Dear Friends,

I just received my latest National Geographic Magazine and was pleased to
see the articles listed on the cover-"Women and Population" and "Feeding
the Planet".  I was looking forward to all the references that I was sure
would be found about the value of breastfeeding in reducing population,
(LAM) and the value of breastfeeding in reducing hunger.  What great
possibilities for these articles!

I am terribly disappointed that breastfeeding was completely ignored in
these series of articles.  I am planning on writing to National Geographic.
 I feel that they did a great disservice to this issue by not focusing at
all on breastfeeding.  The only mention of breastfeeding I could find in
this series was "Many of these newcomers will suckle their meals from  a
mother's breast for a year or so, but after that it will be up to Mother
Earth to provide them food and drink."  This was from the article "Feeding
the Planet"  I am disappointed that they talk about how much of the earth's
population does not have access to safe drinking water yet spend no time on
the fact that without safe water, infants who are artificially fed die.

In their article "Women and Population" they do not mention: breastfeeding
as birth control, breastfeeding as a reducer of infant mortality,(which
when reduced, reduces new births),  how breastfeeding improves the health
of women.

the link to  these articles on the National Geographic website is
<www.nationalgeographic.com/features/2000/population/women> and
<www.nationalgeographic.com/features/2000/population/planet>
the web articles may contain text that was not included in the print
magazine version.(I just tried these links and the info has not been posted
yet that I could find)

Letters to National Geographic should be sent to
National Geographic Magazine
PO Box 98198
Washington, D.C. 20090-8198
by FAX  (202) 828-5460
by email
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(I am no mail on Lactnet and TLC)