Grid breast feeding

Silicon Valley-venture Prolacta has launched a nation-wide concept for collecting and distributing mother's milk to premature infants. The company provides hospitals with all necessary equipment including refrigerators, temperature-controlled shipping cartons and tracking software. In turn, hospitals hospitals are to recruit volunteering donor nursing mothers. The milk will then be frozen and shipped to Prolacta's production facilities in California for pasteurisation and further distribution.

Of course this will cause debate, and it already has. Experts highlight the risks of mothers who are fully  capable of breastfeeding themselves buying the milk instead. Others point to fact that pasteurisation decreases the nutrial value of the mother's milk.

That´s the nature of innovations. As the products or methods are new and previously not present, it's very easy to find qualities they don't have. But the wonderful thing is, that's not for experts to decide on, but for the users. Indeed, I am sure infants who don't get either pasteurised or non-pasteurised mother's milk, will be quite happy with this initiative.

Most compelling however, is the way to distribute resources from they who have something they don't need to they who despirately want it but don't have it. To me that's what more often should guide investors, entrepreneurs and politicians when it comes to evaluate new business concepts. Smart distribution of resources is more than grid computing. It can revolutionize energy supply, food catering and now even health. Sharing is caring.