Experts say there can be long-term health consequences for babies and infants who consume too much sugar at a young age.
In Switzerland, the label of Nestlé’s Cerelac baby cereal says it contains “no added sugar.” But in Senegal and South Africa, the same product has 6 grams of added sugar per serving, according to a recent Public Eye investigation. And in the Philippines, one serving of a version of the Cerelac cereal for babies 1 to 6 months old contains a whopping 7.3 grams of added sugar, the equivalent of almost two teaspoons.
This “double standard” for how Nestlé creates and markets its popular baby food brands around the world was alleged in a report from Public Eye, an independent nonpartisan Swiss-based investigative organization, and International Baby Food Action Network.
The groups allege that Nestlé adds sugars and honey to some of its baby cereal and formula in lower-income countries, while products sold in Europe and other countries are advertised with “no added sugars.” The disparities uncovered in the report, which was published in the BMJ in April, has raised alarms among global health experts.
Fuck Nestle.
Everyone says that. Have been for decades now.
But as long as our major politicians are Republicans and neoliberals, nothing is going to change.
Because their whole economical philosophy is corporations over money and that wealth “trickles down”.
You want to do something about Nestle?
Vote progressives, especially ones that eschew corporate donors.
I’m just tired of the vast majority of people being against something, but (at least for Americans) voting for people who like it.
https://www.opensecrets.org/federal-lobbying/clients/summary?id=D000042332
We need to get rid of the shit show that is American lobbying, and only progressives push for that
But as long as our major politicians are Republicans and neoliberals, nothing is going to change.
Those poorer countries have governments too. They should be the first line of defense for their citizens. Fuck Nestle and all their products, but the reality is that there’s absolutely nothing a foreign power can do to protect the people living in those countries
There was a great John Oliver episode about how Cigarettes are sold in African and South Asian countries. Any effort to regulate the market, like introducing warning labels, limiting tobacco ads, or even just disallowing the sale of individual cigarettes in front of schools, was immediately met with huge backlashes by big tobacco.
If your countries GDP is 5 Billion US-D and Phil Morris has a turnover of 80 Billions US-D plus the lobbying power to have the US or EU threaten sanctions against that country, it is pretty darn difficult to provide the same level of consumer protection laws.
Don’t blame the countries that are on the short end of neocolonialism, when your government is complicit in it.
You could pass legislation that requires corporations not to do harmful activities in other countries if these activities are illegal in your country. If a corporation does such an activity abroad it would still be prosecuted as a crime in your country. If a corporation doesn’t want to subject itself to such accountability, it would have to stop doing business in your country.
This.
Nestle products comply with European law in Europe. Nestle products comply with Senegalese law in Senegal. Nestle products comply with South African law in South Africa.
When companies use ingredients that are banned in Europe to produce food for American markets, (brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, BHA, BHT, etc), we point the finger at lax American regulators for allowing it. When Nestle produces food for African markets that doesn’t meet European standards, we don’t blame African regulators.
Those poorer countries can’t
I wish I could find it but there was a palm oil company that was banned from an island and they just ignored it
Corporations do depend on money, so every bit of money you don’t give to Nestlé reduces their power just a tiny bit. Nestlé is a difficult company to boycott though, because they own so many brands.
Sanctions.
If America told Nestle and other corporations that if you’re committing human rights abuses anywhere, you’re not welcome in our markets.
It’s not some impossible thing.
It’s just something that isn’t possible till we have politicians who represent voters more than corporations.
We need progressive majorities for that. But shit can be better
No you don’t understand, America = bad. If someone is doing something wrong it must be Americas fault or I must find some way to shoehorn politics into every conversation.
I am confused why you’re talking about USA. The article doesn’t mention USA, and Nestle is a Swiss company.
I mean, better regulations in the US would be great though
Because America is where they do a lot of shady shit…
If America threatened to cut Nestle off from the American market they would break their backs bending over for whatever we asked.
Other countries have more people, but don’t spend as much money. Other countries have more money, but don’t buy garbage food.
America is Nestle’s ideal market, and they have large monopolies.
The same company that gave out free baby formular to poor African families and then, after a couple of months, went “nuh-uh you now have to pay so your babies don’t die lol”? Surprising.
If we didn’t live in corporatocracies masquerading as “democracies” the execs and managers who pulled that shit would be serving life in prison.
Edit: Note that Nestle did this so the mothers would stop producing milk and their babies survival would become dependent on Nestle — pure unadulterated psychopathy!
corporatocracies masquerading as “democracies”
Thank you. I’ve been trying so hard to figure out exactly what’s going on in the world and the “democracy is best no matter what” mentality a lot of useful idiots seem to believe.
This sums it up very well.
Democracy IS best. We arguably don’t have it because capitalism is pay to play and money equals speech = the orgs and individuals with the most money have the most influence over politics and government; so much so that wealth essentially controls policy — note that despite the USA being one of the most obvious and egregious examples, the problem is not isolated in any way shape or form.
If there were hard limits on individual wealth, every business was a co-op owned by the workers, and their influence on society was properly regulated, maybe we would have much more egalitarian democracies, but individuals and orgs will always strive to corrupt the system for their own power/wealth advantage (incl under any other system e.g. socialism).
They’ve been criminally evil forever. Fuck Nestlé.
If you can commit an evil with food or water rest assured, Nestle® is on it.
Evil aside, what is the benefit to Nestle of adding sugar? It’s not like the babies are asking for the high sugar stuff at the grocery store…
