Nestlé is one of the most boycotted brands in the world. The International Nestlé-Free Week begins today to get those who already boycott to promote it and share their reasons with others and for those who don’t already boycott, to give it a try for just one week. Together we stand. Together we make change happen.
Why?
The primary reason that Nestlé has been boycotted so long and so widely is due to the aggressive marketing of infant formula around the world which violates the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, undermining breastfeeding and causing infant deaths. Nestlé’s marketing and business practices have directly and indirectly caused countless babies to die, most noticeably in developing nations. This part of the world is where the aggressive nature of Nestlé’s marketing becomes even more appalling and ultimately harmful.
Nestlé’s marketing strategies include:
aggressively targeting medical professionals and giving free samples to hospitals.
giving enough free samples to interfere with breastfeeding, but not enough to give an impoverished baby enough nutrition to be healthy and thrive.
using misleading terms on their packaging that indicate its infant formula is better for babies than breastmilk like “protect” logos, claims it is ‘The new “Gold Standard” in infant nutrition’, and false claims of health benefits of using their infant formula.
either not providing important information about the importance of using clean water, sterilized bottles, and the proper amount of formula in relation to water or it is not in the appropriate language.
Around the world, 1.5 million infants die each year because they were not breastfed. This is particularly striking in the developing world. Undermining breastfeeding for greater profits is a crime against babies, and us all.
This is not an issue about infant formula. Many people, for many reasons, have a great need to feed their babies formula and they should have safe options to do so. This is about corporate accountability, social responsibility, safety, and choice.
You might wonder if the boycott has made any significant impact. I would venture to say, not enough. We need more voices. But there have been strides made:
The boycott has:
stopped Nestlé representatives from going into hospitals dressed as nurses.
stopped Nestlé from putting pictures of babies on their labels.
caused Nestlé to agree to translate warning on labels into the language of the country where the products are sold. (Even though this has not been found to be true in all cases.)
exposed Nestlé for the human rights violator that it is to more and more people every day.
Share what you have learned, what you know. Blog, Facebook, twitter, plus real in-person connections with friends and neighbors can make a huge difference.
Send an email to Nestlé letting them know what you think about their marketing tactics and the boycott. Or go here or here if you want to see a suggested message.
Stop by tomorrow for another reason we should say Boo to Nestlé, their use of child and slave labor! I will continue to explore the violations against humanity and their environment all week…
Have you seen The Story of Stuff yet? What about The Story of Cosmetics? I intended this post to take a look at both of these short films that were put out to educate the public (albeit in a very simplistic kind of way). I really wanted to look into the call to action that The Story of Cosmetics suggests: legislation that will regulate the cosmetics industry via The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.
I really have issues with many of the chemicals found in our personal care products from baby shampoo to mascara, although I am uncertain that this new legislation is going to accomplish the ultimate goal of keeping harmful chemicals away from our bodies, particularly when we use so many every day. Count how many personal care products you use on a daily basis…
But as I was looking into The Story of Stuff and The Story of Cosmetics further, I happened upon a series of videos supposedly “debunking” the originals. Plus the comments. Every time I get sucked into comments, on many topics not just this one, it truly makes me angry. I am sure that is in no small part because I feel powerless in the face of so much ignorance, hate, and misinformation. People can say horrible, awful things when hiding behind a computer, especially when they don’t have a sound argument:
I get that whenever you put something out there that takes a hard stance, you are bound to get detractors. Particularly when the call to action is more regulation. People tend to dislike and distrust regulation until or unless it personally helps them in some way.
But what I don’t understand is… why would someone choose to listen to a guy that doesn’t provide much, if any, solid information to back up his claims that what Annie Leonard is telling us is wrong and in fact, makes errors and only shows his extreme bias?
Of course you don’t want to think that what you may be buying is harming you, your family, or others. But, I don’t understand the extreme defensiveness of the big companies that make these products and being so upset about your right to be able to buy them. They are hurting people. They are hurting children. They are hurting our quality of life, not making it better.
Chemicals in personal care products have been linked to cancer, particularly reproductive cancers; genital defects in baby boys (hypospadias for one); infertility; ADHD; type 2 diabetes; obesity; heart disease; skin, lung, and eye irritations; hormone disruption manifesting in reductions in male fertility, female reproductive diseases (endometriosis for one), earlier puberty, and declines in the numbers of males born; and thyroid disfunction.
Do you know anyone with one or more of these? Can we know for certain if exposure to chemicals in personal care products were the sole cause? No. Do we need more evidence-based, peer-reviewed research? Yes. Do I believe that we need to pay more attention to what we put in and on our bodies in an effort to reduce the numbers of those affected by these chemicals? Absolutely.
Of course you don’t want to think that we might run out of landfills (at least ones far enough away from our homes that we don’t have to think much of them), that our reliance on third world labor might not be the best thing that ever happened to them, and that the products we eat and put on our bodies might be harmful to our health.
Of course you might think that is a consumer choice issue. We all want to have choices and most people do not enjoy being told what to do and what to buy. One might argue that it is personal responsibility to choose what is best for ourselves and our families. But unless you are able to analyze ingredients, understand the chemical reactions within each product and with the other products you use, and can do a risk-benefit analysis every time you make a purchase, you need some reassurance that the products on the shelves are safe.
