Baby Formula Shortage

[sayla0079]

Oh, there is... which is why there are extensive resources available for people who can't afford it.

It depends where the person is yes some have extensive aid for people that need it but not others.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Oh, there is... which is why there are extensive resources available for people who can't afford it.

I'm going to be generous and assume you're pushing this in bad faith rather than swamped in enough cognitive dissonance and self-deception to assume that all the social programs are sufficient and it's a non-issue.

[Frustration]

I'm going to be generous and assume you're pushing this in bad faith

Well, looks like the days of my not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle.

[Frustration]

Seriously, I think you people are so in love with the idea of desperate mothers doing anything for their child that you're ignoring the reality that said scenario, in regards to baby formula, are an unlikely edge case. I can think of lots of reasons why people will steal baby formula, but mere necessity isn't a plausible explanation in itself.

There are lots of ways social safety nets can and do fail, but our society is incredibly protective of mothers and babies, and where government programs don't serve well private charities largely fill the gap.

[Fuzzy Necromancer]

Maybe I was wrong about the bad faith. I think you're in love with the idea of rationalizing away a desperate situation, because it's inconvenient to believe that babies are starving.

We have plenty of programs to fight hunger, both government and charitable, yet we still have families that go to bed hungry.

Everything I have seen tells me that this society pays lipservice to the protection of mothers and babies and little else. We have no guarantee of maternity leave and the government response to children being gunned down is Thoughts and Prayers.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Fuzzy, this is why we do something called citing sources and providing links to back up things you say. If you feel that you are bombarded with rhetoric that seems to handwave legitimate social circumstances, then start looking more into that rather than fighting back with leftist rhetoric.

[Nealithi]

Okay I think the issue is this is a bit more grey than everyone is thinking. Now I will admit my experience is not with poor mothers with babies.
But working at the senior center it was a non-government nonprofit organization. They get access and money from the government if they apply for it properly. Before my mother worked in their office they were very short on supplies because no one bothered to figure out how to get the government subsidies. Compound this issue with you had to know the place existed to get help from them. They didn't exactly have funds for billboards. As far as I know this is how the government does these projects. It basically subcontracts nonprofits to disperse for them. Just follow their guidelines.

This leads me to the other point. Why steal baby formula? Oh it is fungible? Why? If no one is using this stuff then how does it have street value? The simple answer is there are people that need it but cannot afford to get it from a store. They for one reason or another cannot get help from the places that could help them.
Wasn't there something here or did I see it on YouTube about how formula in third world countries kept being watered down to make it stretch further? The point being is that a single box or can of formula does not go far if used properly. How much is actually donated at a sitting? One or two containers? Thus need is outstripping supply.

Basically the government is doing its thing. Citizens are doing theirs. But people still fall through the cracks. Because those that would help don't know they are there and vice versa. So you get theft.

[BridgeConsoleMasher]

Ok, so there is precedence of baby formula being used to cut cocaine and heroine. However, none of this has been linked to the shortage.

I found a few articles that were from 2019 and 2020 regarding theft, which indicates that it probably isn't just being overlooked as a cause except for people discussing it here.

Two big factors causing the shortage is the monopolistic condition of one dominant company holding 40% market activity being compromised in its production by a series of contaminations resulting in disease and death, resulting in recalls. Another is a controlled domestic market due to understandable safety standards for imported formula, along with tariffs imposed by the Trump administration that were enacted to protect US producers.

[clearspira]

What even is baby formula anyway? Why can't you just use milk? Genuine question.

[TGLS]

What even is baby formula anyway? Why can't you just use milk? Genuine question.

https://www.healthychildren.org/English ... -Milk.aspx