h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Entry: The Nestlé Boycott - A14263076
Author: AlexAshman [!] - U566116


Research tells me that a possibly unbalanced article was written about this subject in 2001 by Lucinda, who then moved it to Wikipedia as part of a defection to the dark side.

So here's a (hopefully) better Entry to fill the gap.

Alex

what a sad story, at least people are trying to stop nestle from doing it though. i have often heard of the Nestle boycott but never known what it was for, so now i know.

SP

Ps i looked at the entry on Wikipedia (and i'm not just being faithful to HooToo here) but i thought your entry was a lot clearer, well done. i think i would have got bored with the other one

This is a tough assignment to take on, and kudos for trying!

In the late 90s I had a number of short-term office-based contracts with Nestle at their UK HQ. Rank-and-file staff there are convinced that the company is doing nothing wrong, and that the company abides by the letter and spirit of the WHO guidelines. Having said that, Nestle UK has absolutely nothing to do with babymilk.

Protestors handing out leaflets turned up at least once while I worked there, and as far as I recall they were just left to it. No-one tried to stop them. Although after it happened an internal email did go round and posters went up denying the specific allegations - apparently the 'illegal' packaging was old, or from a different country, or something. The company were actually very concerned about the whole thing - I was told by my line manager that if I ever got any hassle about working there I was supposed to contact someone (relatively senior, if I recall) to discuss it.

The line I took at the time was that I had no real way of finding out what the truth was - the company said one thing, and a rather vociforous campaign group said another, with no objective way to find out what the truth was. So I shrugged, and decided not to starve for charity.

I do know for a fact that the protests in the late 90s went beyond campaigning and leafleteering, and progressed as far as active disruption of Nestle recruitment events at universities, including physical intimidation of staff. To the extent that the HR people involved had to insist on a security presence at events.

It might be worth adding that water used to make up infant formula water needs not only to be clean but sterile (usually boiled) along with all equipment for at least the first 6 months.

Steve - I think it's very important to write better stuff than wiki has - it's one of hootoo's strong points.

Otto - would you mind if I included some of your reminisces in the Entry? It's just that it would be a bit difficult to describe the Nestlé way of thinking better than you have.

Serephina - I've added a mention of sterilising bottles etc

Oh Alex, thanks for writing this. I started my own Nestlé Boykott back in 1988 when my first child was born and a friend introduced me to the 'Aktion Babynahrung' as it was called back then ( I think it's still called so). Although I read the Nestlé statemnets, I have never stopped boykotting their products - and there are mayn, even cosmetics like Vichy belong to Nestlé ( about 50% of it, I think), and it's not easy to know with new products, because they often 'hide' behinfd other brand names. I know nobody else who doesn't buy their products,and nobody (friends, family, colleagues did or does understand me) but that has never made any difference to me. Unfortunately, the shop I work in sells Nestlé products, but I never recommend them - that's all I can do, I can't refuse to sell them.

The Student Union at my university has been trying on and off to achieve some sort of boycott, but with all the shops in London being just down the road, it doesn't do much. But they do sell Fair Trade bars (the dark ones are )

Nice one, Alex

We all know now how essential breastfeeding is to the long term of humans. It contributes to all sorts of positives outcomes for the mother and the child. Real concrete health benefits. For example, women are less likely to suffer post partum haemorrhaging because the feeding infant stimulate uterine contractions which will expel any left overs and return it to its pre-pregnancy state more quickly than a non-feeding mum.

Infant formulas have changed phenomally in constitution over the last few decades. Initially, noone knew what had to go in formula to make it suitable. If you compare present ingredients with ingredients four decades ago, you will be shocked. In this way, whoe generations of children have had their health compromised by bottle feeding in situations where this was entirely unnecessary.

Let me give you the African viewpoint on this situation. I was born in the mid 60s and grew up in West Africa - mainly Ghana. To put it in perspective, we are talking about women in poverty - yes a large proportion are illiterate in West Africa but not as many as you would imagine (in Ghana especially).

