A lot of people
know that I support the Nestlé boycott. They also know that I do not insist
that they do the same. If you haven’t heard of
this, it is an international movement campaigning against the infamous global
corporation and all of its subsidiaries. (If you have heard about it and, even
better, support it you will no doubt agree with what I have to say).
If you’re
wondering why anyone would want to do this, read on.
Most people know Nestlé solely for the wide range of products they produce including their
chocolate bars - such as Aero, Toffee Crisp, Kitkat, Rolos and Smarties – their
personally branded items – such as Nescafe and Nesquik – and their other
subsidiaries - such as Felix, Perrier
and Haagen Daaz.
On the surface
they appear a happy, family-friendly organisation – running a regular and
highly successful business.
However, there is
a darker side to Nestlé and one which is still very much of the company itself
(and its ethos)
For example:
Baby Formula
Nestlé promotes the use of its infant
formula over breastfeeding which has led to health problems and deaths among
infants in less economically developed countries.
This is mainly due to the fact that:
a)
The formula must be mixed with water – this is often polluted
in poor countries, leading to disease in vulnerable infants.
b)
Low literacy rates mean many mothers are not aware
of sanitation methods needed to prepare the bottles. Even mothers who can read their
native language are unable to read the instructions as Nestlé does not label
its products in a country’s own language.
c)
Mothers who can understand the sanitation standards
required often do not have the means to perform them - such as fuel to boil
water.
d)
Many poor mothers use less formula powder than is
necessary, in order to make a container of formula last longer. As a result,
some infants receive inadequate nutrition from weak solutions of formula.
UNICEF estimates that a formula-fed
child living in disease-ridden and unhygienic conditions is between 6 and 25
times more likely to die than a breastfed child.
Breast milk has many natural benefits
lacking in formula such as nutrients and antibodies and contains the right
amount of the nutrients essential for neuronal (brain and nerve)
development.
The World Health Organisation recommends that, in the majority of cases, babies should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months.
The World Health Organisation recommends that, in the majority of cases, babies should be exclusively breast fed for the first six months.
Yet Nestlé continues to use unethical
methods of promoting its infant formula in developing countries including
distributing free formula samples to hospitals which, after the mothers leave
the hospital, are no longer free and, as the supplementation has interfered
with lactation, the family must continue to buy the formula.
All of which means Nestlé is
effectively causing the death of millions of babies in developing countries and
what’s more they don’t seem particularly bothered about it.
In 1999 Nestlé claimed in an
anti-boycott advertisement that it markets infant formula “ethically and
responsibly”. However, the Advertising Standard Agency found that Nestlé could
not support this nor other claims in the face of evidence provided by the
campaigning group Baby Milk Action.
In 2000 the European Parliament held a Public
Hearing at which evidence was presented on Nestlé's failure to bring its
policies into line with the World Health Assembly Resolutions. Nestlé declined
an invitation to attend, claiming scheduling conflicts.
Natural
remedy
Nestle is also attempting to
create a monopoly on Nigella sativa -- more commonly known as fennel flower – which
has been used as a cure-all remedy for over a thousand years as it treats
everything from vomiting to fevers to skin diseases, and has been widely
available in impoverished communities across the Middle East and Asia with researchers in
developing nations such as Egypt and Pakistan publishing studies on its
curative powers.
Nestlé scientists claimed to
“discover” its medicinal properties and that nigella sativa extract could be
used for “nutritional interventions in humans with food allergy” but instead of
creating an artificial substitute, or fighting to make sure the remedy was
widely available, Nestlé claimed to own
it, and filed patent claims to try and take control of the fennel flower and
turn it into a costly private drug, gaining the ability to sue anyone using it
without Nestlé’s permission.
Water
Nestlé is draining (i.e.
stealing) the groundwater in developing countries to make its ‘Nestlé Pure Life’ bottled water, before forcing its people to
buy their own water back(!) meaning the poor watch their wells run dry and their
children fall ill from dirty water which kills more
children around the world than AIDS, malaria, war, and traffic accidents
combined -- and Nestlé consequently has a big
hand in it. They have since moved this practice into other countries
including the USA and Canada.
At the World Water Forum in 2000, Nestlé led the way in
fighting against defining access to water a universal right with Nestlé chairman and former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe stated that
"access to water should not be a public right." And not only that but
they won(!) I surely cannot be the only one to who this seems inherently wrong.
