Following are some select bits I took off the Storebrandformula web site 
(thanks Kathy, for pointing me there). This is the site which has a direct 
link from the Sears site. The bottom line is that this is ultimately the 
misinformation that visitors to the Sears site will get when they link, as he 
has encouraged bottlefeeders to do, to this site. As someone who has a life 
before babies in advertising and marketing, I can just see the copywriters 
talking about how to best promote their "product", while still giving the 
appearance of supporting bf. Some of the misinformation is downright 
dangerous and would keep mothers from recognizing early warning signs of bf 
difficulties. Besides, who would care, since AF is clearly the safer choice.

As I said in my last post, I remained silent on the Sears thing b/c his work 
has been so truly wonderful and everyone deserves the opportunity to explain 
their rationale. As someone who chooses *not* to walk any fine lines and is 
adamant about ethics, I know I can be extreme, so I wanted to hear everyone 
else who tends to be less reactionary than me. Now, I think Jay's very first 
comment was the most appropriate. Before we were swimming upstream w/o a 
paddle. Now, there are holes in the boat and nothing to bail with!  We must 
prevail upon the Sears' to correct their serious error immediately.

This is from the section on environmental concerns and need for minerals in 
the infant. From this you will learn just how very risky it is to breastfeed.

<<Selenium levels in breast milk and infant formula depend on the selenium 
levels, whether low, adequate, or very high, in the area where the milk or 
formula ingredients come from.>>

<<Manganese is an important part of the enzymes by which the body uses 
carbohydrates to manufacture cartilage in the bones, ears, and similar 
structures and to make neurotransmitters (chemicals which carry messages 
along nerves and within the brain). Levels of manganese in breast milk are 50 
to 100 times lower than levels in formula, but intakes of both breastfed 
(lower) and formula-fed (higher) infants appear to be adequate and safe.>>

<<Chromium is important to ensure proper control of sugar in the body, and it 
may help insulin (the main hormone that controls blood sugar) to function. 
Intakes from formulas are usually 50 to 100 times higher than the amount a 
breastfed baby receives, but, as with manganese, there is no evidence that 
the level of intake from formula is too high or the level from breast milk is 
too low.>>

<<10. Does breast milk have enough trace minerals? 
ANSWER: Although we usually think of breast milk as being the "perfect" food, 
providing exactly what infants need, this is not always the case. For some 
nutrients, the amount in breast milk is affected by what is in the mother's 
diet and, if this is low, the amount going into her breast milk may also be 
low. Trace minerals may be divided into two sorts depending on how they 
behave chemically and in solution: the positive, or cations, and the 
negative, or anions. Metals such as iron, zinc, and gold make cations and the 
non-metal minerals like iodine and fluorine make anions. Selenium behaves 
both ways, but in the body it mostly acts like an anion. 
In the body, the levels of the cation trace minerals are carefully controlled 
and the amount eaten in the diet does not make much difference (unless it is 
very inadequate). The amount of these minerals that passes into the breast 
milk is also carefully controlled. Human milk collected from mothers in many 
different parts of the world has very similar levels of the essential trace 
minerals zinc and copper. Consequently, breast milk provides enough of those 
types of trace minerals (copper, chromium, manganese, molybdenum, and zinc) 
for as long as breast milk alone is adequate for proper growth of the infant. 
A very small number of mothers may have a defect which causes them to produce 
a milk that is low in zinc, compared with most mothers. Their breast milk may 
not have enough zinc for their baby, especially if the baby is preterm, 
because preterm babies grow very fast and need more zinc in relation to their 
size than do full-term infants. Fortunately, this syndrome is very rare. 
The other types of minerals, the anions, include selenium, fluoride, and 
iodine. (Fluoride is the name for the anion form of fluorine.) For these 
minerals, the amount in the diet varies very widely, depending on the amount 
in the water and soil where the food is grown. There are parts of the world 
where the diet provides too much of these minerals and other regions where 
diets do not provide enough for full health. The amount of these minerals 
that gets into breast milk is related to the amount in the mother's diet and 
can be deficient in some parts of the world. On the whole, however, in North 
America, Europe, and other industrialized countries, the food supply comes 
from many different areas, and diets provide adequate amounts of selenium and 
iodine, so the amounts in breast milk are usually quite sufficient for the 
baby's needs. Fluoride levels in breast milk can be low depending on the 
local water supply, and this is discussed in Question 12.>> 

<<However, under normal conditions, the amount of cadmium in human diets, 
water supplies, and breast milk is minute and excess cadmium is not regarded 
as a problem in most parts of the world.>>

<<26. Can toxins from the environment pass into the breast milk?
ANSWER: Yes they can. Practically anything that can enter the mother's blood 
can enter the breast milk. Most environmental toxins are carried with the fat 
fraction of the blood and can be transferred to the fat fraction of the milk. 
Substances that may be found in the fat fraction of milk include agricultural 
chemicals and pesticides–such as DDT, PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), and 
dieldrin– fertilizers, fungicides, weed killers, and also many prescription 
and illicit drugs. 
Fortunately, for many of these substances, the cells of the breast which make 
milk provide some barrier to the transfer of toxins from the blood, so 
amounts entering the milk are relatively small. Environmental chemicals 
accumulate in the body fat. While this protects the woman from any toxic 
effects, when she starts to breastfeed, body fat is used for milk production 
and so any toxic substances stored in the fat are released. 
The widespread normal contamination of breast milk with environmental 
chemicals is not usually of concern to infant health. However, women who have 
worked extensively in agriculture with pesticides, particularly PCBs, before 
getting pregnant, may be advised not to breastfeed, especially a first child. 
Regrettably, there have been several outbreaks of poisoning with PCBs or 
other toxins, when illness was caused in children by contaminated breast 
milk. These outbreaks occurred in Japan and Taiwan from mothers using cooking 
oil accidentally contaminated with PCBs. 

<<27. What about lawn sprays; should I be careful when they are spraying the 
grass?
ANSWER: The amounts of fertilizer and weed killers that people are exposed to 
when using domestic lawn sprays, including when the edges of the streets are 
being sprayed, are much lower than exposures which occur in agriculture. 
Because the fumes may cause discomfort, people are generally recommended to 
avoid exposure to these sprays as much as possible, staying indoors if 
necessary while spraying is being done. Only very small amounts, if any, will 
get into breast milk. Although there is no evidence that such minute amounts 
are a risk to the baby, in general, it is a good idea to keep such exposures 
as low as is practical, because these substances are not readily excreted 
from the body but will be stored in the fatty tissues.>>

<<28. They tell me that even formulas can have contaminants. Is that true?
ANSWER: Formulas may contain contaminants because the cows whose milk is used 
in their manufacture are usually exposed to some environmental chemicals. 
However, formulas are likely to contain lower levels of environmental toxins 
than breast milk. Cows produce much more milk than human mothers, so any 
toxins passed into the cow's milk will be diluted to a much greater extent. 
Cows also do not use body fat for milk production as women do, so toxins will 
not enter the milk from that source. Furthermore, for many products, the fat 
fraction of cow's milk is removed and not used in the formula, so that 
contaminants that are found in this fraction will be removed with the fat. 
Water used in formula manufacture is usually purified before use and hence 
would also be low in contaminants.>>

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