“The great owners ignored the three cries of history. The land fell into fewer hands, the number of the dispossessed increased, and every effort of the great owners was directed at repression. The money was spent for arms, for gas to protect the great holdings, and spies were sent to catch the murmuring of revolt so that it might be stamped out. The changing economy was ignored, and only means to destroy revolt were considered, while the causes of revolt went on.” John Steinbeck--The Grapes of Wrath
Sound familiar? I felt like I was reading a description of current events. I read the Grapes of Wrath many years ago and remember the ending in which Rose of Sharon feeds the starving father by breastfeeding him. Some people viewed that last scene as pornographic, as disgusting. Rose’s own baby was stillborn, and her response was to save a starving man from certain death by breastfeeding him. It was not a sexually act. It was a lifesaving act.
Rose of Sharon is considered by some literary critics of Steinbeck to be biblical in reference; as in the desert shall bloom like the rose. Isaiah 35:1 in the Bible states, “The wilderness and the land will be glad; the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.” The transformation of a desert into a bountiful, plant-filled land calls us to rejoice in that transformation. Likewise, Rose of Sharon’s tragedy of losing her baby transforms into a gift of sustenance for a starving man.
One would think that those who felt this scene disgusting would be more repulsed by a nation that allows people to starve. Rose of Sharon knew instinctively the value of breastfeeding. Many years later, our world cannot envision that breastfeeding is the saving grace during threats of hunger or starvation for babies and children. Enamored by advertising of infant formula, and the song and dance that science is so advanced that it can duplicate breastfeeding through genetic engineering a product; a society becomes mesmerized, and enmeshed in valuing products over breastfeeding.
Remember the Similac advertisement by Abbott Labs, “The Mommy Hood” also called, “The Mommy Wars” or “The Sisterhood of Motherhood,” in which a lot of people thought the video was a documentary? It exploited the divisions between breastfeeding and formula feeding mothers. The video went viral, and I believe has had a lot of influence on how people view breastfeeding supporters as pushy and dictatorial.
The name Similac was derived from “similar to lactation.” Similac is a brand name, not the name of the company, which is Abbott Labs. I wonder how people feel about this company now that we all know that the company invested their Covid relief funds from the US Government in by-backs of their own stock rather than in the infrastructure of their manufacturing facilities? Or now that we know that the FDA had to go to court to obtain a Consent Decree of Permanent Injunction against Abbott to shut down the manufacturing facility and implement cleaning up the facility before being allowed to go back to producing infant formula. https://www.marlerblog.com/legal-cases/abbott-enters-consent-decree-with-fda-on-cronobacter-infant-formula-outbreak-and-recall/
THE RISK OF PATHOGENS IN POWDERED INFANT FORMULA
“The FDA conducted a sampling assignment in 2014 to understand the prevalence of Cronobacter spp. and Salmonella in 55 US dry dairy facilities…Cronobacter was detected in 69 percent of the facilities…By contrast, Salmonella was found in only three (5.5%) of the 55 facilities sampled.” Dave Cook, “Cronobacter: Pathogen Considerations beyond Salmonella in Dairy Powders” FoodSafety Magazine 2021
I find it interesting that articles on Cronobacter contamination always state that Cronobacter is rare. Yet I recently (6/1/2022) found an article in FoodSafety News that Cronobacter was found in Numil infant formula that was sent from Poland to Moldova with a recall notice. https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2022/06/cronobacter-found-in-numil-infant-formula/
I will suggest again that in the US, Cronobacter infections in babies are considered rare because there is only one state in the US that is required by law to report it. If no one is required to report it to health departments, how can we say that it is rare?
The FDA found that 69% of dry dairy facilities were contaminated with Cronobacter. That seems scary to me. We do know that safe preparation of infant formula is required to lower the risk of infant infections. According to one study I read, “Cronobacter sakazakii was able to grow in a wide variety of temperatures from 6 °C to 45°C (42.8°F to 113°F). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/344021490_Cronobacter_sakazakii_in_Infant_Food_Contamination_and_Its_Survival_Strategies_in_Hostile_Conditions
In US Patent #10743544 entitled, “Method for inactivating Cronobacter sakazakii,” owned by Northeast Agricultural University of Harbin, China, they state that reconstitution of powdered infant formula should be no less than 80°C (176°F). They also state that “Powdered infant formula is a main source of Cronobacter spp. contamination and transmission.” https://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PALL&p=1&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsrchnum.htm&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=10743544.PN.&OS=PN/10743544&RS=PN/10743544
What does Abbott Labs really think about breastfeeding? Let’s take a look at US patent #9763970 filed in 2011 called, “Nutritional compositions comprising human milk oligosaccharides and nucleotides and uses thereof for treating and/or preventing enteric viral infections.”
“Breastfeeding has been associated with enhanced development and balanced growth and maturation of the infant’s respiratory, gastrointestinal and immune systems, thereby providing protection of the infant to infections and inflammatory diseases.”
Or Abbott Labs US patent #11337990 also filed in 2011 called, “Human milk oligosaccharides to promote growth of beneficial bacteria.”
“Breast milk contains components that not only act as pathogen receptor analogues, but also activate immune factors by infant intestinal epithelial cells and/or associated immune cell populations to enhance development and maturation of the infant’s gastrointestinal and immune systems.”
Human Milk Oligosaccharides (HMOs) are present in human milk but what is manufactured by the infant formula industry is not a duplicate of the HMOs found in breastmilk. Substances in infant formula have to withstand storage for at least 18 months at room temperatures, and are commonly genetically engineered through fermentation of various bacteria. Infant formula contains an element of risk, when facilities that process the substance are not well-regulated. The problem increases when parents are not aware of safe ways to prepare powdered infant formula. And during a pandemic all these issues accelerate. Parents believe this is a supply-chain issue. But the reality is that what came first is a bacterial contamination issue that killed 2 infants and hospitalized other babies. The need for greater regulation of the industry is very apparent. Whether Congress chooses to enact more regulations is questionable, when some legislators seem to be more influenced by their stock portfolios.
Copyright 2022 Valerie W McClain
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