It reminds me of when I was listening to an interview with a mother whose child was greatly affected by Salmonella poisoning from a pre-packaged snack food. She was told that it was her responsibility to buy food that was safe. She shot back that Salmonella was not listed as an ingredient. Neither are some of the potentially harmful ingredients in cosmetics. I believed then, as I do now, that if the manufacturers are not ensuring their product’s safety, there has to be another way to do so.
Salmonella- Our responsibility to know if it is an ingredient?
I am not certain whether the precautionary regulations suggested are the right answer, but I do think products that are found to be harmful, should be recalled. As it stands, the FDA can only request a recall. The FDA also does not have the authority to make cosmetics companies test products for safety. Testing costs money, and I have seen the damage first hand with the unintended consequences of the CPSIA, but it can also save lives, and at the least our quality of life. Where is the right balance?
– Everyone is different. Everyone reacts differently to different things at different times. Just because you are fine, doesn’t mean everyone is and certainly doesn’t mean something is safe.
– Things have changed since you and your parents and most definitely your grandparents were growing up. You did not live through this exact same environment. Just because you, your parents, or your grandparents did something doesn’t make it right.
– I will continue to research and push for education of what exactly is in all the products we consume, where ingredients come from, and worker’s rights and safety.
Here’s what I would love more people to do…
watch this:
read this:
Slow Death by Rubber Duck by Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie, $16.50 at affiliate Amazon.com
and learn more, all with an open mind. Talk about it in a rational way. Then figure out what the solutions might be because I know that the status quo is not working.
This was a whim, a decision made with some trepidation and concern over what the worst might be, and some not-so-fun things happened… yet we had a great time doing it. And I would do it again.
Imagine the scene. Me with only one working hand, my three small, wild children, one girlfriend and her son, and a minivan headed three hours into the high desert. Camping with those three small, wild children for the first time. We enter our planned on campground to find that not only is it not a worthy campground (although it does have water, showers, playground, and electricity), but is also full. As it starts to sprinkle.
We head west where we can see that little bit of blue sky (and hope) and wind up in the mountains. At a campground with no water, no firewood, no showers, no electricity. But a beautiful campsite and beautiful lake. It is quiet and peaceful.
And we set up our tents.
It starts to rain.
We decide on sandwiches in our tent for dinner. Huddled around eating a little of this and a little of that. Listening. Watching.
There was thunder. Big, rolling, incredible thunder that seemed to shake the ground. The sky lights up with big, bright bolts. It is about 2-3 miles away. At most.
It lasts well into the night. But gets calmer and farther away. I still see the great flashes of light while the boom of the thunder lessens.
Baby girl and I snuggle together with sleepy, breathy boys on the other side. We are warm.
Our tent starts to seep water through the bottom at some point. We are still warm, but pillows, sleeping bags, and blankets begin to get more and more soaked through. I could stay mostly dry if I stayed in a tight “L” shape. Baby girl woke every time she moved and then refused to let me move. She snuggled up into my arms until I could her her breath deepen. I lay still so as not to wake her thinking her sleep is more precious than mine. On the hard, hard ground. Boys started to shiver, but I couldn’t see them since I wasn’t moving.
We all woke when we heard something moving outside the tent. I said it must be a chipmunk or a ground squirrel, until it grunted and snorted. And then I froze. What would I do if it was a bear? And then it went away. Maybe it was a dog?
That next day was absolutely gorgeous. We spent the day exploring the lake and packing our things.
We ambled on into town, enjoyed the Lava Lands and High Desert Museum. It is truly awe inspiring to see such ancient volcanic history. My little geologist was in rock heaven, even though they all had to be left behind. Even that one little tiny one.
She sang, “This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
This is how she began.
And she spoke about finding her light, finding our own light.. and I thought of my children. I thought about how each little person starts out with this light and it is up to us to encourage that light to grow. It is up to me to fuel that fire within and help create wonderful human beings.
And I wonder if I am?
And I cried.
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
She said that we are all paid for. Our passages were paid by all that came before us. We arrived here on the backs of the oppressed and downtrodden. Our responsibility now is to pay for those that come after us.
What might the world look like if every person made decisions based on doing right by the generations to come?
And I marveled.
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
She spoke about her Uncle Willie. She spoke of a poor, crippled, black man, in the days when lynching was common. She spoke of how he taught her her times tables so that she could say them “exquisitely.”
She spoke of a man that told her that Willie had made him the man he became. This man was mayor of Little Rock, Arkansas and the first black mayor in the south. She told of a ripple effect of influence on two more highly successful men that Dr. Angelou was able to meet throughout her many years. What an incredible thing to see the effect that her uncle had, even with his limitations.
If I can impact my children in a positive way, who might they be able to influence as they grow?
And I was inspired.
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”
She spoke of Terence. Terence was an African brought to Rome as a slave. He was freed and became one of the most popular playwrights in all of Rome. He said, “I am a human being. Nothing human can be alien to me.” She said that once you can understand that, you will be liberated.
Once we could understand that. Over 2000 years later and we are still working on that understanding.
And I contemplated.
If you have ever had the privilege of hearing Dr. Angelou speak, you will understand the power of her voice in the auditorium singing,
“This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine. Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine”
And I cried.
This was my first time going to see Dr. Angelou. It was a gift for my birthday and not even my idea. I’ve always enjoyed reading books and poetry by her, seeing her on various tv shows, and whatnot, but had never really thought about ever going to see her in person. I was truly amazed. It was a true gift. Thanks, Mom.
Have you ever seen Maya Angelou speak? Has she inspired you to do anything differently in your own life? Is there another person who has?
