As I was reading the NY Times this morning, I came across what I thought was going to be a big blast against formula and bottles -- the ad is a full page picture of a glowing baby bottle with the  the following message:

WARNING:
CONTAINS
ATRAZINE,
A WEEDKILLER AND
CARCINOGEN,ATRAZINE
CAUSES MAMMARY AND
UTERINE CANCER IN RATS.

(Under the bottle, it says in really large type:  ABSOLUTE OUTRAGE.)

Then I read the print below.  The organization sponsoring the ad (a very pro-environment group -- the Environmental Working Group) goes on to lovingly describe a mother preparing her babies formula while unknowingly filling the bottle with tap water containing the chemical Atrazine.  They go on to describe how the formula company purifies the water it uses to make formula, but the consumer uses it straight from the tap.  They describe the problem this way, "Something is seriously wrong with this picture.  It's our own government's failure to enfroece the law to protect children from the hazards of pesticides."  They later say that in the Midwest, where this a problem, infants fed formula made with contaminated tap water receive their lifetime does of the carcinogen by the age of 4 months.

I wrote to them expressing my profound support for their effort to educate the public and work for a cleaner water supply, but also expressed my dissappointment in their choice of using a baby bottle of formula in their ad.  The ad gives the clear message, "If only we can get the Atrzine out of our babies' bottles, they will be healthy and safe."  I let them know that I thought this was an irresponsible message in any context, but particularly from an environmental group such as theirs, and especially without any mention of the superiority of breastfeeding from both a health and environmental point of view.

This ad wasn't on their website as of this morning, but maybe it will show up soon.  It is on page A15 of today's New York Times.  

You can reach them as follows:

Environmental Working Group
1718 Connecticut Avenue NW
Washington, DC  20009
or
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Rhonda Feder 
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