WAlthough breastfeeding is known to have many health benefits, it is not well-known that there can be significant environmental advantages for those who breastfeed.
Before we get into the benefits, it is important to remember that not all mothers and babies can breastfeed. It is not a good idea to pressure anyone into breastfeeding. It is important to realize that the subject can be emotionally difficult for those who want to, but are unable to.
There are many obstacles to breastfeeding. Stella Creasy, a MP who was not supportive of breastfeeding in the chamber, was recently expelled from parliament.
Unicef says that there are other barriers, such as a lack in support services and misinformation. It states that the UK has one the lowest breastfeeding rates in all of the developed world. Eight out of ten women stop breastfeeding before they are ready, although the organization does report that the situation is improving.
Formula milk is an option that is viable for many reasons, but it is often overlooked because of its environmental impact. The reduction in consumption of high carbon formula milk has significant environmental benefits. Each kilogram of replacement milk formula produces about 6.5 tons of greenhouse gases. 4kg of CO2. Below are some other environmental benefits:
- It would be a great way to save about 615,000 babies who are born each year in the UK if they were breastfed their first year. 82,000 tonnes of CO2Emissions per annum
- This amounts to approximately 109,000 homes emitting electricity carbon each year.
- It would eliminate a huge mountain of 32,000,000 tins based on one tin per baby, per year (0.8kg CO2 x 52 week x 615,000 infants born in 2021).
- It would save 56 million kWh of electricity for families. This is because they won’t have to boil half a trillion litres of hot liquid each year to heat formula milk. (0.5 litres of water, five days per week, boiled in a 2kw kettle for 90 second)
- It would save approximately 120 billion litres of waterIt takes approximately 4,700 litres of milk to make one kilo formula powder.
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Formula milk could therefore be considered environmentally hazardous. Additionally, the industry has been criticized for its aggressive marketing tactics. The WHO and Unicef published last week A major report intoHow the $55bn Baby Formula Food Industry is aggressively targeting pregnant women and young mothers around the globe.
Thereport said the formula milk industry is pushing misleading advertising, via a myriad of platforms, to systematicallyundermine parentsbreast-feeding decisions. It also mentions the significant health benefits that breastfeeding has for children and women.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (executive director of WHO), stated: Formula milk marketing driven by enormous budgets, and deliberate misuse of science, is driving over consumption of formula milk and discourages breastfeeding.
Ghebreyesus stated that it undermines women’s confidence, and cynically exploits parents’ instincts to do the right thing for their children.
Unicef cites misinformation as one of the obstacles to breastfeeding for women. It is crucial that the government addresses aggressive formula milk-advertising, and supports parents in being responsible informed.