Why doesn’t Canada make its own baby formula when we have the raw ingredients?

OTTAWA — If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove — if only it could process the raw elements.

Canada has a surplus of the main ingredient for infant formula, but without a market for the product, dairy producers say a lot of it is either going to waste or being sold on the cheap as animal feed.

The material, called solid non-fat, is basically what is left over from raw cows milk once it has been processed.

Canada has so much of it that in the 2023 federal budget, the government set aside $333 million to help the dairy industry figure out what to do with it all.