This month I tackle a topic dear to health conscious vegans — the use of organic soy milk for babies, instead of GMO commercial formula. Here’s the question that prompted this blog:
Dear Dr. Daniel: We’re vegan. I can’t breast feed and we put our baby daughter on soy formula soon after birth. We became concerned about all the chemicals in commercial baby formulas so switched to organic soy milk instead. Our baby is now four months old and does not seem to be growing much. Do we need to add anything? Please give us options that are vegan. — Janine
Dear Janine: Vegan parents who cannot breast feed often choose organic soy milk, believing it to be less toxic than commercially available infant formulas. By choosing organic, they also avoid GMOs.
While I know your intentions are good, soy milk is seriously deficient as a baby formula. As the FDA wrote in a 1990 warning, soy milk is “grossly lacking in the nutrients needed for infants.” The agency then advised manufacturers to put warning labels on soy milks so they would not be used as formula substitutes. Yet most makers of soy milk put those warnings on the package in very tiny print, if at all. The warnings are in little red type on the brand you’ve chosen, but so hard to see I would not be surprised if you never saw it.
The FDA took action back in 1990 after a two-month old girl in California was hospitalized with severe malnutrition. Her parents had fed her EdenSoy brand soy milk instead of infant formula. Because of this and a similar incident in Arkansas involving the SoyMoo brand of soy milk, the FDA issued a warning on June 13, 1990. Since then, most brands of soy milk — but not EdenSoy — include warning labels in tiny print on their packages.
The FDA told manufacturers to put warning labels on packages of soy milk for a very good reason. Soy milk can put an infant’s life in jeopardy. The myth that soy is a health food has led many parents — particularly vegans like you who use no animal products — to believe that soy milk is a complete and nourishing food not only for adults but for babies and children. It is not, and severe vitamin, mineral, fatty acid and amino acid deficiencies will occur. That’s why supplements such as the amino acid methionine are required by law to be added to soy infant formula.
Sadly, there have also been deaths as well as hospitalizations of vegan babies on soy milk. In May 2007, vegan parents in Atlanta were found guilty of the death of their six month old baby. To supplement the mother’s inadequate supply of breast milk the parents had fed their son soy milk and apple juice. The baby was only 3 1/2 pounds when he died of starvation in April 2004. Previously a New York couple were convicted of murder and a Florida couple of manslaughter.
Soy formula can easily lead to overt malnutrition if the product is improperly formulated or manufactured. The reason is simple: With cow’s milk, the basic components (proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals) are similar to those in human milk and have evolved to perform similar functions such as the building of mammalian brain, bone, muscle and other tissues, and the provision of metabolic energy. There are differences, of course between human milk and cow’s milk, but if formulators of dairy based formulas overlook them in ignorance, the likelihood is strong they will be at least partly compensated for by similar factors from the cow’s milk.
In contrast, soybeans and other plant species did not evolve for for the benefit of human infants. Accordingly, turning soy milk into formula requires massive supplementation, without which serious malnutrition will occur. The most famous case occurred in Fall 2003 when soy formula caused the deaths of three babies and brain damage to at least four other babies in Israel. The infants were using Remedia brand formula that was seriously deficient in vitamin B1 because its manufacturer had failed to add it. Soy milk does not contain added B1 or other of the essential supplements needed to nourish growing babies.
The deaths of the three Israeli infants from the improperly manufactured soy formula in 2003 led the Israeli Health Ministry to form a 13-member committee of pediatricians, oncologists, toxicologists and other health experts to investigate soy formula and soy foods. The committee not only confirmed serious risks from improperly manufactured soy formula such as the Remedia product but from all soy formulas. In July 2005, the Ministry issued a health advisory, in which it warned that babies should not receive soy formula (except as a last resort) and that children up to age 18 should not eat soy foods or drink soy milk more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week. The Ministry was concerned about many health issues, including adverse effects on fertility and increased cancer risk.
The Israeli warning — as well as subsequent warnings from the French Food Agency, German Institute of Risk Assessment and British Dietetic Association — is why I’m not going to suggest you switch your baby from organic soy milk to one of the organic soy formulas that is now available in the marketplace.
My strong advice is to switch to a homemade formula using one of the recipes for infant formula in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. These recipes are also available for free in the Children’s Health section of this website.
But you are vegan, you say? You will not even consider an infant formula based on raw cow or goat’s milk? You find the very thought of preparing the meat based formula revolting? You say your baby is not a little calf? Well, your baby’s a whole lot more like a little calf than a soybean.
