Breastfeeding, Capital, and Alimentary Sovereignty. The Fallacy of the Shortage of Human Milk

Abstract

¿Is there actually a remarkable amount of women who cannot produce enough breastmilk or that of good enough quality? Or, is that a belief that hides interferences to breastfeeding and commercial interests, that are masked under the myth of scarcity and quality of human breast milk? Can we consider breastfeeding as an act of food sovereignty? This article explores how the scarcity of human breast milk is linked to patriarchal and capitalist practices that inhibit it, instead of being due to a biological deficiency of women or to the scarcity of a natural resource.