"Having worked on nutrition policy for years, I agree it is time for common sense on breast-feeding," former Sen. George McGovern (D-S.D.), who was the 1972 Democratic presidential nominee and former chair of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, writes in a New York Times letter to the editor in response to an Times editorial on breast-feeding. McGovern writes that breastmilk is "clearly best, the gold standard of infant nutrition," but in some cases, such as when breastmilk is unavailable or when it is from an HIV-positive woman and contains the virus, "formula can also save lives" (McGovern, New York Times, 7/10).

"Reprinted with permission from kaisernetwork. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at kaisernetwork/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.