Baby Milk Action press release 8 April 2016 The 150th anniversary of the foundation of Nestlé was a major theme of the company’s shareholder meeting on 7 April 2016. Baby Milk Action/IBFAN-UK and IBFAN-GIFA attended to raise concerns about baby…
Nestle is 150 years old – time for it to change
Update: Nestle shareholder meeting asked by Baby Milk Action to remember impact of unethical baby milk marketing on 150th anniversary Nestlé is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2016. But this should also be a time of remembrance and repentance. Its history is…
Nestle press releasing information on breastfeeding and protein to promote SMA brand – while hiding information from parents on why its formula is on clearance sale
Baby Milk Action press release 7 March 2016 (Members of the public in the UK can click here to support the campaign in Parliament to enforce formula marketing regulations) Issuing the results of a survey is an old trick for…
Time to act to enforce the UK formula regulations – not weaken them
Update 20 July 2016: This campaign was successful. The Statutory Instruments implemented today in England and Wales today make Improvement Notices legally binding. See our press release for details. Scotland’s Statutory Instrument also makes certain provisions legally binding, but does not provide…
Those caring people at SMA are just after your money – they have something to sell
A blog by a marketing company called Futureproof employed to recover the SMA brand from its 3rd place position in the UK market has been receiving attention on social media. It reveals the strategies used to present the company to mothers…
Research shows the messages people take from the Brazilian “your child is what you eat” campaign
You may recall the advertising campaign developed for the Paediatric Society of Rio Grande do Sul (SPRS) in Brazil by an agency called Paim. A blogger on advertising in Brazil has conducted research to find out the messages people took from the campaign.…
As Nestle boasts of infant formula sales growth, Botswana police file charges over aggressive marketing, while Tesco puts formula with “excessive protein” on clearance sale in breach of UK law
Baby Milk Action press release 18 February 2016 Nestle today launched its latest full-year results, reporting 4.2% organic growth, stating: “Infant formula including growing-up milks, delivered good growth”. This growth comes from systematic violations of baby milk marketing standards adopted…
Botswana Gazette : Police to Charge Nestle for Violations
The following article appears in the Botswana Gazette (17 – 23 February 2016). It comes as Nestle boasted of 4.2% organic growth in launching its financial report on 18 February, claiming: “Infant formula including growing-up milks, delivered good growth.” Botswana…
Mother support and health worker organisation call for action as Lancet Breastfeeding Series brands UK worst in the world for breastfeeding at 12 months
Baby Milk Action press release 9 January 2016 Update 9 January: Government promises England will learn from other countries in UK to address failures highlighted in Lancet Breastfeeding Series (see below). Leading mother support and health worker organisations in the…
The Lancet Breastfeeding Series – holding corporations accountable
In part 1 of this article, I reflected on the new Lancet Breastfeeding Series and other significant developments in January concerning our mission to protect breastfeeding and protect babies fed on formula. My focus was on the paper concerning health benefits…
The Lancet Breastfeeding Series – and other January news
This January encapsulates what is good and bad in working to protect breastfeeding and to protect babies fed on formula – Baby Milk Action’s mission. The Lancet’s latest breastfeeding series was launched at the end of the month, suggesting that the…
New European Union regulations
Baby food regulations: 6-months recommendation and less sugar Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) voted on 19 January 2016 (393 votes in favour, 305 votes against) to reject draft EU rules on baby food, which would have allowed baby foods…
Act now to reduce sugar levels in baby foods
Update 20 January: This campaign was successful. Click here for details. Take action to contact your representatives in the European Parliament before 20 January to strengthen baby food marketing regulations. Here is a quick explanation and instructions on what to…
Last chance to improve EU baby milk regulations (contact MEPs before Thursday)
UPDATE 14 January: Outcome of the vote. You are probably very familiar with the widespread and aggressive advertising of formula brands in Europe. You can act now to stop it – jump to campaign action. The screenshots left and below are from a…
Ask your Member of Parliament to support the Infant Feeding & Inequalities APPG
Update: the APPG has now been formed. Many thanks to everyone who contacted their MPs. Fifteen from three parties attended the meeting on 19 January 2016 to complete the formalities, elect officers and develop a programme of subjects for the…
Update 47 – news and analysis in 2016
News is changing and so is Baby Milk Action’s Update newsletter. News is now available when you want it – not when producers are ready to send it to you. Now our Update newsletter is moving online. In the distant past, we…
ENVI Committee Members 2015
You some or all of the MEPs in your country to support Keith Taylor’s Resolutions by clicking on the links below. This will take you to their page on the European Parliament website where you will find quick links to…
