Hello Lactnetters.  Here is a draft of my reply to the Monterey Bay guy.
 Happy World Breastfeeding Week!  -Sue Jacoby

Dear Mr. Webster,

As a Board Certified Lactation Consultant I work hard to educate the public
about the many benefits of human milk for the human species.  I recently
reviewed, via the Internet, a copy of a letter you sent to another concerned
breastfeeding advocate, in which you explained some of the reasons why the
Monterey Bay Aquarium has chosen to use the baby bottle as a symbol to
educate children about nursing whales.  I am frankly appalled at your
explanations, and I find them to be not only unenlightened, but disingenuous
as well, particularly your closing statement, which I believe says volumes
about your underlying beliefs and bias.

You state: "As there are also indications that mother's milk often contains
PCBs, dioxin and other pesticides used in agriculture, this seems to be a
less clear-cut call than it once might have been.  We feel it is prudent to
let the parent make this choice, and we prefer not to suggest, of promote,
one alternative over another.

Does this statement mean that the Board of Directors of the Monterey Bay
Aquarium believes that infant formula might be a "prudent" choice for babies
due to the possibility of environmental contamination?  Is the Monterey Bay
Aquarium in possession of information about an alternative to mother's milk
which DOES NOT contain PCBs, dioxin and other pesticides???  Please advise
immediately.

(Since you are fond of analogies, how about this one?  "Since there is always
the possibility that a baby could be killed while strapped into a car seat,
and survive if thrown clear of the wreckage, we feel it is prudent to let the
parent make the choice, and prefer not to suggest, or promote, one
alternative over another."  Am I comparing the use of infant formula to a car
wreck?  Read the article titled: "The Hazards of Formula Feeding" by Marsha
Walker, RN, IBCLC, Journal of Human Lactation, 9(2), 1993  before you make up
your mind.  One quote from this document: "A risk/benefit analysis by the
United States National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences estimated
that for every 1000 infants born in the US each year, four will die because
they were not breastfed.")

In spite of your protestations to the contrary, using a giant baby bottle is
a mistake of gigantic proportions.  Had you truly investigated this subject
you would have discovered that a large segment of the educated parent
community is far more disgusted by the baby bottle image used in this way
than any parent could ever be if shown a beautiful nursing image.  Having
just returned from a vacation to Europe, I can tell you that within the walls
of the Vatican, as well as in many other museums and cathedrals, I saw
countless beautiful and tasteful sculptures and paintings of nursing mothers.
 If millions of tourists have managed to be exposed to such breastfeeding
images, certainly the visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium could, as well.
 Your halfhearted attempt to link breastfeeding with "mating" is pitiful and
offensive.

In researching the best method for presenting this information, did the
Monterey Bay Aquarium contact the following groups, all of which are
recognized experts on infant feeding?

The World Health Organization (W.H.O.)
UNICEF
UNESCO
WELLSTART
BESTSTART
La Leche League International
International Association of Lactation Consultants
The National Alliance For Breastfeeding Advocacy
The Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine
World Alliance For Breastfeeding Action
The American Dietetic Association
The US Government's Women, Infants and Children's Program (WIC)
The American Academy of Pediatrics

Any of these organizations would have been able to advise the Monterey Bay
Aquarium about the inadvisability of depicting bottle feeding images as
though Mead Johnson was a corporate sponsor.  Something tells me that there
was inadequate research undertaken for this very important and no doubt
expensive exhibit.  No amount of backpedaling will cover this glaringly
obvious mistake.  Please reconsider the consequences of this faux pas
carefully.  MANY people are watching to see the Monterey Bay Aquarium do the
right thing now.

Sincerely,

Susan C. Jacoby, IBCLC
International Board Certified Lactation Consultant