Formula has another, less obvious economic cost. There’s evidence that breastfed babies grow up with slightly higher IQs—about three points higher, when you control as well as possible for other factors. And higher IQs are linked to greater productivity and lifetime earnings. What might be the benefit of making a whole generation of kids just that little bit smarter? According to The Lancet, about $300 billion a year.18 That’s several times the value of the global formula market.
