Thursday, September 30, 2010

You must be having a laugh!

Funny!

Thanks to VictoriaSlinglady for this.

Why 'Cow & Gate, pah'? If you are in the UK or Ireland, you may have seen that those nice people at Danone were inspired by an earlier laughing baby youtube clip when creating an advertisement for their Cow & Gate formula. This has claims suggesting the formula provides everything a baby needs. However, amongst other shortcomings, formula, unlike breastmilk, it is not a living substance. As a mother produces protective properties in response to infections in the environment, this is passed tailor-made through breastfeeding to a child at its most vulnerable time. In addition, powdered infant formula is not a sterile product, meaning it may contain harmful bacteria such as enterobacter sakazakii and salmonella. Thanks to our campaigning labels in the UK now warn that powdered infant formula is not sterile and instructions are improving, though need to be clearer about the importance of including a step of mixing up the powder with water above 70 degrees Centigrade to kill any bacteria that may be in the formula. The feeding bottle or cup should then be cooled before feeding to the child. For more on making formula feeding safer, see the infant feeding section of this site.

Unfortunately, Danone has little regard for providing accurate information and systematically violates the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent, relevant Resolutions adopted by the World Health Assembly setting out minimum marketing standards. The UK Government has still not implemented these measures (despite repeated calls from the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child to do so) and the Advertising Standards Authority voluntary advertising code ignores the Code and Resolutions, even though companies should abide by them independently of government measures. However, even the ASA will sometimes take action and last week ruled against a Danone advertisement for Cow & Gate formula, in which the company made untrue claims implying a child over 6 months could only receive the iron it required through a processed milk. In truth a breasfed baby or a baby fed on infant formula, will receive the iron it needs through normal family foods introduced into the diet around that time. See:

http://www.campaignlive.co.uk/news/1029911/Cow---Gate-Milk-ad-banned-iron-claim/

Danone is laughing all the way to the bank since taking over the Nutricia, Milupa, Aptamil and Cow & Gate brands in 2007. At that time it promised Baby Milk Action a 'root-and-branch review' of marketing activities. Well, time is now running out and if the forthcoming global monitoring report produced by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) shows that Danone has not delivered on its promise and is getting as bad as Nestlé as it tries to compete with the worst of the baby food companies (which seems to be the case, particularly in Asia), then it will likely face consumer action. The Nestlé boycott is a key tool in forcing Nestlé to change policies and practices (click here for our current campaign action). If Danone won't change to abide by the marketing standards voluntarily, then it may be time to hit it in the pocket in the same way.

In the meantime, in the UK we continue to work to improve the formula marketing requirements to protect breastfeeding and protect babies fed on formula. You can support our current campaign by clicking here.

You might not feel like laughing now, so scroll up and watch that clip again!

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Over 140,000 people call for United Nations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding and appropriate information

The UN Secretary General, Ban KI-moon, is today announcing a worldwide campaign to save the lives of 16 million mothers and children over the next five years and a fund of US$40 billion to help achieve this goal. See The Guardian.

This is wonderful news - and we should perhaps not be too surprised to find that Nestlé, a company with a long record of abusing women and child rights, is trying to muscle in on the initiative to try to distract attention from its on-going aggressive marketing of baby milks in breach of international standards and other much-criticised practices.

Far too many mothers and children die from preventable causes. While we welcome the new United Nations initiative, we should also remember that there are far cheaper, but politically more difficult, steps that can be taken to reduce unnecessary child deaths: implementing and enforcing existing measures adopted by the United Nations. Over 140,000 people have signed a rolling petition calling for policy makers to take action to protect, promote and support breastfeeding, with over 3,000 addressing a specific message to the Secretary General over the last three days. See the ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN.

In the area of infant feeding, the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is helping to save lives in many countries, but many more have yet to implement it and the subsequent, relevant Resolutions of the World Health Assembly. These international minimum standards aim to protect breastfeeding and ensure breastmilk substitutes are used safely when necessary and companies are called on to abide by them independently of government action, but do not do so.

