1977 Nestlé boycott
A boycott was launched in the United States on July 4, 1977, against the Swiss-based multinational food and drink processing corporation Nestlé. The boycott expanded into Europe in the early 1980s and was prompted by concerns about Nestlé's aggressive marketing of infant formulas (i.e., substitutes for breast milk), particularly in underdeveloped countries.[1][2] The boycott has been cancelled and renewed because of the business practices of Nestlé and other substitute manufacturers monitored by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).[3][4] Organizers of the boycott as well as public health researchers and experts consider breast milk to be the best nutrition source for infants.[5][6][7] The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends infants to be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of their lives,[8] nevertheless, sometimes nutritional gaps need to be filled if breastfeeding is not possible.[9][7]
The Nestlé boycott can be seen as special in a sense that it linked human rights regulations and humanitarian activism with corporate responsibility and market capitalism. Consumers were basically acting as global citizens by aiding people in need outside their close communities – mothers in developing countries –, “using the marketplace not as a way of generating revenue, but rather as a space for protest”.[10]
Baby milk controversy
Groups such as the International Baby Food Action Network and Save the Children argue that the promotion of infant formula over breastfeeding has led to health problems and deaths among infants in less economically developed countries.[11][12] There are three problems that can arise when poor mothers in developing countries switch to formula as well as one list of benefits of breast milk:
- Sanitation:
- Formula must be mixed with water, which is often impure or not potable in poor countries, leading to disease in vulnerable infants.[13] Because of the low literacy rates in developing nations, many mothers are not aware of the sanitation methods needed in the preparation of bottles. Even mothers able to read in their native language may be unable to read the language in which sterilization directions are written.
- Although some mothers can understand the sanitation standards required, they often do not have the means to perform them: fuel to boil water, electric (or other reliable) light to enable sterilisation at night. UNICEF estimates that a formula-fed child living in disease-ridden and unhygienic conditions is between 6 and 25 times more likely to die of diarrhea and four times more likely to die of pneumonia than a breastfed child.[14]
- Nutritional value:
- Many poor mothers use less formula for the baby than is required, in order to make a container of formula last longer. As a result, some infants receive inadequate nutrition from weak solutions of formula.[15]
- Breast milk has many natural benefits lacking in formula. neuronal (brain and nerve) development.[20] The bond between baby and mother can be strengthened during breastfeeding.[18] Frequent and exclusive breastfeeding can also delay the return of fertility, which can help women in developing countries to space their births.[21] The World Health Organization recommends that, in the majority of cases, babies should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months, and then given complementary foods in addition to breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond.[22]
- Preserving milk supply:
- The practice of relying on free formula in maternity wards frequently means the mother loses the ability to make her own milk and must buy formula (as stated in the following paragraph).
Advocacy groups and charities have accused Nestlé of unethical methods of promoting infant formula over breast milk to poor mothers in developing countries.[23][24] For example, IBFAN claims that Nestlé distributes free formula samples to hospitals and maternity wards; after leaving the hospital, the formula is no longer free, but because the supplementation has interfered with lactation, the family must continue to buy the formula. IBFAN also alleges that Nestlé uses "humanitarian aid" to create markets, does not label its products in a language appropriate to the countries where they are sold, and offers gifts and sponsorship to influence health workers to promote its products.[25] The company not only made use of mass media promotion (e.g. billboards and posters) and sample distributions, they also had sales people dressed as so-called “milk nurses” to visit mothers in hospital and at their home to praise formula and its benefits.[26][27][10] Nestlé justified its actions by rejecting the responsibility for e.g. the lack of clean water in many developing countries and further argued with freedom of consumer choice, which in the company’s opinion allows for formula products to be sold in developing markets.[10][28]
History
1970s
Nestlé's marketing strategy was first written about in
The widespread publicity led to the launch of the boycott in
1980s and 1990s
In 1981, the 34th World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body for WHO, adopted Resolution WHA34.22 which includes the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. The Code covers infant formula and other milk products, foods and beverages, when marketed or otherwise represented to be suitable as a partial or total replacement of breast milk. It bans the promotion of breast milk substitutes and gives health workers the responsibility for advising parents. It limits manufacturing companies to the provision of scientific and factual information to health workers and sets forth labeling requirements.[34] The US voted against the adoption.[35]
