Hello Lactnetters!

Just want to share an article I found while surfing the net. It was published
12/14/94 in a U.S. paper, go to
http://catalog.com/columb...page/news/09987.html.
The headline reads *Martek Corp. Announces Agreement with Dutch Infant
Formula Company to supply Formulaid©*. Formulaid© being a DHA additive
synthesized from microalgea fermented in vats up to 6 stories high. The
Dutch company, Nutricia, ranks as the *second largest producer of infant
formula in Europe, behind Nestle, and has about 5% of the world market*.
Martek has licensing agreements, estimated at $5 billion, with other
companies
representing 38% of the world market for formula, but the *agreement with
Nutricia is the first call for production shipping*. This is great for
Martek,
a biotech company, because the deal will lower production costs and
increase profits. (The additive has been around for years but was too
expensive
to use.)

My favorite sentence: *Formulaid© is considered desirable in infant formulas
because research has linked the presence of the fatty acids contained in
Formulaid© and found in mother's milk, and their absence in current infant
formulas, to a developmental gap that shows up in tests between breast-fed
and formula-fed babies*. Furthur research is being conducted in Australia
and tests were to begin in Texas this year to determine appropriate levels
needed for healthy infant development.

Hmmm... just some thoughts and points that might be useful in persuading
those folks that demand to be shown how breastmilk is REALLY better
than ABM:

1. The fact that a biotech company has gone to such great lengths to
produce a DHA additive demonstrates a belief that DHA really is important
stuff. The fact that they already have $5 Billion in licensing agreements
reveals that the formula industry considers DHA to be very valuable.

2. The fact that the additive has been available, but too expensive to use,
should reinforce the true (priceless) value of human milk. And we're only
talking about ONE additive.

3. The fact that the ABM companies have known about this additive, but
never mention developmental differences in their breastfeeding education
materials, reveals how committed they are to educating the public about
breastfeeding benefits.

4. The fact that companies have agreements with Martek before safe additive
levels have been determined, and that testing is now underway, lends
credibility to our claims that ABM has been one long experiment for helpless
babies and trusting parents.

5. We can probably expect a major marketing campaign by the ABM
manufacturers when the DHA additive is finally available to the public. I can

see the headlines now... Our Super Advanced Formula Will Raise Your Child's
IQ!  Imagine, NOW Your Child Will Get Into That Gifted Program At School!
For Only $5 a Can, This Formula is a Bargain for Those Who Want Only
the Best for Their Babies!  (Okay, Okay...I'm getting carried away here.)

Anyway, the real point of this post is to consider this article a useful
*reality
check*. Since the information doesn't come from a breastfeeding article,
perhaps the *higher IQ* breastfeeding benefit (& others) would appear more
convincing to people like the writer who wrote *Dying for Milk* (WSJ, 7/94),
and was later quoted in a Rhode Island newspaper article as saying
*On the other hand, I think that breast-feeding is so politically correct
that
if an associate professor of biology at Dodge City, Kansas State University
came out with a study tomorrow saying that breast-fed babies are likelier
to become Hollywood stars, I think that would be gospel, you know, within
a week*.

TTFN,
Diana Dietz, RN