Allotments 4 All

Sarah sent me an email the other day about this and I thought it should be popped on here purely for awareness raising purposes. You may or may not know about Nestles aggressive and inappropriate marketing of its formula milk in the developing world. The issue is new to me and I am not here to preach but please go and have a look at this site: http://www.babymilkaction.org/resources/boycott/nestlefree.html

For me it boils down to this. The water there is not sanitary. One and a half MILLION babies die every year as a result of being fed formula made up with dirty water or possibly worse, when the free samples from nestle (not allowed but hey, do you think they are bothered?) run out and mothers have to buy the formula they make up a very weak solution.
I have no problem with formula milk. Here we can make our own choices. These mothers and babies do not have the same privilege.
Nestle use aggressive sales tactics, the bribing of doctors and health workers to flog their product when they should be encouraging mothers to breastfeed.
Do go and have a look at the site as it will probably give you much better info than me, as I say it's an issue that i've only known about for 2 days. Sarah knows more so hopefully she'll be along soon.

I first started boycotting Nestle over 20 years ago- I can't believe they are still getting away with this!

yes its outrageous and the WHO have been on their case for years and each time they tow the line for a little while but always end up breaching guidelines and as Emma says at the end of the day it costs the lives of a huge number of babies who die from dysentery and diahrea (sp) as a result of not being breast fed.  i have been part of this boycot for ten years (twenty years good for you caroline7758 ;)) and i try not to be preachy about it but Emma says we should post it here and she's right.  this is world nestle free week, and i would urge you all to at the very least change the brand of coffee you drink if it is nescafe and go out into the net and inform yourselves about the things this company (and others) do in the name of commerce.  hope its ok to bring this up here and apologees if anyone thinks its not the place.  if anyone wants anymore information they can PM me and i will happily point them in the direction of websites etc.

We have a permanent no-no. Shame, I love Kit Kat!

Darn, Hubbies just come home with a large bag of aero bubbles and they are so nice :-) just checked and there Nestle :-(

pitty cos there darn nice!!

This is a Nestlé-free house.

what about kit-kats you telling me you can resisit??

Can't answer for Tim Louise but if you're asking me then it's not a problem - I really don't have a sweet tooth. Bought biscuits etc for Pete. I never eat them.

I Have a sweet tooth and a savory one so i crave salted popcorn or a bag of chocolate.

A little of what you fancy does you good :-)

Absolutely! :) :)

yes its a shame about the kit kats (and the aero) i have a real sweet tooth, but luckily nestle doesnt own all the confectionary manufactureres in the uk. just most of them. the hardest part is that they also own most of the ice cream manufactureres aswell and franchise most of the outlets so i have to be quite tough on the children when it comes to ice creams on the sea front. 

actually what i meant to say was,  that it is good to find out that there are like minded people on here. good on you. :-*

OH loathes them - we try and avoid them as much as possible

So what ice cream is Nestlé? (we normally buy locally made from local Itlaian restaurant.

Ice creams on the sea front will be a problem Sarah but hey, I feel my kids have to know why their mum is such a nut and if they grow up more aware of the choices they have as a human being and as a consumer then all to the good. They know why they can't have things like Bernard Matthews Turkey Torture Inc products and they agree with me in principle (although I am sure they think I'm a full time pain) that if they are going to eat meat it should actually be meat, not spleen and eyeball.
But I digress (as usual).
Green and Blacks isn't Nestle is it?  :'( :'( :'( If it is.
Tomorrow I am ringing Nestle to tell them I am supporting the boycott week and actually, it's going to be a lifelong thing or until they REALLY change. The fact that Caroline and Sarah have been boycotting so long makes me think it will be the former.  ::)

My daughter told me today that Cadbury's have bought out Green & Black's. Anyone know if this is true? Wonder if Cadbury's will stick to the Fairtrade agreement (not that all G&B is fairtraded anyway).

It's potentially insensitive to point out that when my wife was in hospital after giving birth, there was a noticeable correlation between affluence & attempts at breast feeding (and also real nappies). To summarise bluntly, it was (in general) the younger mums with less visible fathers who were less likely to try things that save money & could be argued as more natural (& I would argue are easier, again in general).

A lovely (but young & fairly abandoned) lady in the next bed didn't even try to breast feed, as she knew it was too hard. And she was horrified that we were using second hand "real" nappies. We're fairly fortunate financially, but from the start spent a lot less than her. Who told her that formula is easier? Because although I've never breast fed, I have had to sterilise all the stuff and it really is a p in the a.

I'm allergic to chocolate, so there's no dilemma. But Nestle really are as bad as BAT & Phillip Morris et al, claiming they just help people to exercise freedom of choice etc. Absolute balls.

I don't mean any offence to anyone by writing this, as many people have their own reasons for exercising genuine choice. But vulnerable people often think they are making a choice when they are in fact being exploited.

Quote from: grawrc on July 03, 2007, 18:30:05
This is a Nestlé-free house.

And our house too.  Ice cream from farmers' market, chocolate from Lindt, coffee from Lavazza   :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P :P

No Nestle in this house either & hasn't been for 20 years or so - in fact it might be nearly 30 years ago as it was when my eldest was a babe that I first became aware of the issue of infant formula in less developed countries.  An article in Spare Rib probably - anyone remember that - I had an article published in it once but I digress!  :)

Thanks for bringing this topic up Emmy- good to see the younger generation carrying on the good work.

I think Cadbury's did by Green & Blacks. Personally, I like Divine (available in Oxfam shops and some health food shops, etc..)

I'm so pleased I didn't have to faff around with bottles and that (no one even batted an eyelid even while I pushed trolley round supermarket and holding small person while breastfeeding!). All the 4 local midwives are very pro-breastfeeding and one of the health visitors is active in the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers. In one of their magazines, I recall seeing the debate about Nestle. I try to avoid Nestle wherever possible.