What did the world do before baby formula?

[Vannie]

I remember evaporated milk, karo syrup and boiling water mixed together in sterilized bottle.

And sometimes boobies!

 

[Alistair]

Damn, you really are old

I’ve been seeing all these commercials for lawsuits over baby formula lately. Does that have anything to do with it?

 

[rareboy]

I have no sympathy really.

It is a good wake-up call.

 

[Vannie]

Damn, you really are old

 

[EddMarkStarr]

Here we go again with Abbott Laboratories.

First, contamination prompted a recall earlier this year, now the Abbott production is shutdown due to line contamination!

 

[USEDCAR]

There's a shortage of everything

Scary Times.

 

[smokeshadow]

and now, Governor Abbott (no relation to Abbott Laboratories) and other conservatives are trying to pin the blame the formula snafu on President Biden; when, it turns out, that the governor is somewhat to blame for his enhanced truck stoppage at the border President Biden has no control on which product manufacturer ships how much formula and to where, nor does he control what a manufacturer does when it has to recall contaminated product that resulted in death.

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmoveme...h-texas-governor-trying-to-milk-formula-mess/

 

[EddMarkStarr]

and now, Governor Abbott (no relation to Abbott Laboratories) and other conservatives are trying to pin the blame the formula snafu on President Biden; when, it turns out, that the governor is somewhat to blame for his enhanced truck stoppage at the border President Biden has no control on which product manufacturer ships how much formula and to where, nor does he control what a manufacturer does when it has to recall contaminated product that resulted in death.

https://www.thenewcivilrightsmoveme...h-texas-governor-trying-to-milk-formula-mess/

And, as usual, President Bidden gives another limp-wristed defense against republican attacks.

 

[Vannie]

I wasn't making this political. I was more curious if any of your remember what your baby formula was. Or if any of you turned out fine on a homemade recipe.

Thank you Guys.

 

[Alistair]

I’m assuming I had breast milk

 

[Latimer]

Everything you need to know about the topic:

https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/concise-history-infant-formula-twists-and-turns-included

 

[Vannie]

Everything you need to know about the topic:

https://www.contemporarypediatrics.com/view/concise-history-infant-formula-twists-and-turns-included

Great little history lesson. Thank you

 

[smokeshadow]

And, as usual, President Bidden gives another limp-wristed defense against republican attacks.

House Democrats on the Oversite Committee have launched an investigation: https://www.thenewcivilrightsmoveme...a-shortage-as-biden-meets-with-manufacturers/

 

[Peloso]

I've been saying it for years: Ladies! Save your placenta! In addition to being a nutrient rich substitute for baby feed, it can also be used for Halloween decorations, a great base for soups or stews, and as a substitute for chum.

 

[Harke the Boeotarch]

The chewed their food and then fed their babies and elderly with it from their mouths... like birds.

 

[Vannie]

I've been saying it for years: Ladies! Save your placenta! In addition to being a nutrient rich substitute for baby feed, it can also be used for Halloween decorations, a great base for soups or stews, and as a substitute for chum.

The chewed their food and then fed their babies and elderly with it from their mouths... like birds.[/QUOTE

 

[Vannie]

I've been saying it for years: Ladies! Save your placenta! In addition to being a nutrient rich substitute for baby feed, it can also be used for Halloween decorations, a great base for soups or stews, and as a substitute for chum.

Placenta with fried onions

:

The chewed their food and then fed their babies and elderly with it from their mouths... like birds.

Thank God for food processors

 

[EddMarkStarr]

I apologize for not responding properly the first time.

There was a time when everyone knew that Evaporated Milk can be used as a base for baby formula.
Before the age of bulk refrigeration, evaporated milk was the only milk some families had regular access to. It was a staple during the years of the Great Depression.

Because of the "shelf-stable" nature of evaporated milk, PET used to print baby formula recipes right on every can.
By varying the proportions of "add-ins", different types of baby formula could be made at home.
Doctors used to hand out standardized recipes for new mothers to try at home until one was found that the baby liked.

 

[ShadowCat]

I wondered that too in I love Lucy when they are coming back from Europe, Lucy smuggles cheese aboard the airplane so she wont have to pay! Well she disguises it as a baby and when the stewardess comes around and asks her for her baby's bottle to put in the fridge she says she doesn't have one so her seat neighbor gives her one of her bottles, to make it look like the "baby" drank it Lucy unscrews the bottle and drinks a gulp and makes a face! She asks her neighbor whats in that formula to which the answer is cod liver oil and goes further to say the recipe has been in the family for ages. So I really do wonder why they stopped with home made baby formulas? I wonder if it was just another way big pharma and industrialization just swooped in and took over!

 

[EddMarkStarr]

I wondered that too in I love Lucy when they are coming back from Europe, Lucy smuggles cheese aboard the airplane so she wont have to pay! Well she disguises it as a baby and when the stewardess comes around and asks her for her baby's bottle to put in the fridge she says she doesn't have one so her seat neighbor gives her one of her bottles, to make it look like the "baby" drank it Lucy unscrews the bottle and drinks a gulp and makes a face! She asks her neighbor whats in that formula to which the answer is cod liver oil and goes further to say the recipe has been in the family for ages. So I really do wonder why they stopped with home made baby formulas? I wonder if it was just another way big pharma and industrialization just swooped in and took over!

It's a fascinating story that involves the widespread availability of mobile refrigeration systems for trucks, trailers, shipboard containers and railway cars in the 1940's.
HVAC systems for temperature control actually changed the quality of life in the western world, allowing for the distribution of dairy products, fresh produce and the rise of supermarkets.

PET evaporated milk was, for many families, the only consistent milk available outside of direct dairy delivery, as there were many families without a refrigerator - only an ice box.
Recipe books for evaporated milk could be followed for baby formula or a variety of adaptations for cooking.
Formulas could include cod liver or other fish oils, grain oils plus sugar. Any temperature sensitive ingredient had to be used with care as babies have delicate digestive systems.

Commercial baby formulas made feeding baby waay easier, for families that could afford it. Commercial formulas are balanced with vitamins and minerals with stabilizers that lessen digestive problems.

From conversations I had with my grandparents in the 1960's, rural electrification plus refrigeration did more to improve daily life than even the invention of the automobile.
There were many times during my childhood that snack time at a neighbors house included evaporated milk with water and a pinch of sugar.
Some of my neighbors could not afford fresh milk. My family had my dad's military pay for food so we were very lucky that way.

During the 1960's, it was the association of "canned milk" with poverty that caused the decline of evaporated milk baby formula. First the recipes were removed from the cans, then sales declined overall.
Low income households would "beg and borrow" just to be seen buying store-bought baby formula.
Changes to Food Stamps, Welfare and Medicaid benefits in the 1960's led to the almost universal adoption of commercial baby formula and it's improved sanitary formulations compared to homemade formula.

And of course - advertising works on new moms better than any other group of consumers, every bit of doubt can lead to increased sales!