Julie P Smith
Biographic Data
| ID | 4263343 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Julie P Smith |
| GIVEN NAMES | Julie P |
| FAMILY NAME | Smith |
| SIGNATURE | SMITH J P |
| AFFILIATIONS | Australian National University |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-9796-7629 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 17 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 8 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 17 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1999 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Profits Before Health? New Zealand Government Rejection of Stricter Infant Formula Marketing Standards and the Lobbying Behind It
In 2024, the New Zealand (NZ) government made a rare departure from the joint food standards programme with Australia, administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). This paper presents a timely case study of how transnational dairy and baby food corporations lobbied the NZ government to reject updated infant formula standards, despite strong evidence and support across Australia for reform. Globally, transnational corporations dom…
The economic cost consequences of suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices
Breastfeeding is important for women and children’s health, but less than half of infants worldwide begin life with optimal breastfeeding. A growing literature shows consistently large economic costs of not breastfeeding, with global studies showing economic losses of around US$300 billion globally. However, existing studies are highly diverse in approaches, methods, data sources and country results. Building on a landmark 2012 UNICEF UK review f…
Breastfeeding and infant care as ‘sexed’ care work
Women’s 1 lifelong health and nutrition status is intricately related to their reproductive history, including the number and spacing of their pregnancies and births, and for how long and how intensively they breastfeed their children. In turn, women’s reproductive biology is closely linked to their social roles and situation, including regarding economic disadvantage and disproportionate unpaid work. Recognizing , as well as reducing and redistr…
The volume and monetary value of human milk produced by the world's breastfeeding mothers
The Mothers' Milk Tool was developed to make more visible the economic value contributed to society by women's unpaid care work through breastfeeding infants and young children. This manuscript describes the development and display key features of the tool, and reports results for selected countries. For the development, we used five steps: (1) defining the tool by reviewing existing tools and scholarly literature to identify uses, approaches, de…
Regulating the marketing of foods for infants and young children
Breast milk substitute (BMS) marketing harms breastfeeding and public health. To control BMS marketing, the Member States of the World Health Organization is called upon to adopt all provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code) into national law. In 2017, Thailand adopted many provisions of the Code through the Control of Marketing Promotion of Infant and Young Child Food Act B.E. 2560 (the Act), includin…
The contribution of breastfeeding to a healthy, secure and sustainable food system for infants and young children
Objective: The mother–child breastfeeding dyad is a powerful force for achieving healthy, secure and sustainable food systems. However, food system reports exclude breastfeeding and mother’s milk. To help correct this omission and give breastfeeding women greater visibility in food systems dialogue and action, we illustrate how to estimate mother’s milk production and incorporate this into food surveillance systems, drawing on the pioneering expe…
Regulation of baby food marketing in Thailand
Objective: To report on the prevalence of different types of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) marketing and the compliance of such marketing with the ‘Control of Marketing of Infant and Young Child Food Act 2017’ (The Act) and the ‘International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (WHO Code)’ in Thailand. Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study, guided by the WHO/UNICEF NetCode Periodic Assessment Protocol. Setting: Health facilities and…
Globalization, first-foods systems transformations and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The global milk formula market has 'boomed' in recent decades, raising serious concerns for breastfeeding, and child and maternal health. Despite these developments, few studies have investigated the global expansion of the baby food industry, nor the market and political practices corporations have used to grow and sustain their markets. In this paper, our aim is to understand the strategies used by the baby food industry to shape 'f…
Social value of maintaining baby-friendly hospital initiative accreditation in Australia
Scaled up nationally, the BFHI could provide important benefits to the Australian health system and national economy. In this public hospital, the BFHI produced social value greater than the cost of investment, providing new evidence of its effectiveness and economic gains as a public health intervention. Our findings using a novel tool to calculate the social rate of return, indicate that the BHFI accreditation is an investment in the health and…
First‐food systems transformations and the ultra‐processing of infant and young child diets
The inappropriate marketing and aggressive promotion of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) undermines breastfeeding and harms child and maternal health in all country contexts. Although a global milk formula 'sales boom' is reportedly underway, few studies have investigated its dynamics and determinants. This study takes two steps. First, it describes trends and patterns in global formula sales volumes (apparent consumption), by country income and regi…
Counting the cost of not breastfeeding is now easier, but women’s unpaid health care work remains invisible
In this issue, 'The Cost of Not Breastfeeding' The study concludes that global economic costs of not breastfeeding are substantial, around US$341 billion annually, but can be addressed by investing resources in key breastfeeding strategies and interventions.
