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What’s Behind America’s Shocking Baby-Formula Shortage?
The Atlantic ^ | May 15, 2022 | Derek Thompson

Posted on 05/15/2022 12:03:59 PM PDT by Kaslin

America’s baby-formula shortage has gone from curious inconvenience to full-blown national crisis.

In many states, including Texas and Tennessee, more than half of formula is sold out in stores. Nationwide, 40 percent of formula is out of stock—a twentyfold increase since the first half of 2021. As parents have started to stockpile formula, retailers such as Walgreens, CVS, and Target have all moved to limit purchases.

The everything shortage isn’t new. But rationing essentials for desperate parents? That’s a twisted turn in the story of American scarcity.

Three factors are driving the U.S. baby-formula shortage: bacteria, a virus, and a trade policy.

First, the bacteria. After the recent deaths of at least two infants from a rare infection, the Food and Drug Administration investigated Abbott, a major producer of infant formula, and discovered traces of the pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii in a Michigan plant. As a result, the FDA recalled several brands of formula, and parents were advised to not buy or use some formula tied to the plant.

(Excerpt) Read more at theatlantic.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: babyformula; babyformulashortage; shortage
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To: Kaslin
What’s Behind America’s Shocking Baby-Formula Shortage?

The "Pro Death" lefties feel that if they can't kill them in the womb, they'll starve them to death!

21 posted on 05/15/2022 12:24:13 PM PDT by The Sons of Liberty (Ultra MAGA!)
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To: Kaslin

State-granted monopolies, and a very heavy and strict regulatory framework.

https://mattstoller.substack.com/p/big-bottle-the-baby-formula-nightmare?s=r

The Atlantic is part of the gaslight media.


22 posted on 05/15/2022 12:25:00 PM PDT by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
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To: olivia3boys

That’s fine, for women who can and women who’ve already been doing it.

What about women who have used formula for many months, and now can’t get it?

These threads are about the current crisis. Not about the superiority of breast feeding. (I do get the feeling that some posts are just patting themselves on the back for having made the ‘right’ choice, and feeling superior to the ones who are in a hard situation now - not to mention the posts from - obviously - men who can’t resist the opportunity to make what they think are clever comments around the subject of breasts...)

And making beer still requires far less attention.


23 posted on 05/15/2022 12:27:12 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: alloysteel; Kaslin

24 posted on 05/15/2022 12:28:34 PM PDT by 4Liberty (Remember when government paved the Roads and trained the Army – instead of lying and oppressing?)
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To: Kaslin

Bill Gates is a investor in fake breast milk so.... just like the he is an investor in vaccines. This was done on purpose.


25 posted on 05/15/2022 12:30:17 PM PDT by minnesota_bound (Need more money to buy everything now)
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To: Kaslin

Article doesn’t go into detail about the infections of 2 babies that died. Just do a little research from other sources and you will find why. “Government officials’ tests of unopened formula containers at the homes of the four sick babies were all negative for cronobacter, Abbott said, and one of three open containers from the homes tested positive. The positive one contained two different strains of cronobacter: one that matched the strain that caused the infant’s infection and another matching germs found on a bottle of distilled water used to mix the formula, Abbott said. Government officials also did genetic testing and found the cronobacter strains found at the Abbott plant don’t match the ones taken from two infants’ samples.”
Another case of ‘trust the science’.


26 posted on 05/15/2022 12:30:26 PM PDT by SDShack
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To: olivia3boys
I hear you. But there are people who can't breastfeed for various reasons. They simply don't produce enough boob juice. Or any.

Then there are all those anchor babies storming in from south of the border who may have been sold or rented by people not producing any boob juice at all.

27 posted on 05/15/2022 12:30:28 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (The politicized state destroys aspects of civil society, human kindness and private charity.)
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To: olivia3boys

So right...That’s word for word what the late Mrs. LtM (an RN) used to say...


28 posted on 05/15/2022 12:34:01 PM PDT by elteemike (Light is faster than sound; that's why so many people appear bright until you hear them speak.)
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To: Kaslin

What was there before “Formula”?
I’m pretty sure I was fed warmed up whole milk as was my brother and sister. I used to help feed them.
Pan on the stove, insert bottle, test temperature on inner wrist before feeding.
Did I miss something?


