Sympathy Pain

So, last night, we changed formula to the Nestle Good Start brand. They have a milk based formula that has cultures in it to help digest. Sarah eats yogurt with these cultures to help her digest the milk. It seemed like a good idea, and he seems to be doing ok. Milk based formula seems to be the closest fit to breast milk.

But wait…I looked up Nestle formula online today, and there is some kinda world wide boycott. It’s Nestle for gosh sakes. They make such yummy chocolate goodness…how could they be bad? Say it ain’t so. I love the Kit Kat.

So, it is alleged (cause I don’t know the facts) that Nestle is some bully world wide about formula. It seems they are pushing it as an alternative/substitution for breast milk(which I thought it was). Now, in third world countries and impoverished areas, mothers are using lees of the formula than they should per serving to extend the life of one can, and the child is become malnutrioned or dying. Also, the water supply is tainted, and it the water is not properly sterilized, the baby could develop horrible illnesses. Opponents are saying that Nestle is not pushing the importance of breast feeding in these areas of the world, and therefore liable for the deaths. UNICEF say’s:

“Marketing practices that undermine breastfeeding are potentially hazardous wherever they are pursued: in the developing world, WHO estimates that some 1.5 million children die each year because they are not adequately breastfed. These facts are not in dispute.”

Here’s what comes up on Nestle’s web site:

Baby Foods
Breast milk is best for babies. Before you decide to use an infant formula consult your doctor or clinic for advice.

The production of infant food goes right back to the origins of the Nestlé Company. Henri Nestlé’s ‘Farine Lactée’ was the first product to bear the Nestlé name.

In 1867 a physician persuaded Henri Nestlé to give his product to an infant who was very ill — he had been born prematurely and was refusing his mother’s milk and all other types of nourishment. Nestlé’s new food worked, and the boy survived. From the very beginning, Nestlé’s product was never intended as a competitor for mother’s milk. In 1869, he wrote: “During the first months, the mother’s milk will always be the most natural nutrient, and every mother able to do so should herself suckle her children.”

The factors that made baby foods success in the early days of the Nestlé company — quality and superior nutritional value — are still as valid today for the wide range of infant formula, cereals and baby food made by Nestlé. The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes that there is a legitimate market for infant formula, when a mother cannot or chooses not to breast feed her child. Nestlé markets infant formula according to the principles and aims of the WHO International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes, and seeks dialogue and cooperation with the international health community and in particular with the WHO and UNICEF, to identify problems and their solution. Nestlé’s expertise as the world’s leading infant food manufacturer, gained over more than 125 years, is put at the disposal of health authorities, the medical profession and mothers and children everywhere.

So, it seems, there is some rule or law about advertising formula as a substitute in these area, and Nestle may be breaking that. Anyone?