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Why boycott Nestle?

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says that reversing the decline in breastfeeding could save the lives of 1.5 million children every year.

 

Where water is unsafe, an artificially-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die from diarrhoea than a breastfed child.

 

Despite the unnecessary death and suffering, Nestle continues to undermine attempts to reverse the decline in breastfeeding, putting its own profits before infant health.

 

Nestle, the world's largest food company, controls about 40% of the world baby food market. It sets marketing trends and influences governments and trade policies worldwide.

 

In 1981 the World Health Assembly adopted the World Health Organisation's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.* Other Resolutions adopted since then clarify the Code and address new company marketing tactics. All forms of promotion of breastmilk substitutes are banned.

 

Nestle violates the Code* more often than any of its competitors.

 

That's why this campaign asks you to stop buying Nescafe, Nestle's flagship product.

Breastfeeding gives babies the best possible start in life, baby food companies such as Nestle know this, but they continue to use aggressive marketing tactics to encourage mothers to feed their babies artificial milks

A mother's right to decide

A mother has the right to information free of commercial pressure,
her decision on how to feed her baby is her own.

What does Nestle say?

Nestle claims that its malpractice is a thing of the past and that it now abides by the Code*.

 

Nestles "Charter", setting out its own policy, is a watered down and completely inadequate version of the Code* applying only to infant formula milk in selected 'developing' countries, rather than ALL countries and ALL breastmilk substitutes as required by the Code and Resolutions.

 

Nestle doesn't even abide by its own charter.

 

How Nestle breaks the Code*

Because of the boycott Nestle has curbed some of its more blatant malpractices, such as 'milk nurses' (company sales reps dressed as nurses); baby pictures on tins of infant formula and some media advertising.

 

Yet violations continue. Our report Breaking the Rules, Stretching the Rules 2001 details violations found during monitoring in 14 countries.

 

These include:

• Labels not in an appropriate language. Important notices are missing, incomplete or undermined by pictures or text which idealise bottle feeding in many of the countries surveyed.
  
• Free gifts for health workers, including cups, calendars, torches, penholders and chocolates. Free and low cost supplies of infant formulae were found in Bolivia, Cote d'Ivoire, Malaysia, Mexico and Taiwan.
• Promotion to mothers in hospitals through baby record books, bibs, placemats and posters.
• Promotion of follow-on milks and complementary foods for babies under months of age (the World Health Assembly calls for exclusive breastfeeding to be protected till 6 months, with continued breastfeeding into the second year of life).

  Nestle has even promoted infant teas for use from one week of age. Nestle confuses mothers and health workers by naming and packaging its follow-on milks in the same way as its infant formula.
  

• Advertisements for its infant foods and milks on TV, on billboards, in magazines and by direct mail.
  

Is the boycott working?

Yes, Nestle is clearly worried about the damage to its sales and its reputation.

 

The boycott is supported internationally by thousands of individuals, businesses and development, health, religious and political organisations. In the UK, these include the World Development Movement, the Women's Institute and the largest trade union, UNISON.

 

According to the Ethical Consumer magazine the Nestle boycott is the best supported consumer boycott in the UK.

 

The boycott continues to have an important impact on Nestle, in direct economic terms, in damage caused to its corporate image and management morale and in the resources the company spends trying to combat it.

 

The boycott also raises awareness of the issues. It gives people a voice which Nestle cannot ignore.

 

Companies do respond to public pressure. Once Nestle changes, it will have no reason to obstruct governments which take action to protect infants.

Breastfeeding Saves Lives

Click Here For More Information On Breastfeeding (Internal Link)

Other Related Links

• http://www.babymilkaction.org/ (External Link)

   

  • Baby Milk Action is a non-profit organisation which aims to save lives and to end the avoidable suffering caused by inappropriate infant feeding.
    
    Baby Milk Action works within a global network to strengthen independent, transparent and effective controls on the marketing
    of the baby feeding industry.
• http://www.babymilkaction.org/pages/boycott.html (External Link)
  
  
  • This website relates to the world's largest baby food company, increases profits by promoting artificial infant feeding in violation of the World Health Organisation's
    
    
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/ww2/A905195 (External Link)
  
  
  • Another site which relates to the Nestle Boycott
    
    
• http://www.networkingnewsletter.org.uk/28/nestle.shtml

  (External Link) Story Of The Nestle 16 In Halifax.
  
  

  • The Nestle 16, who leafletted workers and hung banners at the Nestle factory in Halifax on November 30th 1999 have had their charges of "Conspiracy to Burgle" dropped. For more info, see above