I would like to second Kathy's observation.  We have numerous dairy farms around here and most of them are extremely clean with cows out on pasture as much as possible.  I only see the poorer conditions in the really run-down farms which I think are on their way out anyways.  Most of the cows I see are very well taken care of and cleanliness is a key to preventing disease and maintaining good milk production.  Which is not to say that there are not many other issues involved in the factory-farm animal debate.

I would also like to see some recent testing of formula.  However, I do believe that in most areas, even taking water supply into consideration, the organo-pollutants will still be much higher in breastmilk - biology is biology (I do so hope that someone will prove me wrong on this.)  It is frightening and will continue to be an issue.  In fact, it bothers me more than anything else that I have learned about over the last few years.  I dare say that there are probably some mothers out there who really shouldn't be breastfeeding - not too many yet, I hope, but logic tells me that they probably do exist.  Burying our heads in the sand will not make this go away and ignoring the studies is unprofessional, to say the least.  What we need is more information so that we can begin to grasp the true, overall picture and then figure out what best to do about it.  This is going to be a BIG thing - it is truly important and the formula companies will make much hay with it, you can be sure of that.
Warmly,
Sharon Knorr, BSMT, ASCP, IBCLC
Newark, NY (near Rochester on Lake Ontario)
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