mother is unable to nurse, but nothing can take the place of anti-bodies that nature provides.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

How embarrassing Bakerman that there needs to be such a resolution at all.
'Based on years of research '
It taken the UN that long to make such a earth shattering pronouncement ?
It's been known for decades that breast feeding is best for babies .
As nature intended .
If people need a resolution passed before they know that it's a sad reflection on human intelligence.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

Trump repeatedly tells other countries to do as he says or suffer swingeing sanctions. That is Trumpish negotiating in a nutshell and our government would be well advised not to touch him with a bargepole after brexit.
In what way is his behaviour different to the mobster bosses of yesteryear and their protection rackets? The man is an amoral, uncouth, dishonest thug, nothing more or less

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

So ,he's a politition .

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

The response from the us government is:

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services, in an email to the Times, defended the administration's stance.
“The resolution as originally drafted placed unnecessary hurdles for mothers seeking to provide nutrition to their children,” an HHS spokesman said in the email to the Times. “We recognize not all women are able to breast-feed for a variety of reasons. These women should have the choice and access to alternatives for the health of their babies, and not be stigmatized for the ways in which they are able to do so.”

I know such women in this country. They wanted to breast feed, tried hard, but couldn't.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

Since when has anyone limited the choice of baby milk go to any supermarket there are shelves of it.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

The point is....."The United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers"
There is no profit in mothers breast feeding, so to secure their future markets, American officials want the advice to do that "Watered down"

Gives them another opportunity to sell medicines to rectify the later problems caused by that advice.

Re: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding

I never realised breasts needed feeding, aren't they big enough already?