What’s the first thing that pops into your head when you see this infant?

The majority of you will say that he’s extremely cute or you will question whether he’s wearing pants or not.

Question is: Is this baby healthy?

Nestlé has been aggressively promoting infant formula, especially to poor countries. Issues have been brought up because their promotions have increased infant deaths and health problems. When mothers switch from breastfeeding to this substitute…

 

…several problems become apparent.

Since the formula needs water, contamination is a major issue. Because it’s expensive, mothers add more water to make it last longer, which causes malnutrition. Milk powder also doesn’t fulfill the nutrition requirements (e.g. – antibodies) that natural breast milk provides, so babies aren’t being protected from viruses.

Poor ethics come into play because Nestlé marketed to people who were unable to consume the formula in a safe manner. They convinced mothers that this product was more of a need than a want. They promoted the use of the artificial milk to mothers who were fully capable of breastfeeding their own children! There should never be promotions/advertisements for baby formula in third world countries since they cannot provide clean water and sanitary bottles for themselves.

 

Further readings:

http://www.ibfan.org/issue-international_code-code.html

 

Resources:

http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=240

http://info.babymilkaction.org/nestlefree

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestlé_boycott#The_baby_milk_issue