Hilarious book to raise funds for Baby Milk Action
It’s been a busy time at Baby Milk Action. As our Policy Director, Patti Rundall, sometimes says, “We haven’t got time to swing a cat in this office”. Now, in time for Christmas, Gabrielle Palmer, author of The Politics of…
Mike Brady intervention at the UN Business Forum side event on binding Treaty
Today I spoke on a panel at the United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva. Our event was on Challenges and Opportunities of a Treaty Addressing Corporate Abuses of Human Rights. The Treaty is being drafted by a…
Nestlé shifts position on breastfeeding, but refuses to change formula marketing practices in Nestlé-Free Week
Baby Milk Action press release 5 November 2015 International Nestlé-Free Week is a time for people who boycott Nestlé over the way it pushes baby milk to do more to promote the boycott – and for those who don’t boycott to…
Nestle launches new hypoallergenic formula promotion campaign as BMJ finally retracts fraudulent research that built the market
Baby Milk Action press release 29 October 2015 Media coverage: Huffington Post 5 November The British Medical Journal (BMJ) announced yesterday that it has finally retracted a fraudulent study used by Nestlé, Mead Johnson and other formula companies to weaken laws…
Health visitors caught up in Nestle v Danone formula marketing war
The Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association (CPHVA) is a member of the Baby Feeding Law Group (BFLG), which works for the baby feeding industry to be better regulated. It is worrying to see it being targeted by Nestlé and…
German TV investigates Nestle
We are looking forward to English translations of two programmes broadcast in Germany this month by ARD, the world’s largest public broadcaster. Links to the German programmes are given below. Sign up for alerts and we will let you know…
WBTi press release: First summit meeting of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative UK
PRESS RELEASE 25 September 2015 For immediate release – click here to download as a pdf file First summit meeting of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative UK The first summit meeting of the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi) UK will…
Nestle-sponsored paediatric society distances itself from corporation as it launches shocking first 1000 days campaign
Press release 22 September 2015 Update 25 February 2016: Research shows the messages people take from the Brazilian “your child is what you eat” campaign An advertising campaign criticised by health experts around the world for undermining breastfeeding was launched in…
IBFAN Breastfeeding Calendar 2016
See all 12 pictures and order in the Calendar section of our Virtual Shop. Please give your views on the pictures and calendar here. If you have images you would like to be considered for a future calendar, please contact us.
Tigers in Edinburgh – remembering the Perrier Award boycott and Tap Water Awards
Tigers preview screening at the Take One Action film festival: 19 September 2015 A special screening of Tigers, the new film by Oscar-winning director Danis Tanovic, will reunite campaigners against Nestlé’s baby milk marketing malpractice in Edinburgh on Saturday 19 September…
Nestle-sponsored paediatric society shocks breastfeeding mothers with Brazilian first 1000 days campaign according to report in the Daily Mail
(Update: press release 22 September 2015: Nestle-sponsored paediatric society distances itself from corporation as it launches shocking first 1000 days campaign – our original blog article from 16 September responding to the Daily Mail report is archived below). Update 25 February 2016: Research…
Protest over Nestle baby milk promotion at Leicester festival
Baby Milk Action press release 8 September 2015 Nestlé’s aggressive baby milk marketing practices are ever more obvious in the UK following its takeover of the SMA formula brand in 2012. The latest example is Nestlé targeting the public with a stall at the…
New Nestle-Free Zone t-shirt
We are taking pre-orders for our new Nestlé-Free Zone t-shirt for delivery in September. Take a look at the t-shirt and other items in our online Virtual Shop. The Nestlé-Free Zone logo is also available on mugs, keyring and fridge magnets. Explore…
Open letter to JACEI Chair regarding Methodist Central Finance Board investment in Nestlé
The Methodist Conference received a report from the Church’s Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics in Investment (JACEI) on 29 June 2015. This shows that a strategy of investing in Nestlé to exert pressure on its baby milk marketing policies…
Nestle’s dishonest blog on the boycott shows its desperation and the challenges we face
I was contacted recently by a supporter of the Nestlé boycott whose nephew questioned her concerns by referring to a blog post on Nestlé’s website. The staggeringly dishonest nature of Nestlé’s presentation of the facts shows how desperate it is to undermine support…
Call for help: Look What They’re Doing in the UK monitoring report
Baby Milk Action is very grateful to members of the public who report cases of aggressive marketing of baby milks, baby foods and feeding bottles and teats to us. Some of these we take up with the companies involved, Trading…
Tell Nestle: stop breaking the rules – SMA promotion targeting young mothers