In 1984, boycott coordinators met with Nestlé, which agreed to create an independent agency, the Nestlé Infant Formula Audit Commission (IFAC), and to sign an agreement where they pledged to fully implement the Code. The boycott was then officially suspended.[10][33][36] In 1988, a second phase of the boycott started as IBFAN alleged that formula companies were flooding health facilities in the developing world with free and low-cost supplies, and the boycott was relaunched the following year.[13]
In May 1999, a ruling against Nestlé was issued by the UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). Nestlé claimed in an anti-boycott advertisement that it markets infant formula "ethically and responsibly". The ASA found that Nestlé could not support this nor other claims in the face of evidence provided by the campaigning group Baby Milk Action.[37]
2000s onwards
In November 2000, the European Parliament invited IBFAN, UNICEF, and Nestlé to present evidence to a public hearing before the Development and Cooperation Committee. Evidence was presented by the IBFAN group from Pakistan and UNICEF's legal officer commented on Nestlé's failure to bring its policies into line with the World Health Assembly Resolutions. Nestlé declined an invitation to attend, claiming scheduling conflicts, although it sent a representative of the auditing company it had commissioned to produce a report on its Pakistan operation.[38][39][40]
Throughout the years, Nestlé has claimed that it is in full compliance with the International Code.[41] In 2001, for example, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, at the time CEO of Nestlé, stated: "we also carry out annual audits on WHO Code compliance with a sample of Nestlé companies, and we investigate any substantiated claims made by those who believe we have broken the Code.... If we find that the Code has been deliberately violated, we take disciplinary action."[42] The company maintained that many of the allegations are unsubstantiated, out of date, or use IBFAN's own non-standard interpretation of the Code.[43]
In May 2011, the debate over Nestlé's unethical marketing of infant formula was relaunched in the Asia-Pacific region. Nineteen leading
In a 2018 study, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) estimated that 10,870,000 infants had died between 1960 and 2015 as a result of Nestlé baby formula used by "mothers [in low and middle-income countries] without clean water sources", with deaths peaking at 212,000 in 1981.[47]
Current status
This section needs to be updated.(May 2022) |
The boycott is on-going as of 2022[update],
Data from 2020 indicates that 136 WHO member states had established some legal measures related to the Code from 1981, however, only few fully reflect the Code.[53] The report indicates a gap in many countries' legislation. IBFAN continues to be an international network, encompassing more than 270 groups in over 160 countries who push for implementations of the marketing of breast-milk substitutes Code and relevant resolutions. The overall goal remains: marketing baby food should not have negative impacts on infants' health.[54]
In the media
An episode of the TV show
In 2001, comedian
In 2002, authors Germaine Greer and Jim Crace withdrew from the Hay Festival in protest over Nestlé's sponsorship of the event.[58]
A 2007 article in The Guardian highlighted aggressive marketing practices by Nestlé in Bangladesh.[13]
The 2014 film Tigers is based on 1997 Pakistan Nestle infant formula controversy.[citation needed]
See also
- H2NO – an upselling campaign by Coca-Cola to dissuade consumers from ordering tap water drinks at restaurants
- Controversies of Nestlé
References
- Minneapolis Star. September 9, 1978. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Krasny, Jill (June 25, 2012). "Every Parent Should Know The Scandalous History Of Infant Formula". Business Insider. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Macdonald, Theresa (October 24, 1987). "Simple formula urged for healthy children". Regina Leader-Post. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- New York Times. January 27, 1984. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- PMID 25721389.
- S2CID 43304804.
- ^ PMID 27187450.
- ^ World Health Organization. (2002). Infant and young child nutrition, Global strategy on infant and young child feeding, Report by the Secretariat. https://apps.who.int/gb/archive/pdf_files/WHA55/ea5515.pdf
- ISBN 9780226288031.
- ^ .
- ^ "What is the Problem?". IBFAN. Archived from the original on April 26, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ A Generation On: Baby milk marketing still putting children’s lives at risk Save the Children report, May 2007 (pdf).
- ^ a b c Milking it Joanna Moorhead, The Guardian, May 15, 2007
- ^ "Infant and Young Child Feeding and Care". UNICEF. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ "World Concern - Witness the Transformation". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ "Breastfeeding". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved January 23, 2007.
- PMID 15687461.
