Dear Fiona:

I loved your way of saying this.  You certainly hit the nail squarely on the
head.  I am always astounded when health professionals recommend an adult
formula to  people who are perfectly capable of chewing their food or making
their own concoctions.  As a dietitian, I have had the opportunity to taste
scads of these formulas.(Ish.....)  In fact, one of the more fun things we
did one time at our affiliate meeting was to open cans of baby formula and
sample them (gag!!).  I have been tempted to do this at my prenatal classes
and then invite the mothers to taste their own milk after the baby is born.

One of the most interesting things that happened to me in my advanced stages
of zealotry is that I spoke to the local dietetic group about breastfeeding
in a bottle feeding world.  Many of the dietitians were incensed that the
adult formulas are advertised in national magazines as if everyone needs
them.  I lifted my 2 by 4 and pointed out that at least an adult has a
choice--babies do not.  Babies and pets are at the mercy of their parents
(owners?).  For the first time, they understood.

Jumping down from the thin air of the soapbox
Queen Fervor du Zealot

PS  For what it is worth, there was an article a couple of years ago in a
medical journal about an adult formula that was deficient in some amino acid
(did not contain what the label said).  Oops!.  "Second verse, same as the
first, eh?"