Continued shortage of infant formula in the United States is worrying American parents
Recently, there has been a serious shortage of infant formula milk powder across the United States, and supermarket shelves can be seen everywhere, which is urgent for many American parents.
According to a report by the US Retailer Data Survey, in the first week of May, the nationwide shortage rate of infant formula milk powder in the United States was as high as 43%. In fact, the milk powder shortage in the United States has been going on for several months.
Child Parent Jess Butler:My kids need baby formula and I don’t understand why (the shortage) has been going on for so long. It’s May, the shortage has been there since February, and I thought it would only last a week or two or a month or two.
In a recent interview with CNN, a pair of new parents in the United States said they were panicked by the shortage of infant formula because their mothers were taking drugs for a long time, so they could not breastfeed their children.
Newborn father Mario Ibarra:(After giving birth) Going home is the time to celebrate, but we are also panicking while celebrating, which is really not an ideal situation, it can be said to be a mess.
Where did the US infant formula crisis come from?
The domestic shortage of infant formula milk powder in the United States has been going on for several months, initially attributed to poor supply chains and worker shortages caused by factors such as the epidemic. In February of this year, Abbott, the largest milk powder supplier in the United States, recalled several formula milk powders due to product safety issues, and the involved factory in Michigan stopped production, making the “milk powder shortage” worse. However, there are deeper reasons behind the “milk milk shortage”.
Trade protection, high import tariffs harm consumer rights
According to the Associated Press, about 98% of infant formula milk powder in the U.S. market is produced in the United States, and foreign manufacturers of milk powder face multiple obstacles to enter the U.S. market. “Atlantic Monthly” mentioned in its analysis that the United States has built high tariff barriers to maintain local brands and strictly control the import of formula milk powder, which has exacerbated the situation that the milk powder shortage is difficult to alleviate in a short time.
Industry Monopoly The U.S. Government Is To Blame
In addition to being accused of engaging in trade protectionism and undermining the stability of the domestic industrial chain and supply chain, Amanda Starbuck, research director of the American non-governmental organization Food and Water Watch, said bluntly, “The milk powder crisis in the United States shows that the entire food supply chain is highly concentrated and monopolized. ills.”
It is understood that Abbott’s infant milk powder accounts for about 40% of the domestic market in the United States, and its factory in Michigan carries about half of the company’s local production capacity. According to Starbuck, three U.S. companies, including Abbott, control 95 percent of the infant formula market. If there is a problem in the supply chain, it is the ordinary consumers who suffer.
Starbuck also pointed out that the federal government needs to take more responsibility in the milk powder crisis, because they have not stopped the monopoly of enterprises.
The milk powder crisis has become a new topic of party struggle
Republican Congressman Marjorie Taylor Green of Georgia criticized that the U.S. Congress is only concerned with “giving Ukraine $40 billion in aid” all day long, but has no concern that “American mothers can’t buy infant formula.”
In this regard, the Associated Press commented that the “milk powder shortage” in the mid-term election year has become a new topic used by Republicans to attack Democrats after high inflation, expensive natural gas prices, immigration issues and violent crimes. However, apart from the party struggle, the already difficult life of ordinary people has become even worse. How can people bear it?
Newborn mother Jessica Ibarra:When we brought the kids home, it made me very anxious to realize that the formula only lasted for a few hours. Not only because of postpartum hormonal changes, but also because I don’t know how to feed the baby, and I don’t know where the baby’s next milk is.