I'm sick, sick, sick to death of hearing this bullcrap. I just heard it from another friend on Facebook, and it doesn't matter how much you set people straight, they're going to swallow whatever some knee-jerk uneducated doctor is going to tell them.
The idea that honey is bad for babies comes from a 1978 study where they found botulin spores in some of the honey samples. They don't bother stating how MANY honey samples they took, or how many other items were sampled, but they do go on to mention that botulin was also found in vacuum cleaners, and dirt. So why not feed babies honey? Because it's the only thing the doctors can control. It's easier to tell someone not to feed their baby honey than it is to tell them to make sure they don't vacuum around the kid, or allow them to crawl on the ground.
And why is it that we've decided that everything in the world needs to be sterile in the first place? We know for a FACT that your immune systems can't build without exposure to immune triggers, so our solution is to REMOVE ALL IMMUNE TRIGGERS from the WORLD? How does this make even a little bit of common sense?
Then there's the known antibacterial and antiviral aspects of honey. One study that has NEVER BEEN DONE in the HISTORY OF THE WORLD is to see if the botulin spores found in honey are even VIABLE anymore. They could be (and likely are) very much dead making them similar to a "killed vaccine" which could help you build immunity without the risks of infection.
I also love that when the doctors have had cases of children with childhood botulism, the first thing they ask is, "Did you feed your child raw honey?" Inevitably, the answer is "no." So then, "Ummmm, did you put honey in anything?" "No." "Well... How about honey nut cheerios?" "Yes!" "WELL THERE YA GO!" (I kid you not, this is ACTUALLY what doctors are saying today. This is what passes for quack science now.) They completely ignore the fact that botulin spores are found en-masse in nature. They're EVERYWHERE. Where do you think the bees pick them up from?
There has never, ever, in the history of the world, ever been a single case where botulism was proven to be CAUSED by honey consumption. Period. It's never happened. Look it up. They've never even tested the spores found in honey to find out if they're still alive.
The next person to tell me it's wrong to feed a baby honey, I'm going to smack in the mouth.
Sorry for the rant...
:soapbox: