On Tuesday 27 June 2006, in the European Parliament, Friends of the Earth Europe launched “Toxic Inheritance”, a report revealing that traces of 300 man-made chemicals are found in breast milk.
The report examines studies that analyse breast milk to measure persistent pollutants in humans, revealing the worrying presence of over 300 toxic chemicals in breast milk. In this context, the report makes recommendations to strengthen REACH in the second reading, in order to tackle chemical contamination.
In April 2006, the World Health Organisation confirmed breastfeeding as optimal for child health when new growth reference standards were agreed that refer to breastfeeding as “the biological norm” in international benchmarks for children’s growth. This implies that a lack of breastfeeding presents a risk to the baby and to the child and to health later in life.
Besides, the World Health Assembly adopted in May 2006 a resolution on infant and young child nutrition calling for the promotion of breastfeeding.
IBFAN International Babyfood Action Network reasserts as well that despite the adverse effects of human exposure to hazardous chemicals at all stages in our lives, studies show that breastfeeding has a protective effect. Besides, breastmilk is environmentally friendly; it is a unique and renewable natural resource, perfectly adapted to each individual baby. Breastfeeding generates no waste: there are no problems of disposal of plastics and packaging, no transport costs and no traffic pollution.
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