Global trends and patterns of commercial milk-based formula sales
Objective The marketing of infant/child milk-based formulas (MF) contributes to suboptimal breast-feeding and adversely affects child and maternal health outcomes globally. However, little is known about recent changes in MF markets. The present study describes contemporary trends and patterns of MF sales at the global, regional and country levels. Design Descriptive statistics of trends and patterns in MF sales volume per infant/child for the ye…
Chronic disease and infant nutrition
Objective To assess the public health significance of premature weaning of infants from breast milk on later-life risk of chronic illness. Design A review and summary of recent meta-analyses of studies linking premature weaning from breast milk with later-life chronic disease risk is presented followed by an estimation of the approximate exposure in a developed Western country, based on historical breast-feeding prevalence data for Australia sinc…
Feeding Patterns and Emotional Care in Breastfed Infants
Mothers’ Milk and Measures of Economic Output
Thoughtful economists have long been aware of the limitations of national accounting and GDP in measuring economic activity and material well-being. Feminist economists criticize the failure to count women's unpaid and reproductive work in measures of economic production. This paper examines the treatment of human milk production in national accounting guidelines. Human milk is an important resource produced by women. Significant maternal and chi…
Redistribution and Federal finance
A key issue of taxation policy since the 1980s is how governments can raise sufficient revenue for social protection and redistribution and to respond to the needs for public spending associated with rapid economic integration. A unique aspect of Australia’s federal finance arrangements is horizontal equalization. This paper examines its origins in the federation debates and draws parallels between Australian economic history and the current expe…
Human milk supply in Australia
Mothers’ Milk and Measures of Economic Output
Thoughtful economists have long been aware of the limitations of national accounting and GDP in measuring economic activity and material well-being. Feminist economists criticize the failure to count women's unpaid and reproductive work in measures of economic production. This paper examines the treatment of human milk production in national accounting guidelines. Human milk is an important resource produced by women. Significant maternal and chi…
Feeding Patterns and Emotional Care in Breastfed Infants
Human milk supply in Australia
Human milk supply in Australia
Redistribution and Federal finance
A key issue of taxation policy since the 1980s is how governments can raise sufficient revenue for social protection and redistribution and to respond to the needs for public spending associated with rapid economic integration. A unique aspect of Australia’s federal finance arrangements is horizontal equalization. This paper examines its origins in the federation debates and draws parallels between Australian economic history and the current expe…
Mothers’ Milk and Measures of Economic Output
Thoughtful economists have long been aware of the limitations of national accounting and GDP in measuring economic activity and material well-being. Feminist economists criticize the failure to count women's unpaid and reproductive work in measures of economic production. This paper examines the treatment of human milk production in national accounting guidelines. Human milk is an important resource produced by women. Significant maternal and chi…
Chronic disease and infant nutrition
Objective To assess the public health significance of premature weaning of infants from breast milk on later-life risk of chronic illness. Design A review and summary of recent meta-analyses of studies linking premature weaning from breast milk with later-life chronic disease risk is presented followed by an estimation of the approximate exposure in a developed Western country, based on historical breast-feeding prevalence data for Australia sinc…
Feeding Patterns and Emotional Care in Breastfed Infants
Global trends and patterns of commercial milk-based formula sales
Objective The marketing of infant/child milk-based formulas (MF) contributes to suboptimal breast-feeding and adversely affects child and maternal health outcomes globally. However, little is known about recent changes in MF markets. The present study describes contemporary trends and patterns of MF sales at the global, regional and country levels. Design Descriptive statistics of trends and patterns in MF sales volume per infant/child for the ye…
Counting the cost of not breastfeeding is now easier, but women’s unpaid health care work remains invisible
In this issue, 'The Cost of Not Breastfeeding' The study concludes that global economic costs of not breastfeeding are substantial, around US$341 billion annually, but can be addressed by investing resources in key breastfeeding strategies and interventions.
