We enter this world equiped with a few inate characteristics that have followed us around more or less unchanged for a couple million years. Breastfeeding is most certainly central among them. It's a perfect closed system of sustainable portable compatible nutrition.

It's not very controversial really: here's the baby, here's the boob, so I find it remarkable how much effort is put into justifying reasons to turn our backs on this remarkable biological gift, as well as the counter-effort now required to argue in favor of breastfeeding - as if the practice should need our justifying.

Science has confimed of late something that ought not be very surprising: babies continue to develop even after they exit the womb. Wow! You mean that nurturing environments and good nutrition are important to children? You mean we can't just raise them on Kolo Aid and corn meal delivered by a machine while we watch Seinfeld reruns?

Is it possible that this milk delivery system that has been around for a couple epochs does more than serve as a mere vending machine of generic liquid nutrition? Is it possible that breastfeeding serves subtle yet crucial roles every bit as marveleous as the process of the sprem and the egg and the placenta and fetus? Is it possible that these are remarkably stupid questions. Somebody give that doctor science the Nobel prize for duh.

It is as if science and Nestle are trying to make us justify taking a crap every day. Are you sure that's necessary? Perhaps we can sell you this specially fitted cork....

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Before you howl, let me make perfectly clear that some mother can't breastfeed. That's fine, and I am glad there is formula to help. This is just the same as some people can't take a crap. Nevertheless, I would not want to live in a world where we had to argue that voluntary colostomy bags ought to be the norm, leading us someday to the backlash of the free-range-crap movement.

Now let's see the ensuing riot, you evil, womanhating SOB. I got your back on this issue.

Unfortunately I blew the subject line: should have read "gift breast".

"Now let's see the ensuing riot, you evil, womanhating SOB. I got your back on this issue."

Posters seem to be upset about the fact that women are, ah, over-encouraged to breasfeed. I'm not wading in there, a personal choice is a personal choice. But, there was a time in the not-too-distant past when women were actively discouraged from doing so. Then the breast-feeders where the uneducated and 'backwards' ones. Formula was 'clean, modern and safe'.

My grandmother chose to give birth at home where she could breastfeed in peace, without the scorn of the nurses and doctors. How times change.

Had mine at home too, and my grandma was the only family member who thought I was being smart-- she'd had my dad the same way. Of course, that was during the Depression, but her point was that he turned out ok.

The campaign to rip babies from their mothers arms was quite pervasive and of course well funded -- leading to skyrocketing csection and epidural rates, as well as an epidemic of early even immediate voluntary weaning of newborns, and the barbaric cry-it-out program for four week old infants.

The resulting backlash that has just started to become visible, one that is asking mothers to reconsider the clinical interventionist consumerist approach to childrearing, it has been largely grassroots, heartfelt, and mostly ignored byt eh government and media, except for the occasional lifestyle piece here or there.

With so many mothers having been persuaded to abandon their children to Madison Avenue, a few plucky scientists are now beginning to explore if this overnight rejection of our evolutionary achievements might have real-life ramifications. Thus giving us the bizarro headline from today's Slate:

SCIENTISTS SHOCKED TO LEARN THAT BREAST FEEDING MIGHT POSSIBLE BE MAYBE ACTUALLY GOOD FOR BABIES! UNIMPRESSED FORMULA INDUSTRY CALLS FOR MORE STUDY AND CAUTIONS AGAINST JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS.

What is "kolo aid"? Third paragraph third sentence.

You mean that nurturing environments and good nutrition are important to children? You mean we can't just raise them on Kolo Aid and corn meal delivered by a machine while we watch Seinfeld reruns?