# The "baby formula flight" is Nestle' products **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 20, 2022, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805 "2022-05-20T22:48:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/21 "2022-05-22T16:55:45Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > I literally couldn’t produce enough milk for my kids. My mom, either. I was a big baby, just over 8lbs which for a girl is large, and it wasn’t until I was almost 3 months old and not gaining weight like you’d expect a big baby to that my pediatrician’s declaration that I had “colic” was proven wrong by my great-grandmother. She’d insisted for weeks I wasn’t fussing for no reason, I was _still hungry_ but it took a while to convince Mom that the doctor didn’t know everything. As soon as I started getting some formula too, my colic magically disappeared. Poor mom said she felt guilty for ages for not listening to her grandmother sooner. Luckily, she kept this in mind when my brother, an even bigger baby at 10lbs, was born and did supplemental bottles from birth. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/22 "2022-05-22T17:04:29Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > It is wrong to sell formula to 3rd world nations? Or what? And can we get a cite for _something?_ [Here](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal) ya go. > Nestlé’s advertisements insinuated that drinking infant formula instead of breast milk will make children healthier, happier, and stronger [[2]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-sethi-2). Advertisements also offered free feeding bottles, samples, and other supplies to mothers in order to encourage purchases. To promote their product, Nestlé developed close relationships with local hospitals and healthcare professionals in order to deliver products directly to new mothers when they are discharged from the hospital. Further, Nestlé sales representatives dressed up as nurses when giving out free samples, falsely presenting that their product is endorsed by health professionals [[3]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-JGH-3). > Nestlé carried out these misleading advertising practices despite knowing that breast milk is, in fact, almost always the healthier option [[4]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-Kennedy_Hearings-4). Dissuading mothers from breastfeeding in favor of bottle feeding can lead to numerous health problems, especially in developing nations. Mothers become reliant on infant formula when they stop naturally producing breast milk through continued use, which is problematic because many families cannot consistently afford infant formula. To make the formula supply last, mothers often diluted formula, causing malnutrition in infants. Further, due to a lack of access to clean water, mothers would mix powdered infant formula with unsanitary water, which caused disease in the infants [[3]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-JGH-3) [[5]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-NYT-5). Although instructions on Nestlé’s infant formula warned against these practices, the products were sold in areas of high illiteracy and many mothers were never aware of the consequences [[3]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-JGH-3). This was in the mid-70s. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/23 "2022-05-22T17:22:32Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > This was in the mid-70s. What does that have to do with 2022 and the OP? ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/24 "2022-05-22T17:44:08Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > the doctor didn’t know everything. The pro-nursing literature warned that doctors would point to lack of weight gain as a reason to switch to formula, saying that nursing babies naturally weighed a little less. When I was resistant to switching at 3 months, the doctor said, “Well try this.” “Prepare one bottle of formula. Nurse him as usual. Then offer the bottle and if he takes more than three ounces, he’s probably not getting enough the regular way.” I tried it. He downed eight ounces. He also never wanted anything but the bottle again. At that point, I was convinced. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/25 "2022-05-22T17:52:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > What does that have to do with 2022 and the OP? Oh. Excuse me, I was answering your question, _It is wrong to sell formula to 3rd world nations? Or what? And can we get a cite for **something?** _ I didn’t realize you were limiting it to last week. And since you ask, same cite: > Despite the establishment of international codes regulating infant formula marketing practices, the issue persists today. In 2011, NGOs in Laos wrote an open letter to Nestlé protesting its marketing practices, including general public advertising and promotion of infant formula in hospitals, and labeling infant formulas with infants from birth, and not providing adequate education regarding the benefits of breastfeeding as compared to infant formula feeding. [[11]](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Professionalism/The_Nestl%C3%A9_Infant_Formula_Scandal#cite_note-%E2%80%9Dlaos%E2%80%9D-11) > One could argue that as a company, Nestlé needs to adequately advertise their products for good business. However, managing business profits and ethical marketing can be a fine balance. These decisions in marketing practices can be influenced by numerous outside participants and other factors, such as these NGOs in Laos, as well as the institutional culture of the company. Being aware of the decisions traps of the diffusion of responsibility, conformity bias, and lack of accountability can help people make professional decisions when the “right” answer is unclear. Since the US is not a third world country and we’re asking for it, not falling prey to their advertising, I’d give Nestle a pass in this case. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/26 "2022-05-22T20:30:10Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > Oh. Excuse me, I was answering your question, _It is wrong to sell formula to 3rd world nations? Or what? And can we get a cite for **something?** _ I was asking the OP who seems to think Nestle is causing the current formula shortage. I will stipulate Nestle was doing some bad shit decades ago, but it isn’t relevant here in 2022 and it has nothing to do with the Op or the current shortage. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/27 "2022-05-22T20:34:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > I will stipulate Nestle was doing some bad shit decades ago, but it isn’t relevant here in 2022 and it has nothing to do with the Op or the current shortage. Or - what happened decades ago _may_ be relevant to what’s going on now, but if so nobody has made that connection clear. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2022, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/28 "2022-05-22T23:31:20Z")
The idea seems to be this Nestle formula stockpile only exists for the purposes of the exploitation of third world mothers previously described. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/29 "2022-05-23T00:25:20Z")
I’ll bet that Nestle has formula stockpiles for the exploitation of North American mothers. Or, in other words, they have warehouses to supply the North American market, and other warehouses to supply the African market, the Asian market, the South American market and so forth. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 10:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/30 "2022-05-23T10:45:01Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > When was this? (Just the decade is OK.) I have heard that the La Leche League is not as aggressive as they used to be. About ten years ago. The pressure wasn’t from LLL, it was that every baby book dedicated literally the first chapter to the benefits of breastfeeding, every baby class started with it, every ad for a hospital. There would be a nod to “if you can’t, it is ok”, but it was always “if you can’t”, as in “if it’s physically impossible”. No one ever gave me any sort of nuanced guidance. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/31 "2022-05-23T11:51:29Z")
Well, I’m still bitter about my interactions with la leche, although that was the decades ago. And i didn’t have it that bad. A woman in my new mom’s group nearly killed her newborn. She kept trying to nurse, and trying to nurse, until HER mother visited and dragged her and the baby to the hospital. The baby was severely dehydrated, but released to go home with the grandmother after it reacted well to drinking formula. The mother was delirious from lack of sleep, and was admitted to the hospital for a night or two. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2022, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/32 "2022-05-23T20:53:56Z")
Something I just learned today, although it really should have been obvious if I’d ever really thought about it – breastfeeding requires an additional ~400 calories on top of what the mother would otherwise need to eat. For some, formula might be easier to come by than amount of extra food every day. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2022, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/33 "2022-05-24T16:42:34Z")
My wife got a LOT of peer pressure as well from other moms in the area and online, FWIW. There was a lot of judgment and guilting of women who chose to use formula or pump and use bottles rather than doggedly breast feed. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [May 25, 2022, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/34 "2022-05-25T17:02:10Z")
ISTM the thought among many is along the lines that Nestle’s questionable business practices in the Developing World are at near crime against humanity level, that it’s scandalous they even continue to exist profitably to this day, and that accepting their product implies that we’ll now “owe them” so we should not. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2022, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805/35 "2022-06-01T22:43:45Z")
I’d just like to point out that Perrigo is the Portuguese word for “danger”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-baby-formula-flight-is-nestle-products/964805.md?page=1)