Norway puts BM in its annual food prod stats. But why?

[OverRated]

In a debate, with a friend, he asked why they list it. "It's not a commodity. Do they list homegrown vegetables too? I suspect they would be grown in equal abundance?"

My response included:
Breast milk is the ONLY food source for most infants worldwide.
It is the sole/ most important food for a significant part of the population (and gave the eg of 10% of the population of sub-Saharan Africa, where human milk production is ~ 50% that of cows's milk and is therefore VERY significant)
The Norwegain gov acknowledging the value of BM is perhaps why 99% of Norwegian mothers nurse their babies and at 6 months, 80% of them still are (compared with 32% in the US)

Homegrown vegetables (delicious as they are) are not enough to sustain an entire group of people.

It is a food source, produced in their country and therefore should be listed and the question really should be, why don't other countries list it.

But I'm floundering now (Because I am irritated by his flippancy) Help!

I think they probably should include homegrown vegetables too, though, if they could get the figures.

That's really interesting. Do they say how much? And how do they work it out?

That's really interesting. Of course it should be included. Breast milk definitely has economic value. Not just what it would cost to replace it but also the economic costs (i.e. healthcare costs) of not breastfeeding. There have been quite a few economics papers published on this so it's a more mainstream idea than your friend thinks, just that other governments are not as forward thinking as Norway's.

I just mentioned this on another thread. I don't know why Norway does it but I like it. It gives a value to breastfeeding and those who do it

interesting article

The value of breastmilk in norway is calculated based on an estimation of how much breastmilk norwegian women produce yearly (estimated to be 10,000,000 litres) times the cost of one litre of breastmilk frm the national milkbank (approx.£65!!!!) The government admits this is probably much less than the real total value as breastfeeding reduces sickness in children so cost to the health system and the cost of parents taking time off work to care for their children.

The Americans calculate the value based on how much only a small increase in breastfeeing rates in the US can save on the cost of treating 3 illnesses in children:
Otitis media, Gastroenteritis and Necrotising Enterocolitis.

(I got this from a document published by the norwegian government but it is in Norwegian.....)

slightly off-topic but you'll see what i mean...

"It would take 135 million lactating cows to replace the milk of the women of India alone."
here

Thanks everyone. This is just what I needed. I stupidly didn't think about the economic value in terms of healthcare. The facts and figures are great. I totally agree that it should be listed.

Now he says that it isn't under governmental control so is more of a personal asset as it isn't produced by the country just by a person for another person

i dont think it should be listed.
it is a food source, but only for the mothers baby. its not as if lots of breastmilk were being cconsumed for anyone other than the baby. which would be a reason to include it.

Lots of stuff that is measured under economic activity is person to person though. How about cleaning, as a job? Home helps?

Isn't it Norway where they give sahm the money that they would have given them towards nursery costs if they had gone out to work in order to encourage bf? I think they also give one year maternity leave as well. On the downside I hear booze is extremley expensive.

Fairymum, could you link to the article you mentioned? My Norwegian is a bit rusty but I'm keen to have a go- it sounds interesting.

www.regjeringen.no/upload/kilde/hod/red/2006/0052/ddd/pdfv/277575-nasjonalt_kompetansesenter_ for_amming.pdf

Sorry I cannot do proper links....

Fairymum, so sorry, I never came back to thank you for your link. The link has gone but I did a search on the website and it was fascinating and very good Work Avoidance material.

V sensible, Norwegians, in their attitude to parenting.