The Baby Milk Boycott

A company had been advertising the sale and use of its baby for­mula in underdeveloped countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin Ameri­ca. To encourage new mothers to feed their babies formula instead of breast milk, the company had been giving free supplies of its for­mula to hospitals.

Critics of the company’s practices said that breastfeeding at home was difficult once babies had been bottle–fed with formula in the hospital. The critics pointed out that many mothers, after leav­ing the hospital, discovered that bottled formula was too expensive; as a result, their babies were often underfed. When mothers did use the formula, they often mixed it with polluted water. The critics stated that many of the 3,500 infant deaths occurring daily around the world resulted from inadequate nourishment.

The company denied that its practices caused the deaths of ba­bies. It asserted that its formula was beneficial to babies and that other factors, such as poor health care, caused infant deaths. The company believed it was unfair to criticize the promotion of a safe and useful product, noting that mothers who could not breast–feed needed bottled formula.

Beginning in 1977, citizens of various countries began to orga­nize a boycott of the company’s formula and of its other products, which included different types of baby food and chocolate. The boy­cott attracted attention from the media and other groups. UNICEF (United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund) and the World Health Organization issued regulations declaring that the company’s marketing practices would in the future be consid­ered illegal. In 1988, however, it was discovered that the company was still offering free formula to new mothers in many countries. Because the company was based in Europe, the European Commu­nity (EC) was asked to take action. In 1992, the EC set up com­plaint procedures in 100 countries.

Role–play:

Role–play a meeting between “Boycotters to End Infant Formula Deaths” and representatives of the formula manufacturer. After each side presents its point of view, both should try to reach an agreement to address the problem.

Answer the questions:

1. With which position in the role–play do you agree? Explain. Was an agreement reached?

2. What does the word boycott mean? Do you think the boycott worked in this case?

3. Do you know of other consumer boycotts? Describe them and explain why people were boycotting.

4. Do you think the boycotts were effective? Were any of them waged against someone other than a manufacturer?

5. What alternatives to boycotting do people who dislike the practices of a company or group have? Compare the effectiveness of boycotts with that of alternatives.

UNIT 3.