Brazilian forests are cleared and burned to make way for soya plantations. Soya requires a high input of artificial fertilisers and irrigation. The time is finally ripe for the ecological and economic arguments for promoting breastfeeding to make an impact on policy makers. A smaller global population will mean less ecological destruction, especially if the reduction is in the north where a person consumes much more energy and resources than in the South. In Bangladesh, breastfeeding prevents an average of 6.5 births per woman.
Bottle feeding means more and closer-spaced births.
This means that the health of the mother and existing children will suffer, especially where other forms of contraception are unacceptable or unavailable. More children mean that the family has to feed more doctors' bills. More natural resources are needed to support the increased population. Baby milk companies need to create a market for their milks. They do this by undermining breastfeeding.