For those of you who can't understand why so many of us get our knickers in a twist about formula marketing and advertising..Have a look at this and you will. Believe me,you will

[moondog]

Nestle and the way they operate on Bangladesh. From today's Guardian

lol at 'don't be so guardian'. what does that actually mean in the context of a spiralling mortality rate from diaorrhea with the use of formula?

I'm sorry walking away now, totally don't agree.

i agree with what someone else said below, if Nestle can provide the formula, they should be able to provide clean water to mix it with.

deegwart...Nestle et all cound't give a toss if people use their product correctly, as long as they got all the small print on the back to cover their own asses, so, they can't be held responsible, they don't give a flying shit....morally they are still very wrong though! Profits is what they care about....

some members from netmums are picketing outside netmums headquarters against the deal with nestle on saturday
(mentioned in linked article)

deegward i'm guessing that article in the guardian was 'so guardian' that you didn't actually read it. I'm stunned anyone could fail to comprehend this issue and think it's about giving third world women choice which they take but don't understand the instructions well enough! We are talking about thousands and thousands of babies dying.

I've never felt so thunked!

deegwart, and of course those women aren't stupid, they might not be able to write and read, but that is no measure of intelligence....they were just unlucky to be born where they were born, I suppose...although one could argue that us western people aren't all that fortunate, despite all the materialistic possession, etc....

swoon @ tiktok

Agree, we should flood NetBums about this,cant believe they removed posts about this.

Let's all email them

3andnomore, of course I realise that people have to walk to rivers, dried up wells etc, for water, but what is also true is that if ou go to these countries the government builidngs etc all will have clean water, its just they do not care enough about their citizens to increase standards of living.

Where's the choice deegward? No choices for these women. That is perfectly clear from the fact that a tin of formula costs a third of the family's weekly income. The formula companies have got them over a barrel.

If they cared so much then Nestle (and their equally complicit competitors) could:

• Invest the resources they spend flogging their product on educating on the importance of correct usage & how to do it in the circumstances these people live.
• Subsidise the distribution of appropriate sterilising solutions.
• Make sure that their product was priced appropriately for local conditions, not just at what the market will bear.
• Even heavily subsidise ready-made formula if that was the safest way for babies to have it.

I suspect that one of the reasons they don't do these things (apart from the obvious one, that corporations don't care about anything except profits) is that it would make formula a much less attractive option and contradict much of their current marketing which I doubt bothers to mention the risks all that much.

Boco, yes I read the article, but I am entitled to my own opinion of it. I think it odd that you would assume I hadn't read it.

i cant believe people are picketing outside netmums HQ!

Because of course everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but what you are saying in fundamentally incorrect.

i dunno
I can see some people from this site who would feel strongly enough to do so - the people on netmums, like any other site have built up a community and are upset at the sponsorship....maybe they will come runnign over here next week........

No sorry it's not, it is my interpretation of the facts!

so your position is that because you find the behaviour of the governments of some countries corrupt their citizens can be targeted and exploited?

I'm embarrassed to say that I've never really looked into this before and haven't really read threads about it. After spending some time finding out just now we will be boycotting all nestle products from now on.

or, maybe deegward, they don't have the capital to invest in the necessary infrastructure??
it isn't just about dirty/unsterilised water either.
the real protective health benefits of bf (protective against all sorts of infections) are even more crucial in this sort of enviroment.
not to bf is not just inadvisable, it is positively risky

Sorry I have not been rude to anyone, so would expect the same courtesy.

My stance is that the Governments are corrupt, that does not mean that the people can be exploited. It does mean that companies operating in those countries do have the right to trade, and the evils of the world cannot and should not be solely laid at their doors, which is how I feel some other posters feel.

Deegward - when you say 'we in the developed world will decide for you' who exactly do you mean? Surely the only western world contact they are receiving is from .....oh yes the formula companies! So are you therefore agreeing that formula companies are deciding for these women? I think your views are too muddled for my head today.

No, not interpretation, it is factually wrong. You said that formula is better than milk from a poorly nourished mother. This is factually wrong.

You said that if they just used it properly it would be safe. In the countries we're talking about, it is not possible to use the product safely if there is no safe water supply. So, reagardless of advice on how to use the formula, it would remain unsafe. That is a fact.

You said it's not Nestle's fault if its not used properly. If Nestle market to a country with a contaminated water supply, where it is not possible to use their product safely, they are doing so unethically, probably illegally - therefore fault does come into it.

but they must take responsibility for their behaviour, deegward, even in an imperfect world.

deegward it is a really dangerous piece of misinformation to say that formula is better than a malnourished mother's milk.

And formula is not a substitute for breast milk. It's an inferior alternative. Even if the mother is malnourished.

What i meant was that it was suggested that they should not be allowed to trade in these countries, so in effect we would be deciding that they HAD to bf. No matter what