Moms Across America applauds the timely response of the new administration’s FDA to the urgent safety and reliability issues surrounding baby formula, Operation Stork Speed!

While breast milk is best for development and supporting the immune system, and should be more widely supported with longer paid maternity leave policy changes, there is a large portion of American babies whose only source of food is baby formula and the safety and nutrition of their food should be a high priority.

Zen Honeycutt, Founder and Director of Moms Across America, states, “We are thrilled by Operation Stork Speed. Thank you, Robert F. Kennedy Jr and team! Our first investment should be in the safety and health of our babies. We deeply appreciate your timely response to the serious safety and supply chain issues that the baby formula market has had for years.”

The new U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Long-Term National Strategy to Increase the Resiliency of the U.S. Infant Formula Market has many goals, and we are especially grateful for the focus on safety and nutrition. Without a highly thorough investigation into the ingredients and contamination, there will be no reliability in the supply chain of baby formula. Without proper nutrition, the development of our children will be impeded, and their inability to live up to their fullest potential will impact the future of America. While health is not political, this administration is showing steps to put health first, and mothers everywhere are grateful.

Honeycutt adds, “Simply put, the way to Make America Great Again is to Make America Healthy Again, starting with our babies.”

Moms Across America, GMOScience, and The New MDS tested infant formulas and found them to be highly contaminated with toxic and heavy metals. For example, we found that 100% of the samples were positive for aluminum and lead, and 6 out of 20 of the formulas were positive for all 5 toxic and heavy metals; aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. We submitted this information, along with many recommendations for improving safety from scientists and experts, to the new administration. The team states, “We are grateful to our supporters who enable us to do such work that will make a difference for millions of babies.”

Dr. Michelle Perro, 43 year pediatrician and founder of GMOScience states:

We applaud the efforts of Sec. Kennedy, the HHS, and the FDA to tackle the baby elephant in the room. We desire to provide the best nutrition possible at the most vulnerable time in our children’s lives. A multipronged approach will be needed to clean up the infant food supply. However, by supporting organic regenerative dairy farmers, reexamining the sourcing of dairy, such as grass-fed A2 cows, providing soil remediation from toxic metals, and collaborating with industry and the public, I am fully confident we can achieve our goals.

Financial support must be directed to support maternity leave and breastfeeding. However, for those mothers unable to nurse their babies, the production and availability of nutritious, organic formula for those children and for children with limited access to organics must be offered. The expansion of the infant formula industry would be an added bonus to include quality formulas for low-income families.

The FDA’s Long Term Strategy states:

To enhance our oversight of infant formula production and assist the industry with contamination prevention efforts, the FDA will take the following actions:

• Conduct surveillance food safety inspections, including sampling as appropriate, of all infant formula manufacturers at least annually and make additional use of voluntary remote regulatory assessments, as appropriate.
• Set annual targets to collect samples of infant formula for both microbiological and nutritional analysis per foreign manufacturer each year, in addition to the FDA’s annual surveillance inspection.
• Continue evaluating and improving infant formula training for investigators and other appropriate staff to ensure every infant formula inspection is robust, thorough, and focused on the most critical aspects of the infant formula manufacturing process.

Stephanie Seneff, author of the book Toxic Legacy: How the Weedkiller Glyphosate is Destroying Our Health and the Environment, had this to say: “Infants who for whatever reason are unable to drink breast milk depend on formula as their only source of nutrition. I can think of no better goal for improving children's health than to focus on making sure that infant formula is nutritious and free from pesticides and toxic metals.”

Moms Across America reminds mothers that breastmilk is our best option, especially when we eat organic. It boosts our baby’s immunity and growth for free and does not require regulation by our government. We are also hoping to see policy changes that support our mothers in staying home with their babies, and paid maternity leave, as most other countries have for 6 months to a year.

Baby formula companies are good at drumming up fear that our breastmilk is not sufficient and we need to supplement. In fact, babies consume much less than we think, (their stomachs are the size of a cherry pit as newborns and the size of an egg under three months). The majority of us are able to produce more than enough breastmilk. and many women do not need to supplement. We urge mothers to trust themselves, and their bodies. The best way to support the production of breastmilk is to simply reduce stress, get proper clean water intake and nutrition (i.e., eat organic whole foods,) sleep, and get time in nature. There are also many tried and true herbal remedies that support breast milk production.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has a recipe for homemade formula. As addressed in their 2024 conference by Natasha Campbell McBride, we are in agreement that arranging for a “sister” breastfeeding friend who eats organic food and is not vaccinated for COVID, in other words, bringing back the concept of a wet nurse or community donations of breast milk, are potentially much better options than formula. No matter what the FDA regulations are, rather than putting our trust in corporations, we have the opportunity to create connections and rebuild our trust in the women, our “sisters” in our communities.

For more information and to support further testing and reporting on various food categories that impact the lives of hundreds of millions of Americans every day, visit MomsAcrossAmerica.org