We have been contacted by supporters concerned that Nestlé is promoting its SMA infant formula brand to mothers through sponsorship of AOL’s online Being Mum videos. We are taking this up with both Nestlé, AOL and the relevant authorities in the UK…
Nestle’s dismissal of baby milk violation reports – the case of Breaking the Rules 2014
Baby Milk Action is part of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), consisting of over 270 groups in more than 160 countries. IBFAN groups monitor company activities on the ground. Globally, IBFAN’s International Code Documentation Centre produces summary reports…
Methodist Church ethics committee report shows Nestle systematically violates baby milk marketing rules and its investment and engagement strategy has made things worse
Baby Milk Action press release 18 June 2015 A report to be debated by the Methodist Conference in Southport on 29 June 2015 relates that Nestlé continues to systematically violate baby milk marketing rules, citing expert sources Save the Children and…
Guardian Readers’ Editor says Danone-sponsored content “a mistake”
Update 23 July 2015: Guardian.com Editor accepts conclusion Danone sponsorship was a mistake and thanks Baby Milk Action for prompting more rigorous scrutiny of potential sponsors (see below). The Guardian, 18 May 2015: The readers’ editor on … sponsorship of roundtables (full text –…
New Parliament – lots to do
The UK elected a new Parliament on 7 May. The Government has been formed by the Conservative Party, which won 331 seats out of 650. There are several key developments in the pipeline for the new Parliament and we need…
Getting answers from politicians
Voters in the UK go to the polls on 7 May to elect a new Parliament and so a new government. Where do the parties stand on infant feeding issues? We put two questions to all political parties represented in…
Nestle recruiting staff to break the Code in the UK
Nestlé entered the UK with the takeover of the SMA brand in 2012. The aggressive methods it uses around the world as it competes with Danone (owner of Aptamil, Cow & Gate and Nutricia) have now reached these shores. Nestlé…
Nestle involvement in Toronto CivicAction better city boot camp slammed
Today (28 April 2015) a Nestlé executive is due to be guest speaker at an event in Toronto, Canada, called “Better City Boot Camp” on the topic of nutrition in the first 1000 days from conception run by an organisation called…
London Marathon water sponsor embroiled in controversy over “unlicensed” water bottling
The London Marathon takes place on Sunday 26 April 2015 and the water is being provided once again by Nestlé. Recently it has used the event to promote its Pure Life brand of water. This year, as in earlier years, it…
The Guardian responds to Baby Milk Action over Danone-sponsored content
Update 18 May 2015: Guardian Readers’ Editor says Danone-sponsored content “a mistake” – Update 23 July 2015: Guardian.com Editor accepts this conclusion and thanks Baby Milk Action for prompting more rigorous scrutiny of sponsors. Baby Milk Action received a response from…
Media studies: Danone-sponsored content in The Guardian
Update 18 May 2015: Guardian Readers’ Editor says Danone-sponsored content “a mistake” What happens when a newspaper runs content sponsored by corporations? The following is a case study looking at the new business model being pursued by The Guardian newspaper in…
Nestle Chairman and board exposed by IBFAN at shareholder meeting
Baby Milk Action press release 16 April 2015 Members of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) stood up in front of 2,446 shareholders at Nestlé’s annual meeting on 16 April to call on Nestlé Chairman Peter Brabeck-Letmathé to change…
How the Nestle board excuses breaking baby milk marketing rules
Members of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) attended the Nestlé shareholder meeting on 16 April 2015 to raise concerns about the company’s ongoing aggressive marketing of baby milks. See press release: Nestle Chairman and board exposed by IBFAN at…
Mike Brady question to Peter Brabeck at Nestlé AGM 16 April 2015
Baby Milk Action’s Campaigns Coordinator asks Nestlé Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, to drop the public relations approach and address people’s concerns before he retires. He has attempted to rebrand the company as a Nutrition, Health and Wellness company, but many people see…
What matters to Nestle? A view from inside the corporation on food safety.
Nestlé has published its materiality matrix in a post Measuring what matters: mapping the challenges we face. It explains that the matrix (included below), ‘plots the economic, social and environmental issues of most concern to stakeholders against the impacts they may…
Danone and The Guardian – a strategy for marketing unnecessary products and diverting attention from human rights abuses
Update 18 May 2015: Guardian Readers’ Editor says Danone-sponsored content “a mistake” The Guardian newspaper is planning to report in a future edition about improving the diet of pregnant women, infants and toddlers and policy in these areas. This is something Baby Milk…
What happened to your reports of Tesco breaking the law in the UK?
Why doesn’t Trading Standards prosecute stores for repeat offences? When Tesco broke the criminal law with a promotion for Nestlé’s SMA infant formula, we reported it to Trading Standards via the system operated by Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). We advised members of…