Worse still, the United Nations Global Compact, a voluntary initiative intended to improve the behaviour of transnational corporations, has been found to be complicit in working with companies such as Nestlé to allow violations of the Code and Resolutions to continue: it accepts Nestlé funding to promote the initiative and posts on its website Nestlé's PR materials claiming the company abides by the Code and Resolution, but refuses to investigate reports of egregious violations of the Global Compact Principles registered under the initiatives Integrity Measures. There are also concerns that corporations will be using the UN Secretary General's new initiative as a way to improve their images, while continuing to abuse human rights.

A few weeks ago, the Secretary General's Office worked in 'collaboration' (to use the word in a report on the World Health Organisation site) with the International Business Leaders Forum at 'a special meeting to explore ways the private sector can contribute to supporting the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health'. According to the report, 'Best practices from a range of industry sectors and companies were showcased', with Nestlé one of the companies there with something to show and tell - though not, presumably, it's latest baby milk strategy of claiming its breastmilk substitutes 'protect' babies when it knows babies who are not breastfed are more likely to become sick and, in conditions of poverty, more likely to die.

The report concludes: 'A number of companies are already looking seriously at how they might respond to the Global Strategy, and identify commitments, which will be announced to the public during the UN Millennium Develop Goals (MDG) Summit on 22 September 2010 in New York and in the months to come.'

However, when Baby Milk Action contacted the Secretary General's Office, we were informed that only governments are involved in the Global Strategy launch. Is the Secretary General wary of appearing publicly too close to Nestlé, one of the four most boycotted companies on the planet over its pushing of baby milk in breach of international marketing standards adopted by the World Health Assembly, part of the UN system?

The Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health follows on the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding, which has proved to be an invaluable tool for improving breastfeeding rates, that could prevent 1.3 million under-5 deaths in the 42 countries where most under-5 deaths occur. A World Health Organisation (WHO)/Lancet study found that improving breastfeeding rates could save more lives than universal provision of safe water, adequate sanitation and childhood vaccines. This strategy and the adoption of the International Code and Resolutions is the UN at its best: bringing policy makers together from around the world to coordinate action that helps to save lives.

In turning these initiatives into reality, people on the ground have come up against the baby food industry. As industry analysts Euromonitor state in their report on the state of the baby food industry in 2008: “The industry is fighting a rearguard action against regulation on a country-by-country basis."

Part of Nestlé's strategy is to try to 'partner' with the United Nations. Earlier this year, Nestlé was a patron sponsor of a UN Global Compact event in New York, despite Baby Milk Action and other Nestlé Critics having registered an official complaint with the UN Global Compact Office over Nestlé's egregious violations of the Global Compact Principles and its bringing the initiative into disrepute. The Global Compact Office refused to investigate the case, citing lack of resources or mandate. In a telling comment, it stated:

"Of course, abuses of the 10 Principles do occur; however we believe that such abuses only indicate that it is important for the company to remain in the Compact and learn from its mistakes."

In my view, the UN Global Compact is worse than useless because it provides public relations cover to Nestlé and other companies violating human rights by posting their reports and taking part in joint events, while refusing to investigate complaints.

nid%3D229%7Ctitle%3D%7Cdesc%3D%7Clink%3DnoneIf the Secretary General is being courted by Nestlé and others who want to be seen as playing a part in the new Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health - and Bill Gates is cited as a speaker by the Guardian - then what hope is there for poorly resourced citizens' groups such as Baby Milk Action and our partners having our legitimate concerns addressed?

