Boycotting Nestle

[KirstyM]

Does anyone here boycott Nestle?

I have done since about February I think but recently I have become more interested in the campaign.

A couple of my friends and I started an online petition - literally about ten minutes ago. The statement on the petition explains why we are boycotting Nestle, for those who dont already know.

If anybody is interested, then the link is http://www.petitiononline.com/babymilk/petition.html

[nomas]

I don't know, Kristy, it seems from the Memo that Nestle is doing no more than promoting a product that they want to sell. If they are misleading/falsely advertising, that's another legal issue..but if it's still my option as a mother to breastfeed or not.. in other words if substitute milk isn't being forced on me for my child, I don't see why I should boycott it so much as not buy it...just like the tobacco industry. They market however they can to get you to buy, but bottom line is that you decide to buy it or not when facts are everywhere about how bad tobacco is.

Now maybe I wasn't careful in reading the article..or maybe you have more info. Is Nestle actively trying to instill a popular belief that their milk is better for the baby and are they using misleading facts..or are they just flat out lying? If so, there should be legal action taken, not just a boycott.

Freddie

[sfalexi]

This is the SAME exact premise as people getting upset at McDonalds cause their kids got fat. It's the MOTHER'S own laziness and her choice for 'convenience' that she chose not to breastfeed. Not nestle's fault for offering a product where our lazy, overpampered society demanded one. You wanna go after something, go after the women that get pregnant and don't even bother to look into how to keep a baby healthy. Stupidity is the problem here, not Nestle.

Rod Steele

[Illusional]

i don't eat chocolate. raverboy

[nomas]

Raverboy brings up a good point.

Freddie

[squirrley]

I say its as simple as this, people need to be informed, and its a KNOWN fact breast milk is obviously more beneficial to the infant, but there are mothers who do have problems breastfeeding therefore switch to formulas on the market. I know so many mothers who tried breastfeeding and theyre babies were NOT gettn enough nutrition and ended up with jaundice. NOW, they were informed parents, it wasnt their fault they had to switch.

Im not sure what the boycott will do? Every company will always use some means of tactic to "sell" their product its called "advertising", like Freddie says, if theyre blatanly lying to the consumers legal actions will be brought forth.

I cant sign up for this not knowing fully what the boycott represents, and personally I tend to stay away from these kind of things. But I do boycott Heinz for obvious reasons...

[Zekk_T_Strife]

Ok, I hafta say a few things about this. Firstly, regardless of how bad you think baby milk is for babies, there's obviously a demand for it or else Nestle wouldn't be into it. Just like nomas and sfalexi said, it's the mothers choice what she wants to feed her infant. Also, in my nutrition class last year there was a lady who had quadruplets....if you have quadruplets you will NOT be breastfeeding. She said she lasted about 4 days before she had to switch to baby milk.

On a more formal note, an online petition is a surefire way to waste time. Online petitions are little more than a worthless gesture. For every online petition that succeeds at achieving anything at all, let alone the desired goal, there are hundreds of thousands that fail. Online petitions are intangible and have the ability for one person to sign his/her name hundreds of time. They are typically chuckled at and rarely taken to heart. If you really feel strongly about the subject, find a medium that will actually accomplish something. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a Crunch bar.

[KirstyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by squirrley

I say its as simple as this, people need to be informed, and its a KNOWN fact breast milk is obviously more beneficial to the infant, but there are mothers who do have problems breastfeeding therefore switch to formulas on the market. I know so many mothers who tried breastfeeding and theyre babies were NOT gettn enough nutrition and ended up with jaundice. NOW, they were informed parents, it wasnt their fault they had to switch.

You've just hit the nail on the head. They are NOT informed parents.

These are women in third world countries who are uneducated. They dont know that breastmilk is better than Nestle powdered milk. Nobody has ever told them breastmilk is good for their kids - yet a lovely Nestle worker comes round and tells them Nestle is good for their kids and gives them a free sample. These women dont have the knowledge or level of education required to realise that they would be better off sticking with breastmilk.

