• Otter@lemmy.ca
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      6 hours ago

      They have a well known baby formula scandal too. They used unethical advertising practices to get women in developing countries started on free baby formula, and then the women had to keep buying the formula when the natural lactation stopped.

      They would then have trouble sourcing clean water and clean equipment, causing the babies to get sick. They would also try to stretch the formula because of financial limitations, and the babies would be malnourished

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Nestlé_boycott

      Advocacy groups and charities have accused Nestlé of unethical methods of promoting infant formula over breast milk to poor mothers in developing countries.[23][24] For example, IBFAN claims that Nestlé distributes free formula samples to hospitals and maternity wards; after leaving the hospital, the formula is no longer free, but because the supplementation has interfered with lactation, the family must continue to buy the formula. IBFAN also alleges that Nestlé uses “humanitarian aid” to create markets, does not label its products in a language appropriate to the countries where they are sold, and offers gifts and sponsorship to influence health workers to promote its products.[25] The company not only made use of mass media promotion (e.g. billboards and posters) and sample distributions, they also had sales people dressed as so-called “milk nurses” to visit mothers in hospital and at their home to praise formula and its benefits.[26][27][10] Nestlé justified its actions by rejecting the responsibility for e.g. the lack of clean water in many developing countries and further argued with freedom of consumer choice, which in the company’s opinion allows for formula products to be sold in developing markets