Title	Infant Feeding [electronic resource] : Anatomy of a Controversy 1973-1984 / edited by John Dobbing
Imprint	London : Springer London, 1988
Connect to	http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-1618-9
Descript	XVII, 169 p. online resource

Infant Feeding is about a controversy which fascinated the medical and scientific world, as well as national and international health authorities, politicians, religious groups and consumer organisations, for more than 11 years. It often disturbed public opinion, being concerned, as it is, with nothing less than the life and death of babies. The infant food industry was directly accused of having caused a decline in breast-feeding through the inappropriate marketing of breast milk substitutes. The problem was said to be particularly acute in poor under-developed communities, because illiterate mothers were unable to understand instructions for its use, water was often contaminated and, in order to "stretch" an admittedly expensive product, it was over-diluted. The inevitable result, said the critics of industry, was malnutrition, gastroenteritis and increased infant mortality. These were very serious charges against companies which had until then been generally considered to provide an important contribution to medical progress and child health. One company was to be particularly singled out: Nestlรฉ SA, the Swiss multinational. Perhaps it became the target because it was the longest establishment, and served well as a symbol of the whole industry. It is a story which is full of confrontations, intrigue and passionately-held opinions, based, nevertheless, on a sizeable body of medical science. After countless twists and turns, it has some sort of "happy ending". Yet a great deal remains to be said, as will be seen throughout the book

1. The Charges -- โ{128}{156}Breast is Bestโ{128}{157} -- Decline in Breast-Feeding -- The Vast Majority of Mothers Can Breast-Feed -- Health Hazards of Feeding Breast Milk Substitutes -- Infant Formula a Drain on National Resources -- Infant Formula Marketing -- 2. Medical and Scientific Commentary on Charges made against the Infant Food Industry -- Terminology -- The Charges -- Points of Agreement -- Breast is Best (with Few Exceptions) -- Decline in Breast-Feeding -- Supplements, Complements and Weaning -- Can the Great Majority of Mothers Breast-Feed Successfully? -- Concluding note -- 3. Origins of the Controversy -- Third World Context -- Feed the Mother -- Industry Participation -- PAG Statement No. 23 -- ICIFI: Formalising Industry Cooperation -- The Debate Goes Public -- The New Internationalist Report -- The Baby Killer -- Policy Review -- 4. Focus on Nestlรฉ The Bern Trial -- Naming Nestlรฉ -- The Swiss Activists -- Identifying the Activists -- Suggested Settlement -- Defendantโ{128}{153}s Public Relations Strategy -- Reduced Charges -- Courtroom Testimony -- Nestlรฉ Press Conference -- Written Testimony -- Back to the Courtroom -- Dr. Jelliffeโ{128}{153}s Testimony -- Final Hearings -- Summing Up -- The Judgement -- 5. The US Campaign -- Religious Groupsโ{128}{153} Support -- Shareholder Resolutions -- Shareholders Go To Court -- Nestlรฉ in the US -- Formation of INFACT -- Launch of the Boycott -- First Meeting with INFACT -- Continuation of the Boycott -- Next: Political Action -- 6. Into the Political Arena -- Importance of Hearings -- Preparation for Testimony -- Choosing a Spokesman -- Questionable Credentials -- Fateful Statement -- Result of Hearings -- Follow-Up Meeting -- Into the Mouths of Babes -- ICIFI Enters the Scene -- Confrontation with the National Council of Churches -- Preparations for WHO Meeting -- 7. Developing International Recommendations: the WHO Code -- WHO Programme -- Politics of Policy-Making -- Planning the Meeting -- Working Groups -- Consensus on Marketing -- Nestlรฉโ{128}{153}s Response -- Nestlรฉโ{128}{153}s Checklist for Marketing Practices -- Activists Resurgent -- Development of ICIFI Model Code -- Industry โ{128}{156}Violationsโ{128}{157} -- Difficult Drafting Job -- Regulation or Recommendation? -- 8. Escalation of the Campaign and Nestlรฉโ{128}{153}s Response -- Escalation: Further Observations on the Controversy from Industryโ{128}{153}s Standpoint -- Development of Product and Marketing Policy -- 9. Implementing the WHO Code -- ICIFI Disbanded -- Dialogue with the United Methodists -- Code Implementation at the National Level -- The Nestlรฉ Instructions -- Audit Committee -- Nestlรฉ Announces its New Policy -- Interpreting the WHO Code -- Revising the Nestlรฉ Instructions -- Support for the Boycott Wanes -- 10. Resolution of the Conflict -- The โ{128}{156}Fourโ{128}{157} Points -- January 1984 Discussions -- Nestlรฉ Statement of Understanding -- Nestlรฉ/INBC Agreement -- Boycott Suspension -- Termination of the Nestlรฉ Boycott -- 11. Epilogue -- Appendix 1. The Nestlรฉ Infant Formula Audit Commission โ{128}{148} (NIFAC) Charter -- Appendix 2. Nestlรฉ Statement of Understanding -- Appendix 3. Addendum to the Nestlรฉ Statement of Understanding