If we were talking about parents in wealthier countries I would agree, but you have to bear in mind that we're talking about Africa and they just dont have the education or knowledge that we do.

Nestle DO give them misleading facts. They twist the truth to make it seem to the mothers that breastmilk isnt that good after all and the only way forward is Nestle's powdered crap. There is no one there telling the mothers they should breastfeed - there is only someone playing on their vulnerabilities and telling them how great Nestle is. Do you blame them?

[KirstyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekk_T_Strife

On a more formal note, an online petition is a surefire way to waste time. Online petitions are little more than a worthless gesture. For every online petition that succeeds at achieving anything at all, let alone the desired goal, there are hundreds of thousands that fail. Online petitions are intangible and have the ability for one person to sign his/her name hundreds of time. They are typically chuckled at and rarely taken to heart. If you really feel strongly about the subject, find a medium that will actually accomplish something. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a Crunch bar.

I'm willing to gamble in the hope that this petition is one of the few who make a difference. In the meantime I AM actually doing plenty more things which WILL work. This petition is only a tiny part of a bigger picture. So you eat your Crunch while I make an effort to save lives.

[Illusional]

haha.. i'm one of the few people that don't care for chocolate. raverboy

[KirstyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomas

I don't know, Kirsty, it seems from the Memo that Nestle is doing no more than promoting a product that they want to sell. If they are misleading/falsely advertising, that's another legal issue..

Well they ARE misleading the mothers. They know the results giving them powdered milk will have and they play on the mothers vulnerabilities in order to make money (as if they dont already make enough).

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomas

bottom line is that you decide to buy it or not when facts are everywhere

But that is the problem - the mothers in third world countries have no other source of information. They are uneducated. You have to remember these arent wealthy countries, we're talking Africa here. The facts are not everywhere for these mothers, they dont know whether breastmilk is even good for their kids or not. All they know is what a Nestle worker tells them - misleading information based purely on selling a product.

Quote:

Originally Posted by nomas

Now maybe I wasn't careful in reading the article..or maybe you have more info. Is Nestle actively trying to instill a popular belief that their milk is better for the baby and are they using misleading facts..or are they just flat out lying?

They are using misleading information, twisting the truth and playing on the vulnerabilities of uneducated women. They do try to instill a popular belief that their milk is the only way forward - and by the time the mothers realise (if they even do), they are holding their dead baby in their arms and it is too late.

[KirstyM]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Illusional

haha.. i'm one of the few people that don't care for chocolate. raverboy

Actually I'm not a chocolate fan either but I have to eat it cos I dont eat enough of anything else and I need the energy

Cadburys is nicer anyway.

[nomas]

Let me get this straight.. Nestle is going into underdeveloped countries, misinforming mothers into switching to powdered milk substitute for feeding their babies. Then when there is no turning back (mother's body stops producing breastmilk) they turn around and sell it?

If this is the case..yes, it's an unethical tactic to selling their product but if, as you claim, Nestle is already making lots of money..why would they go into a POOR country to try and squeeze a few bucks out of poor people when they could target the pockets of wealthier consumers in first world countries? It is true that the poor tend to be less educated and therefore more gullible, but I don't know..I think there's more money to be made if you focused on a different demographic.

Also, there are many, MANY companies who partake in unethical business practices to sell their things and some are way more harmful..especially drug companies testing on animals AND poor people. Those, I believe, should be the ones being exposed because I don't know that this is actually destroying lives. Babies can grow up on formula feeding..I don't know that this is a life-saving effort.

Still, any noble cause you are pro-active on I respect.

Freddie

[jane]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zekk_T_Strife

If you really feel strongly about the subject, find a medium that will actually accomplish something. In the meantime, I'm going to grab a Crunch bar.

LMFAO.. I love chocolate..

[jane]

PS.. Found this info.. thought you might find it interesting, http://www.snopes.com/toxins/enfalac.htm