Organic soy formula is now available at health food stores. Risky as it is, it’s safer than soy milk. You can also find vegan formulas online based on carrot juice, green juices, almond milk and other vegan products. These will serve your vegan ideology well, but will ill serve your daughter, putting her at risk for severe malnutrition and life-long health challenges.
Mother Nature designed breast milk for babies. Like it or not, that’s an animal product.
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Why didn’t she write to someone who promotes veganism? She certainly must know from reading your other articles (or however she found out about you) that you’re not a fan or either soy or veganism.
I’ll never understand people. She wants you to give her a solution to a problem she created herself, knowing that you’ve written against both of her major points.
Arg. I have no tact and I know that, but I would have nicely (as nicely as I could anyhow) told her to write to someone else because the answer she got from you won’t satisfy her with her current mindset. Double Arg.
Dear Dr. KD,
please do more research before posting such hideously biased and simply ignorant information. You clearly do not understand quite a lot about nutrition, non-GMO organic soy (the only safe soy products) and additionally the reasons millions of people adhere to non-violent diets. Take more care in publishing your so-called professional opinion because people pay attention!
Sincerely,
One Healthy Vegan
in a family of many Very Healthy Vegans.
If you happen to get this — do you know of the almond based vegan formula he mentions? I would breast milk 100%, but having trouble getting my supply in.
Human milk and cow’s milk may be similar, but your mother wasn’t raped and forced to give milk, now was she?
Do human babies need the hormones naturally occurring in cow’s milk that help the calf grow 2,000 lbs. in it’s first years of life? No. We’re the only species who systematically abuses and exploits other animals to serve our frivolously palatable and ignorant preferences.
The nice thing about being human is that we have an ability (and responsibility) to consider the results of our actions and utilize moral reasoning.
Wow, I know this is old, but I have to comment. I grew up on a farm where we raised a handful of cows for milk and meat. If you had spent anytime around an animal, and animals at all, you would know that a female animal in estrus will do whatever she can to find a male to mate with. Any female animal who becomes pregnant was in fact in estrus. I know CAFO animals are not treated well, but if a family can find milk from a cow on a small, organic farm, they will find cows who are treated like queens, and allowed to follow their animal instinct and mate when nature deems. I personally find it would inhumane to not allow them to follow their instinct, if they have no health problems and can safely carry a calf.
Thank God she is seeking for an education to be a better parent and asked Kaayla Daniel PhD. This is in my professional and personal opinions a very beautiful, extremely brilliant knowledgeable doctor and teacher of the truth. She has really taken many hits for the team and come out shining like a VIKING, from straight up LIARS and even LIARS BY OMISSION, HATERS of live raw milks and THIEVES of life liberty and the pursuit of farm fresh foods.
By the way Deb I didn’t catch your parental being [professional] or doctoral education residence, clinical or licensed insured experience? Have you seriously studied up on the knowledge and wisdom of Dr. Prices nutrition and physical degeneration or Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions? Dr Price’s was written Before Soy as in beans, milk and tofu were being pushed on the unsuspecting public.
Have you seen the truth spoken and recognized it??? Have you been to see any of the HEALTHY HAPPY conferences?? or invited and educated friends and loved ones?? That’s the best use of your time.
The very fact the mother is unable to breast-feed her baby is a testament to how unhealthy her own diet it.
Poor baby, too bad it can’t give its opinion of the starvation diet its ‘loving’ mom and dad have it on.
Actually, I think the answer ended on the right note — I sympathize with defending your “beliefs” — but to impose them on your infant is a stretch when it affects their lives FOREVER –animal PRODUCTS such as milk are NOT animal cruelty/animal-rights-violations etc — and WE humans NURSE OUR YOUNG with OUR breast milk just like the ANIMAL kingdom –THAT is hardly “vegan” — MOTHERS’ MILK is the perfect food of choice — if THAT is not an option, then RAW goats milk would be my 2nd choice, since it has been used for countless generations for nurturing all manner of MAMMALS regardles of species!
I think you mean a 6 month old boy from Atlanta, not 6 year old.
Right, thank you. I will correct that.
It amazes me when parents will resort to CHILD CRUELTY in order to avoid “animal cruelty”. Parents and parents-to-be really need to get educated about nutrition by reading studies, not propaganda. I really appreciated Dr Natasha Campbell McBride’s recent discussion at the Weston A Price conference about vegetarianism and veganism and it’s impact on the health of both mom, baby AND the environment. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPW3rbqWNu4 It supports everything you say in this article!