And now the US is officially opposed to breast feeding (at least for the rest of the world)! We have already given up on addressing climate change, environmental protection, regulation of financial institutions, women’s reproductive rights, the rights of young children to remain with their parents, our commitment to gender, racial and other kinds of equity, public safety, world peace, and more. But now the fact—and it is a fact—that breast feeding is totally demonstrably better for babies than bottle feeding does not come into play in the US decision to actively oppose a World Health Organization resolution in support of breast feeding. The New York Times reported that
American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children.”
Breastfeeding is better for all babies, but it’s even more important in developing countries, where clean water (and thus a clean baby bottle) is hard to obtain. We’ve had decades of evidence about the dangers of bottle feeding in the villages of the developing world. Babies die being fed from bottles and nipples that have not been adequately cleaned. Others, particularly in Asia, have genetic predispositions incompatible with cow’s milk. Still others bottle feed without the knowledge to prepare formula correctly, and underfeed or over-feed their babies. Support for breastfeeding is quite simply a no-brainer! No one in his (and it’s mainly men making these decisions) right mind would oppose such an initiative. Our leaders are clearly not in their right minds.
Not only is the Trump Administration opposing the initiative, they are threatening countries like Ecuador, if they support it, with drastic trade sanctions and withdrawal of military aid considered crucial. Ecuador buckled—as did a host of other African and Latin American countries who feared US retaliation. US behaviour was described as simple blackmail. Although ultimately Russia introduced this resolution, the US tellingly did not threaten that country.
Although I have been horrified by many of the Trump Administration’s policies and goals, this one really takes the cake: a direct attack on the babies of the world to support American baby formula businesses. Just how low can one possibly go!?