First‐food systems transformations and the ultra‐processing of infant and young child diets
The inappropriate marketing and aggressive promotion of breastmilk substitutes (BMS) undermines breastfeeding and harms child and maternal health in all country contexts. Although a global milk formula 'sales boom' is reportedly underway, few studies have investigated its dynamics and determinants. This study takes two steps. First, it describes trends and patterns in global formula sales volumes (apparent consumption), by country income and regi…
Globalization, first-foods systems transformations and corporate power
BACKGROUND: The global milk formula market has 'boomed' in recent decades, raising serious concerns for breastfeeding, and child and maternal health. Despite these developments, few studies have investigated the global expansion of the baby food industry, nor the market and political practices corporations have used to grow and sustain their markets. In this paper, our aim is to understand the strategies used by the baby food industry to shape 'f…
Social value of maintaining baby-friendly hospital initiative accreditation in Australia
Scaled up nationally, the BFHI could provide important benefits to the Australian health system and national economy. In this public hospital, the BFHI produced social value greater than the cost of investment, providing new evidence of its effectiveness and economic gains as a public health intervention. Our findings using a novel tool to calculate the social rate of return, indicate that the BHFI accreditation is an investment in the health and…
The contribution of breastfeeding to a healthy, secure and sustainable food system for infants and young children
Objective: The mother–child breastfeeding dyad is a powerful force for achieving healthy, secure and sustainable food systems. However, food system reports exclude breastfeeding and mother’s milk. To help correct this omission and give breastfeeding women greater visibility in food systems dialogue and action, we illustrate how to estimate mother’s milk production and incorporate this into food surveillance systems, drawing on the pioneering expe…
Regulation of baby food marketing in Thailand
Objective: To report on the prevalence of different types of breast-milk substitutes (BMS) marketing and the compliance of such marketing with the ‘Control of Marketing of Infant and Young Child Food Act 2017’ (The Act) and the ‘International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes (WHO Code)’ in Thailand. Design: Cross-sectional quantitative study, guided by the WHO/UNICEF NetCode Periodic Assessment Protocol. Setting: Health facilities and…
Breastfeeding and infant care as ‘sexed’ care work
Women’s 1 lifelong health and nutrition status is intricately related to their reproductive history, including the number and spacing of their pregnancies and births, and for how long and how intensively they breastfeed their children. In turn, women’s reproductive biology is closely linked to their social roles and situation, including regarding economic disadvantage and disproportionate unpaid work. Recognizing , as well as reducing and redistr…
The volume and monetary value of human milk produced by the world's breastfeeding mothers
The Mothers' Milk Tool was developed to make more visible the economic value contributed to society by women's unpaid care work through breastfeeding infants and young children. This manuscript describes the development and display key features of the tool, and reports results for selected countries. For the development, we used five steps: (1) defining the tool by reviewing existing tools and scholarly literature to identify uses, approaches, de…
Regulating the marketing of foods for infants and young children
Breast milk substitute (BMS) marketing harms breastfeeding and public health. To control BMS marketing, the Member States of the World Health Organization is called upon to adopt all provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes (the Code) into national law. In 2017, Thailand adopted many provisions of the Code through the Control of Marketing Promotion of Infant and Young Child Food Act B.E. 2560 (the Act), includin…
The economic cost consequences of suboptimal infant and young child feeding practices
Breastfeeding is important for women and children’s health, but less than half of infants worldwide begin life with optimal breastfeeding. A growing literature shows consistently large economic costs of not breastfeeding, with global studies showing economic losses of around US$300 billion globally. However, existing studies are highly diverse in approaches, methods, data sources and country results. Building on a landmark 2012 UNICEF UK review f…
Profits Before Health? New Zealand Government Rejection of Stricter Infant Formula Marketing Standards and the Lobbying Behind It
In 2024, the New Zealand (NZ) government made a rare departure from the joint food standards programme with Australia, administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). This paper presents a timely case study of how transnational dairy and baby food corporations lobbied the NZ government to reject updated infant formula standards, despite strong evidence and support across Australia for reform. Globally, transnational corporations dom…
Breastfeeding Practices and Influences (16 works) · Medicine (13 works) · Breastfeeding (12 works) · Child Nutrition and Water Access (11 works) · Economics (10 works) · Environmental health (10 works) · Pediatrics (10 works) · Business (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Economic growth (6 works)