Ruth,   Thank you for the web site of the International Association of Infant
Food Manufacturers with the article by Alan Lucas.  The abstract is
(entitled, "Collaborative research with infant formula companies should not
always be censored") from an article he wrote in the BMJ 1998;317:333-339.
The full article in the BMJ is interesting because he states that "he is a
director of a politically "neutral" government-funded(MRC) Childhood
Nutrition Centre."  That may be so but he must have forgotten about the
funding his group of researchers received from Abbott in 1997 to do the soy
formula study.  He also states "that the infant formula industry is an
important information source for parents.  In 1997 a leading baby milk
manufacturer distributed 300, 000 articles to British parents in support of
breast feeding." Hm...300, 000 articles--300,00 mothers given a slant on
breastfeeding that only the infant formula industry would love.  He states in
this article that of the 750,00 mothers who become pregnant annually in
Britain, 350 000 approach the industry (infant formual) directly for advice.

This current study in the BMJ states under competing interests, "The Center
has collaborated with the infant food industry for its outcome studies on
nutrition."  The study was done on adults who ranged in ages from 20-28.
Meaning that these adults would have been infants from the years 1973-1981
(how many infants in the UK were exclusively breastfed during that time
period?)  The study states exclusive breastfeeding but I saw no definition
and the study states that the groups were arranged into those who were
formula fed and those that were breastfed --as stated by recall from mothers.
I guess no one in the UK ever did both back in those days.

He states that, "Over 100 Ross conferences in the United States, about 50
Nestle workshops, and major inputs from other infant formula manufacturers
have produced prominent publications, objective discussion and policymaking
over wide ranging issues, including breast feeding-with undoubted
contribution to health care."  Objective...yes so glad to know that Nestle
and Ross are objective in regard to breastfeeding.  So glad to have a
researcher actually admit publicly, in the BMJ no less,  that the infant
formula industry has helped produce objective discussion and policymaking in
regard to breastfeeding!  Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC

             ***********************************************
The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM)
mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html