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Things That Made the Modern Economy

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Inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world

50 Things That Made the Modern Economy: Series 1

Things That Made the Modern Economy: Series 1: Infant Formula

Infant Formula

11/07/2017

Series 1

BBC Radio 4 - Things That Made the Modern Economy, Series 1, Infant Formula

For many new mothers who want, or need, to get back to work, infant formula is a godsend.

In 1865, Justus von Liebig invented Soluble Food for Babies. It was the world's first commercial substitute for breastmilk, and it has helped to shape the modern workplace.

Not every baby has a mother who can breastfeed. Indeed, not every baby has a mother. In the early 1800s, only two in three babies who weren't breastfed lived to see their first birthday. Many were given "pap", a bread-and-water mush, from hard-to-clean receptacles that teemed with bacteria. But in 1865 Justus von Liebig invented 'Soluble Food for Babies' - a powder comprising cow's milk, wheat flour, malt flour and potassium bicarbonate. It was the first commercial substitute for breastmilk and, as Tim Harford explains, it has helped shape the modern workplace.

Producer: Ben Crighton
Editors: Richard Knight and Richard Vadon.

Things That Made the Modern Economy: Series 1

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Inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world.

Tim Harford introduces inventions, ideas and innovations that have helped to create the modern economic world.

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Things That Made the Modern Economy

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Infant Formula

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