Green claims
Nestlé contradicted their own advertised
claims that "Most water bottles avoid landfill sites and are
recycled", "Nestlé Pure Life is a healthy, eco-friendly choice"
and that "Bottled water is the most environmentally responsible consumer
product in the world." in their 2008 Corporate Citizenship Report, in which they
stated that many of their bottles end up in the solid-waste stream, and that
most of their bottles are not recycled.
Nestlé is also immured in the issue of
palm oil – a controversial ingredient in many products as its harvest involves rainforest
clear-cutting and habitat destruction for a number of animals, including
orang-utans, and it also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions as part of
Nestlé’s supply chain.
Ethiopia
In 2002, Nestlé demanded that the nation of Ethiopia repay US$6 million of debt to the
company. Ethiopia was suffering a severe famine at the time.
It was not until more than 8,500 people complained via email to the company that they back down from their demand. Had no-one spoken up they would have considered this acceptable (and probably still do).
It was not until more than 8,500 people complained via email to the company that they back down from their demand. Had no-one spoken up they would have considered this acceptable (and probably still do).
Child Labour
In 2005, the International Labour Rights Fund filed
a lawsuit against Nestlé for failing to eliminate child labour from cocoa
production; alleging the children were trafficked to Ivory Coast, forced into
slavery, and experienced frequent beatings on a cocoa plantation.
Assessments in 2014 by the Fair Labour Association identified
"a total of 46 child workers younger than 15 years" as well as
"a total of 83 young workers (between 15 and 18 years of age) working the
same hours as adults and performing similar hazardous and strenuous tasks, such
as carrying heavy bags of hazelnuts weighing up to 70 kilograms”
So, in summary,
Nestle is killing babies, trying to copyright nature, stealing water, lying
about their products, attempting to worsen poverty and supporting child slave
labour.
When I think that
the company was originally founded (by Henri Nestlé in 1866) to provide an
infant formula to combat the high infant mortality rate that was prevalent at
the time, it seems almost a sick joke that the company as it exists today is
seemingly doing everything in contradiction to its original core purpose.
What makes it
worse is that Nestlé are well aware of what they are doing and are actually
defending their actions as good business practice.
They highlight
their ‘good deeds’ as evidence of their social responsibility (or state claims
are outdated yet refuse to contribute to discussions/investigations and
unbiased audits to prove otherwise). Personally, I don’t think a bouquet of
flowers can mask the smell of a dung heap. And we should not accept what they
are doing simply for the sake of ‘enjoying’ one of their many products
especially when any one of those products is potentially causing the death of a
human being – which is why I support the Nestlé boycott.
Though generally
not well known by many, the Nestlé Boycott is (quite rightly) gathering
momentum.
Universities, colleges, and schools have
banned the sale of Nestlé products from their shops and vending machines and, in the United Kingdom alone, a
total of 73 students' unions, 102 businesses, 30 faith groups, 20 health
groups, 33 consumer groups, 18 local authorities, 12 trade unions, as well as
numerous education groups have all joined the boycott.
Celebrities have also started to gather behind the movement. Emma
Thompson and Germaine Greer have both withdrawn from events associated with or
sponsored by the company. Others who subscribed to the boycott include
Francesca Annis, Jane Asher, Julie Christie, Steve Coogan, Richard E Grant,
Sheila Hancock, Felicity Kendall, Tony Robinson, Ricky Tomlinson, Julie
Walters, Zoe Wanamaker and the late Victoria Wood. Charities who back the
campaign include Save the Children and Oxfam.
I, personally,
refuse to buy any product that has even a connection with the company – such as
brands Nestle has a share in (e.g. Buxton). Some may view this as a hardship
but when I consider how ‘hard’ it is to refrain from or go without certain
things I like (such as Rolos, Smarties or even Perrier water) I just remember
that there are mothers ‘going without’ their children because of Nestle’s cruel
and unethical business practices. I find it puts things in perspective.
Now, just to
stress, I am not saying – Everyone must do this! I am saying here’s some
information about a real issue and one which you can help combat in small,
subtle ways. If you feel you can give up Nestle products, please do – show your
support, let the executives know that you don’t agree with their behaviour and
what’s more aren’t prepared to countenance any more.
Things need to
change – and we have the power to change them.
If you would like
to contribute further, you can sign up to any of the relevant petitions
currently held online including the following:
No doubt there will
be others until Nestlé is made to sit up, pay attention and stop doing what they're doing.
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