- ^ a b "Mothers and Children Benefit from Breastfeeding". 4woman.gov. February 27, 2009. Archived from the original on March 16, 2009.
- ^ "Gastroenteritis". Merck Manuals Online Medical Library. February 1, 2003. Retrieved November 21, 2006.
- ISBN 0-8493-6795-6.
- ISBN 0-9664902-6-6.
- ^ World Health Organization, "Global strategy for infant and young child feeding," section titled "EXERCISING OTHER FEEDING OPTIONS" November 24, 2001
- ^ "Nestle Products to Boycott". Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ a b History of the campaign Archived July 3, 2010, at the Wayback Machine Baby Milk Action Group
- ^ "How breastfeeding is undermined". IBFAN. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ a b Muller, Mike (1974). The Baby Killer. A War on Want investigation into the promotion and sale of powdered baby milks in the Third World. London: War on Want.
- ^ S2CID 155057976.
- ^ ISSN 1936-3931.
- S2CID 166328342.
- ^ "Historical Data for Switzerland / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate". Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ The Formula Flap TIME Magazine, Jul. 12, 1976
- ^ Muller, Mike (February 13, 2013). "Nestlé baby milk scandal has grown up but not gone away". The Guardian. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ S2CID 222256324.
- ^ "The International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes" (PDF). WHO. 1981. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 24, 2006. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "About IBFAN – The International Baby Food Action Network". Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ Gershon, Livia (July 20, 2018). "The Continuing Controversy Over Baby Formula". JSTOR Daily. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- PMID 9974443.
- ^ "European Parliament public hearing on Nestlé's baby food marketing" (PDF) (Press release). Breast Feeding Promotion Network of India. November 22, 2000. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ "MEPs shocked as Nestlé and Adidas snub Public Hearing on corporate responsibility" (Press release). Baby Milk Action. November 23, 2000. Archived from the original on April 15, 2007. Retrieved June 8, 2007.
- ^ "European Parliament Committee on Development". Nestlé. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
- ^ "The "International Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes"". Nestlé. Archived from the original on May 16, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "Foreword by Peter Brabeck". Nestlé. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
- ^ "WHO Code Violation Allegations". Nestlé. Archived from the original on April 9, 2007. Retrieved June 6, 2007.
- ^ "Letter from NGOs to Nestlé" (PDF). Retrieved September 5, 2014.
- ^ "The "LAOS: NGOs flay Nestlé's infant formula strategy". June 23, 2011. Retrieved November 26, 2014.
- ^ "Bureau Veritas report" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 3, 2016.
- ^ Mortality from Nestlé’s Marketing of Infant Formula in Low and Middle-Income Countries. Jesse K. Anttila-Hughes, Lia C.H. Fernald, Paul J. Gertler, Patrick Krause, Eleanor Tsai, and Bruce Wydick. National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). March 2018, revised July 2023.
- ^ a b "Nestlé under fire for marketing claims on baby milk formulas". the Guardian. February 1, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ "Why was a Nestlé boycott launched?". Nestlé Global. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ "Nestlé struggles to win over baby formula critics". SWI swissinfo.ch. January 10, 2020. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ "Infant formula". Nestlé Global. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ "How formula milk firms target mothers who can least afford it". the Guardian. February 27, 2018. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ World Health Organisation. (2020). Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes: National Implementation of the International Code, Status Report 2020, Summary. https://www.unicef.org/media/69646/file/Marketing-of-breast-milk-substitutes-status-report-2020-summary.pdf
- ^ "Our History – The International Baby Food Action Network". Retrieved May 30, 2022.
- ^ "Home - Mark Thomas Info". Archived from the original on September 29, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
- ^ Scott, Kirsty (August 27, 2001). "Spoof horror writer wins £5,000 Perrier award: Fringe comedy contest soured by baby milk protests". The Guardian. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
- ^ "The Tap Water Awards". Archived from the original on June 12, 2007. Retrieved June 11, 2007.
- ^ "Writers boycott literary festival". BBC News. May 27, 2002. Retrieved June 7, 2007.
External links
- International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN)
- Baby Milk Action
- Nestlé marketing profile Archived May 14, 2005, at the Wayback Machine, from Breaking the Rules Stretching the Rules, IBFAN, 2004
- Edinburgh University Néstle Boycott Campaign
- Nestlé's response to the baby milk issue