I'll sum up with a quote that can be used by journalists, citing Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator, Baby Milk Action:

"In our complaint to the UN Global Compact Office, we focused in on Nestlé latest global marketing strategy where it is claiming its baby milk 'protects' babies and is 'the new "Gold Standard" in infant nutrition'. Nestlé also refuses to provide information on known risks of formula feeding to parents who use its products and the simple steps that can reduce these risks. As Nestlé knows, babies fed on breastmilk substitutes are more likely to become ill than breastfed babies and, in conditions of poverty, more likely to die. Such marketing strategies are not only clear violations of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, Nestlé has been told they violate specific national regulations and has been emailed by thousands of people calling on it to immediately stop these practices. Nestlé continues to defend them. While Nestlé continues to put its own profits before the health and well-being of babies, the UN should not only be investigating it for violating the Code and the Global Compact Principles, it should be closing the door on executives who want to be seen as partners. It is welcome that the new Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health stresses the importance of breastfeeding, but we should remember that promotion and support of breastfeeding and accurate, independent information is undermined if protection is not also put in place."

For images of Nestlé's latest promotions and a quick form for emailing Nestlé, see:

http://info.babymilkaction.org/emailnestle

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Midwives should tell Danone to keep its ill-gotten Aptamil loot

We are receiving many outraged reports from people who have seen that Danone is offering midwives grants of up to £1,000 from a fund of £20,000. This sponsorship is branded with the Danone formula name and logo, Aptamil (Danone is also behind the Nutricia, Milupa and Cow & Gate formula brands).

The money is being handled by the charity Tommy's. I would say Danone is using the charity to 'launder' the money in an attempt to make it more acceptable.

Firstly, for Tommy's and midwives to accept funds from Danone violates World Health Assembly marketing requirements.

Article 7.3 of the Code states:

"No financial or material inducements to promote products within the scope of this Code should be offered by manufacturers or distributors to health workers or members of their families, nor should these be accepted by health workers or members of their families."

Danone is promoting the Aptamil formula brand by linking the funding to it. The Aptamil logo features prominently on the charity's webpage and this links to an Aptamil-branded website that promotes the products with misleading claims.

It is not only a concern that Danone's money is linked to the Aptamil formula brand, accepting money from a formula company creates a conflict of interest for health workers. The World Health Assembly has adopted several Resolutions addressing conflicts of interest, such as Resolution 58.32, which calls for measures: "to ensure that financial support and other incentives for programmes and health professionals working in infant and young-child health do not create conflicts of interest."

A baby food company providing midwives with grants creates a conflict of interest, whatever the purported purpose of the grant.

Secondly, aside from these issues, we should not forget that Danone is second only to Nestlé for worldwide violations of the International Code and Resolutions. The only reason that Danone is not the target of a boycott like Nestlé is that after taking over the Aptamil and other brands from NUMICO in 2007, it promised to conduct a 'root and branch' review of marketing practices. All indications are that it has not taken the required action to end violations - quite the opposite. The next global monitoring report from the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), due this year, will inform campaigners whether it is time to launch a consumer campaign against Danone to stop its aggressive marketing practices. The boycott of Nestlé has forced it to change some practices and is currently putting pressure on Nestlé to stop its latest global marketing campaign - click here.

In the UK, Danone brands have rulings against them from the Advertising Standards Authority for misleading parents. For example, the ASA upheld Baby Milk Action's complaints against advertising claims that Aptamil is the 'best follow-on formula' and protects against infection. See our press release from 22 July 2009.

Any health worker that has accepted Danone money is required to disclose this to their employers. Article 7.5 of the International Code states:

"Manufacturers and distributors of products within the scope of this Code should disclose to the institution to which a recipient health worker is affiliated any contribution made to him or on his behalf for fellowships, study tours, research grants, attendance at professional conferences, or the like. Similar disclosures should be made by the recipient."

Here is a quote from me, Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator, Baby Milk Action, for anyone that needs one:

"Danone is second only to Nestlé in the global baby milk market and pushes its products almost as aggressively. If it does not deliver on its promise to clean up the marketing for brands it took over when it purchased NUMICO, it will find itself, like Nestlé, the target of a consumer campaign.

