The United States of America has faced a substantial milk shortage for the past six months. It has created an issue for parents to arrange milk for their infants. Low-income families show a major effect of this shortage as they cannot afford the alternatives and even cannot travel long distances to find milk to feed their kids. Some parents have attempted to dilute baby formula or prepare their own milk from scratch out of an increasing need to feed their children. There are many reasons behind this milk shortage that forced people to use alternatives.
Reasons for Milk Shortage
There are many reasons behind this milk shortage.
1. Covid-19
Covid-19 has a major impact on the shortage of milk. Government restricted supply from many areas of the world, which has been a major reason since 2020. Early on in the pandemic, there was a shortage, which grew worse as more employees became missing. According to USA Today, by November 2021, 11 percent of milk suppliers were out of stock.
2. Plant Shut Down
In Feb 2022, Abbott, the major milk supply company, shut down its Michigan plant. FDA has pointed out contamination in their formula due to bacteria. Abbott supplies 40% milk in the U.S. Several other issues were reported in the coming months. Due to the issue, Abbott became out of stock in U.S. Markets.
3. Import Restrictions
The United States is very strict in its import policy. United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement restricted imports of milk formula from Canada. FDA also stopped importing formulas from European countries. The Russia-Ukraine war implemented many import restrictions, which is also a cause of the lack of milk in the U.S.
4. High Terrif
High tariffs and quotas on the tariff rate apply to baby formula (TRQs). An import of a product subject to TRQs is costly since some imports are subject to tariffs, and excess imports over the quota are subject to tariffs and extra charges.
Effects of Milk Shortage
Milk shortage has a major impact on rural areas and poor people. The prices became high with every passing day, and most parents could not afford them. The kids’ health issues rate doubled during the milk shortage time. Tension and mental strain are common in kids’ parents after the milk shortage. Parents tried to prepare their formula in this short time, which brought more adverse effects on kids’ health.
Alternatives
Milk shortage is not bearable in any condition. Therefore, U.S. citizens must cover the whole issue as soon as possible. There are many alternatives brought into the market. Parents even tried to make their own formula.
Breastfeeding is the most common and most important solution to this problem. But it is not for adopted babies or in women who did not breastfeed in the early stages after delivering their baby.
Also, it is understandable that many women do not produce enough milk to feed their babies either.
Biden’s government ordered military forces to help the supply chain departments supply milk formula to every part of America. FDA and Abbott are ready to restart making formula milk in the coming weeks to cope with this issue. FDA claimed that there would be no milk shortage in America in the next 2-3 months.
References
https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2022/5/19/us-baby-formula-crisis-what-you-need-to-know
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/05/18/baby-formula-shortage-impact/
