Boycott Nescafe say African and Asian Campaigners
Mike Brady
campaigners urge support for Nescafé boycott as Nestlé announces
increased baby milk sales" - the text is included below and you can also
view it by going to http://www.babymilkaction.org/ and following the
link from the latest news section of the index page. The website
version of the press release includes links to supporting documents.
You can also find pictures for downloading for articles.
I hope you find this service useful. Do not hesitate to contact me if
you require further information.
Best wishes,
Mike Brady
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Mike Brady
Campaigns and Networking Coordinator
Baby Milk Action
Visit our website http://www.babymilkaction.org/
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UK contact numbers. Tel: 01223 464420 Fax: 01223 464417
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464417
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---African and Asian campaigners urge support for Nescafé
boycott as Nestlé announces increased baby milk sales
24th October 2000
While Nestlé announces growth in its baby milk sales, campaigners are
highlighting that 1.5 million infants die around the world every year
because they are not breastfed (1). Nestlé is the target of a boycott of
its coffee, confectionery and convenience food products in 19 countries
because it puts its own profits before infant health, aggressively
marketing breastmilk substitutes in ways that violate the International
Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant
Resolutions of the World Health Assembly (2). In the UK the boycott
focuses on Nescafé coffee and is the UK's best supported consumer
boycott (3). Pauline Kisanga, Coordinator of the International Baby Food
Action Network (IBFAN) in Africa said: "The Nestlé boycott is very
important. It should continue because Nestlé continues to violate the
Code" (4).
Dr. Charles Sagoe-Moses, of the Ghanaian Infant Nutrition Action Network
and Chair of the IBFAN Africa Advisory Committee, spoke of the
importance of the Nestlé boycott in defending infant health (4):
"To me the boycott shows there is global, consistent and systematic
violation of the Code and we use this to tell people that what is
happening here is not unique to Ghana.
The people there are campaigning because they think they have a voice
and they can use their voice to help some people in the developing world
who do not have a voice."
IBFAN works for independent, transparent and effective controls on the
baby food industry and is currently supporting moves for legislation in
Pakistan. Tracey Wagner-Rizvi of the Pakistan IBFAN group said (5): "The
boycott is very important to raise awareness amongst our legislators as
Nestlé attempts to weaken the draft law."
Earlier this year a former Nestlé Pakistan employee, Syed Aamar Raza,
presented documentary evidence in the UK Parliament showing how he was
instructed by company officials to bribe doctors to promote Nestlé baby
milks.
In May 1999 the UK Advertising Standards Authority upheld all of Baby
Milk Action's complaints against a Nestlé anti-boycott advertisement in
which the company claimed to market infant formula "ethically and
responsibly." Saatchi & Saatchi suggested in Marketing Week magazine
that Nestlé should counter the bad publicity by going on offensive
showing the benefit of its donations to charities. Soon afterwards four
UK charities (Shelter, Kids Club Network, Macmillan and British Red
Cross) received £250,000 each linked to promotion of Nescafé. (6)
For further information contact and to arrange interviews with IBFANers
around the world contact:
Mike Brady, Baby Milk Action. Tel: 01223 464420 Website:
www.babymilkaction.org
Notes for Editors
1.Nestlé announced growth in its third-quarter statement on 20th October
(see http://www.nestlepress.com/), stating: "Milks and nutrition saw
good progress, mainly as a result of infant nutrition sales in Asia and
of the powdered milk business." Figure for infant deaths given in
numerous references - for example UNICEF press release 14th January 1997
UNICEF Responds to Report on Violations of Breastmilk Substitute Code:
"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."
2.IBFAN consists of over 150 groups in over 90 countries and conducts
monitoring of the baby food industry. Nestlé, which controls about 40%
of the global baby milk market, is found to be responsible for more
violations than any other company and takes the lead in attempting to
undermine government implementation of the International Code and
Resolutions. The report Breaking the Rules, Stretching the Rules 1998,
the result of monitoring in 31 countries is available on the IBFAN
website and may be purchased from Baby Milk Action's Virtual Shop. Baby
Milk Action is the UK IBFAN group. See the "codewatch" section with more
recent examples of violations by Nestlé and other companies. The
"resources" section includes past press release and photos which can be
down-loaded for articles.
3.In December 1997 Ethical Consumer Magazine published a survey of its
readership and found that the Nestlé boycott was the best supported
boycott in the UK.
4.Baby Milk Action interviewed IBFANers at the IBFAN Africa Regional
Meeting in Swaziland in September. Video clips of the interviews with
Pauline Kisanga and Charles Sagoe-Moses are available for broadcasters
(amateur film). On 28 February 1998 the French television programme Vrai
Jornal broadcast an interview with Ines Fernandez of IBFAN Philippines
in which she speaks in English of the importance of the boycott and
Nestlé's use of "Health Educators" to promote Nestogen infant formula to
mothers in the community - contact CAPA television +33 1 46061263.
5.The Pakistan IBFAN group, The Network, Association for Rational Use of
Medication in Pakistan, conducted monitoring in 33 cities and published
the report Feeding Fiasco in 1998. In 1999 it published the report
Milking Profits based on the documentary evidence provided by former
Nestlé employee Syed Aamar Raza (both reports are available from the
Virtual Shop). Telephone interviews with The Network and Syed Aamar Raza
may be possible. Contact Baby Milk Action for further information.
6.The Advertising Standards Authority took nearly two years to uphold
all of Baby Milk Action's complaints about Nestlé's anti-boycott
advertisement, one of its longest ever investigations. Its ruling was
published on 12th May 2000 after being delayed by a final Nestlé appeal.
Marketing Week (11th February 2000) called the ruling "a first class
public relations disaster.... which effectively brands the global
corporation a liar, insofar as it claimed to have marketed infant
formula products ethically." Marketing Week asked Marjorie Thompson of
Saatchi & Saatchi what Nestlé should do: "She suggests the way to
counteract the bad publicity is to go on the offensive by using
advertising showing the benefits of Nestlé's financial contributions to
charities, such as Kids Club Network which provides after-school care
for children." In October 1999 Nestlé announced £1 million of
sponsorship to Kids Club Network, Shelter, Macmillan Cancer Relief and
the British Red Cross, all linked to Nescafé coffee, the principle
target of the boycott. The British Red Cross and Shelter have launched
publicity campaigns which prominently promote Nescafé. While Baby Milk
Action does not wish to undermine the good work being done by the
charities involved it regrets that their deals with Nestlé undermine the
boycott.
7.Baby Milk Action, 23 St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AX. Tel:
01223 464420 Fax: 01223 464417
Graham
non porn postings still alive on the groups.
uk students go to my site please
Regards Graham
Mike Brady <mike...@babymilkaction.org> wrote in message
news:39F5D922...@babymilkaction.org...