29 posted on 05/15/2022 12:34:19 PM PDT by rellic
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To: Jamestown1630

“Make your own. It’s a lot easier than breast-feeding.”

Our esteemed healthcare bureaucracy is warning against doing so.


30 posted on 05/15/2022 12:35:11 PM PDT by alternatives? (The only reason to have an army is to defend your borders.)
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To: Kaslin

In 2007 whenever Nestle acquired Gerber some of the
managers really disliked what Nestle did with the formula
controversy in Africa as to take their leave and go elsewhere.
And Trump did meet with Nestle officials and others in Switzerland. This article is hiding Nestle from the equation
in my opinion—infant cereal production in Russia too.

And there are many kinds of baby formula mixes not all dairy.
https://www.ers.usda.gov/webdocs/publications/46787/15976_fanrr39-1_1_.pdf?v=0


31 posted on 05/15/2022 12:35:57 PM PDT by Scram1
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To: alternatives?

People have to - and will - make their own decisions. The age-old recipe is floating all over the Web (at least until the new, ‘verified’, Disinformation goofball decides to censor it.)


32 posted on 05/15/2022 12:38:10 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: alternatives?

(And my response to ‘make your own’ was regarding beer, by the way - or have they now told us that we can’t do home brewing of that, either?)


33 posted on 05/15/2022 12:40:16 PM PDT by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: Kaslin

Democrats are in power. They are radical environmentalists. Their primary goal is to limit and decrease the population. Abortion is prime policy. They will do everything possible to discourage people from having children Green policies contract the economy , impoverish people and discourages procreation. Baby formula shortages are meant to inconvenience, discourage and starve if possible. Ruining schools also discourages people from having children. Democrats are vile and evil.


34 posted on 05/15/2022 12:42:25 PM PDT by allendale
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To: Kaslin

“””Meanwhile, Stone’s research has found that an uptick in births in early 2022 has corresponded with a “very dramatic decline in rates of breastfeeding” among new mothers, which pushed up demand for formula once again.””””


The above is the money line.

I read somewhere that mothers who have been covid vaxxed have breastmilk that may be harmful to their infant children.

Whether that is true or not, I suspect a whole bunch of vaxxed mothers have decided to not take a chance and have opted for formula to feed their infant.


35 posted on 05/15/2022 12:43:03 PM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
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To: Kaslin
This is poorly written and also very biased. Poorly written:

"In many states, including Texas and Tennessee, more than half of formula is sold out in stores. Nationwide, 40 percent of formula is out of stock."

If 40% (or half) is sold out, that means that 60% (or half) is still there. He should say "40% of stores are sold out."

Biased:

He states that some of the bacteria found at the plant was the same type of bacteria as that found in the babies. He failed to say that none of the bacteria in the children had the same genetic makeup as that in the plant. And also, that the bacteria in the infections were all different from each other and some were entirely different from those found in the plant. Those are important facts and also pins the problem on the FDA who is still not allowing the plant to reopen.

36 posted on 05/15/2022 12:44:22 PM PDT by norwaypinesavage (Capitalism is what happens when you leave people alone.)
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To: alloysteel

Love your alphabet. It is a more “awoke” version than our present version.

Do you also recall that G and H were/are the latest models of the B-52 bomber, aka “the Hanoi Blasters”?

There is something to be said about learning the alphabet.


37 posted on 05/15/2022 12:44:34 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (Figures )
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To: o-n-money

17. Just to be fair to the male politicians in DC, there are at lot of stupid pricks in Congress, too!


38 posted on 05/15/2022 12:47:31 PM PDT by MadMax, the Grinning Reaper (Figures )
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To: Kaslin

And why is it so specific to Baby Formula?


39 posted on 05/15/2022 12:47:42 PM PDT by Mr. K (No consequence of repealing obamacare is worse than obamacare itself)
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To: Kaslin
...and discovered traces of the pathogen Cronobacter sakazakii in a Michigan plant.

Yeah, but different strains than those found in the kids who died. You can find some strain of C.s. pretty much anywhere if you look hard enough. The plant should have been reopened months ago.

40 posted on 05/15/2022 12:52:18 PM PDT by facedown (Armed in the Heartland)
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