The rural and some urban women raise their babies in a very particular way. First of all they carry their babies close to their bodies, naked. No nappies. The mother senses when baby needs to go and holds it over a ditch. Most less affluent women in Africa work. They are not sitting at home with a kettle and steam steriliser. Babies and toddlers are raise within the community. So when a mum can't breastfeed for whatever reason, another mum takes over. Babies rarely starved for want of breastfeeding.

To a great extent, you are right when you describe the evil quartet of poverty, illiteracy etc.

The one problem though is where things become the fashion, like c-sections. Many middle class African women chose to bottle feed and it became something to aspire to. Breastfeeding is a particular problem because it is a taught skill. Cut it out of a swathe of a generation and you create the problem wherein a woman has a baby and as her mother/aunt/mil breastfed, she has noone to instruct her. So we have breastfeeding councillors in the UK and other countries now. Africa does not have the luxury of providing this service and they desperately need the immune boost of breastmilk - especially in the present health catastrophe.

I remember the Nestle formula ads. There were huge billboards on the roadside with very bright images of happy elegant mothers and fat bouncy babies. Any verbiage was very very brief. These billboards were all the more shocking for being in areas that had no other advertising - out in semi rural areas, even near the central hospitals. I remember such ads on the Kumasi-Accra road that goes through wilderness, in Abouri and Bolgatanga, both rural areas; in Mampong, the same story.

Not to sound melodramatic or anything but I have no doubt that bottle feeding babies did nothing to help check the AIDS pandemic in Africa.


Wilma

*hoping some of that makes sense *

Oh, and did I say I don't 'do' Nestle in any way shape or form?

W

the nestle uk headquarters is fairlt near to me. i like tothrow things at it when we walk past

Ok, I've added all the things from your post, Wilma. I've also added Otto's post to the Entry and credited you both.

Hope it looks ok now - how is it for contents, quality and balance?

I'm happy to be quoted quasi-anonymously ("one researcher said that..."), but I'd sooner not be credited if that's okay....

Another point that was made regularly was that Nestle have no control over their product after its sold. So if someone finds out-of-date stock from, say, Australia, for sale in Africa, it doesn't follow that Nestle the company are responsible for that. Go to any market in the UK and you'll see lots of slightly dodgy brand name foods and household goods that are either seconds, from abroad, or very close to a sell-by date.

One point that occured to me is the difference between the extra money that Nestle would make by behaving unethically in the third world and the amount they'd lose in the first world when it becomes public knowledge.

Incidently, in the late 90s, anyone who applied for the graduate recruitment scheme actually *gained* points for mentioning the boycott as a challenge that faced the company, or asked about it at interview (as long as it was done appropriately!).

Interesting to read Wilma's comments, particularly about the aspiriational angle. Western = desireable and all that. That chimes with what I've heard, but whether that's from Nestle or my own research I couldn't say.

To clarify - I'm not taking the company line myself, and personally I have little doubt that they *used* to behave very badly. What I have no solid opinion on is what they're doing now. So please don't mistake me for a spokesperson for Nestle or an apologist.

No worries, Otto

... and Alex? You did the research on this. There is no need to credit me as co-author here. I did no more reviewing than I would on any entry in PR. It is your baby and you are doing a very good job.


W

Ok, I've removed your name, and I've added some of your new points and added your 'don't get me wrong' bit to the end of the quote - hope that's ok.

Wilma - are you sure? I would have had no African perspective without your comments, and although Otto has reasons for not wanting credit, I think it should be given where due.

Thing is, Alex, it took all of five minutes of my time to regurgitate a few childhood memories, and I did not even put it in any coherent form or give you any concrete evidence to back up my post. You have done all the background work, the research, the writing and the re-writing. So, no, I don't think the little I offered warrants co-authorship at all. I really feel I was merely acting as a PR reviewer.

Once the content is tightened up we can look more closely with you at the phrasing and other little nitpicks. This is a great entry, I am glad you are writing it.


W

Ok

So, what needs tightening up contents-wise?

Gi's a minute!

I'll be back, hon, I promise.

Ok *waits with bated breath*

Err, just gone to read this, seems I'm a bit too late, the article has been removed for some reason....

ST.