"The money on offer is linked to a Danone formula brand name, Aptamil, and so is serving a promotional purpose. It is a breach of World Health Assembly marketing standards for companies to offer such financial benefits and health workers are also in breach of standards on conflicts of interest if they accept them. Even if this was not the case, the fact that Aptamil is promoted with misleading claims, some of which have rulings against them from the Advertising Standards Authority, shows this is a company that puts its own profits before the health and well-being of mothers and babies and its ill-gotten loot should be untouchable by those wanting to protect and support mothers and babies."

You can see examples of Danone violations of the International Code and Resolutions in the UK in the monitoring reports Baby Milk Action produces for the Baby Feeding Law Group.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Ask UN Secretary General to protect mothers and babies on 22 September

A MESSAGE FROM THE ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN

Dear Friend,

Globally 3.6 million Infants die before they reach their first birthday and millions are malnourished because of inadequate and inappropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

Most effective interventions to save babies’ lives and prevent malnutrition is to enhance early and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and good complementary feeding thereafter along with continued breastfeeding. For this, women needed to be supported.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- moon will launch the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health at a special event during the MDG Summit in New York on 22nd September.

Let's call upon the UN Secretary General to ensure support to women.

SIEZE THE MOMENT and raise your voice.

Sign and send the petition to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki - moon to urge him to include specific budgetary support for adequate maternity benefits and entitlements, skilled counseling in health systems, in order to make it possible for women to breastfeed successfully.

SIGN IT HERE

http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/view_campaigns/sieze-moment-sign-your-support-women-breastfeed

JUST A FEW days left ACT NOW and ASK 10 of your YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN UP AS WELL!

http://onemillioncampaign.org/tell_your_friends?user_id=-1&node_id=585

Thanks !!

Team One Million Campaign

email un

A MESSAGE FROM THE ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN

Dear Friend,

Globally 3.6 million Infants die before they reach their first birthday and millions are malnourished because of inadequate and inappropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

Most effective interventions to save babies’ lives and prevent malnutrition is to enhance early and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and good complementary feeding thereafter along with continued breastfeeding. For this, women needed to be supported.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- moon will launch the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health at a special event during the MDG Summit in New York on 22nd September.

Let's call upon the UN Secretary General to ensure support to women.

SIEZE THE MOMENT and raise your voice.

Sign and send the petition to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki - moon to urge him to include specific budgetary support for adequate maternity benefits and entitlements, skilled counseling in health systems, in order to make it possible for women to breastfeed successfully.

SIGN IT HERE

http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/view_campaigns/sieze-moment-sign-your-support-women-breastfeed

JUST A FEW days left ACT NOW and ASK 10 of your YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN UP AS WELL!

http://onemillioncampaign.org/tell_your_friends?user_id=-1&node_id=585

Thanks !!

Team One Million Campaign

email un

A MESSAGE FROM THE ONE MILLION CAMPAIGN

Dear Friend,

Globally 3.6 million Infants die before they reach their first birthday and millions are malnourished because of inadequate and inappropriate breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices.

Most effective interventions to save babies’ lives and prevent malnutrition is to enhance early and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and good complementary feeding thereafter along with continued breastfeeding. For this, women needed to be supported.

The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki- moon will launch the Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health at a special event during the MDG Summit in New York on 22nd September.

Let's call upon the UN Secretary General to ensure support to women.

SIEZE THE MOMENT and raise your voice.

Sign and send the petition to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki - moon to urge him to include specific budgetary support for adequate maternity benefits and entitlements, skilled counseling in health systems, in order to make it possible for women to breastfeed successfully.

SIGN IT HERE

http://www.onemillioncampaign.org/view_campaigns/sieze-moment-sign-your-support-women-breastfeed

JUST A FEW days left ACT NOW and ASK 10 of your YOUR FRIENDS TO SIGN UP AS WELL!

http://onemillioncampaign.org/tell_your_friends?user_id=-1&node_id=585

Thanks !!

Team One Million Campaign