# US stuns at WHO over breastfeeding. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529 "2018-07-08T18:29:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/1 "2018-07-08T18:29:08Z")
Wow! I don’t think anyone expected this. They’d rather support Nestles profits over promotion of breastfeeding in developing countries. Sales of substitute formula has flattened in most developed countries. So they need populations/markets to exploit, and they are not above bullying others apparently. Who cares if more babies die, as a direct result. From The New York Times: U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials Trade sanctions. Withdrawal of military aid. The Trump administration used both to try to block a measure that was considered uncontroversial and embraced by countries around the world. > **[Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution by U.S. Stuns World Health Officials...](https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/08/health/world-health-breastfeeding-ecuador-trump.html)** > > Trade sanctions. Withdrawal of military aid. The Trump administration used both to try to block a measure that was considered uncontroversial and embraced by countries around the world. U Sent from my iPad ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/2 "2018-07-08T18:36:27Z")
And now the descent into cartoon super-villainy is complete. ---
**Author:** ![Amara\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/7993a0/32.png) [@Amara\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amara_1)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/3 "2018-07-08T18:52:06Z")
I don’t know why you’re so concerned about this. Obviously they just got confused and once orders came in from their leader, they acquiesced. > [@](#): > > In the end, the Americans’ efforts were mostly unsuccessful. **It was the Russians who ultimately stepped in to introduce the measure — and the Americans did not threaten them.** > … > The intensity of the administration’s opposition to the breast-feeding resolution stunned public health officials and foreign diplomats, who described it as a marked contrast to the Obama administration, which largely supported W.H.O.’s longstanding policy of encouraging breast-feeding. > … > **The Americans also sought, unsuccessfully, to thwart a W.H.O. effort aimed at helping poor countries obtain access to lifesaving medicines.** Washington, supporting the pharmaceutical industry, has long resisted calls to modify patent laws as a way of increasing drug availability in the developing world, but health advocates say the Trump administration has ratcheted up its opposition to such efforts. > … > “\*\*It’s making everyone very nervous, because if you can’t agree on health multilateralism, what kind of multilateralism can you agree on?” \*\*Ms. Kickbusch asked. > … > A Russian delegate said the decision to introduce the breast-feeding resolution was a matter of principle. > > “ **We’re not trying to be a hero here, but we feel that it is wrong when a big country tries to push around some very small countries, especially on an issue that is really important for the rest of the world,** ” said the delegate, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to speak to the media. More seriously, this is insanity and incredibly dangerous. WHO has always been one of the leading non-partisan organizations in the world for healthcare. But it’s a great way to promote Russia as a world leader! ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/4 "2018-07-08T20:17:12Z")
Taken at face value, that’s obscene. The administration should be ashamed of themselves. (very important to make the distinction between the administration and the US people, I can’t imagine that they would be behind this) ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/5 "2018-07-08T20:19:10Z")
Maybe the US’s delegation thought the directive involved breastfeeding in public. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/6 "2018-07-08T21:33:47Z")
Wow. WTF? Well they do like to deny science, I knew that. But damn, this is really inexplicable in most ways. Nestles is not even a US company. Maybe this was on behalf of Gerber instead? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/7 "2018-07-08T22:26:06Z")
Maybe I missed it but I couldn’t spot in the article what the American delegation wanted the resolution to say. That detail is also missing from the [Guardian’s report](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/08/trump-administration-opposes-breastfeeding-resolution-report). ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/8 "2018-07-08T22:42:57Z")
Tacky comment follows. You’ve been warned. Trump believes breasts shouldn’t be hogged by babies. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/9 "2018-07-08T22:53:08Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > The administration should be ashamed of themselves. The Trump administration is incapable of shame. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/10 "2018-07-08T23:32:42Z")
> [@Quartz](#): > > Maybe I missed it but I couldn’t spot in the article what the American delegation wanted the resolution to say. That detail is also missing from the [Guardian’s report](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/08/trump-administration-opposes-breastfeeding-resolution-report). All the details in the NY Times article are these: > [@](#): > > American officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding” and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious effects on young children. Most of the details of in other news stories seemed to be “The NY Times reports”. It also sounds like it wasn’t a suggestion for what to say but just what not to say. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/11 "2018-07-08T23:53:52Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Tacky comment follows. You’ve been warned. Trump believes breasts shouldn’t be hogged by babies. Some evidence supports this. This [Vox article](https://www.vox.com/2018/7/8/17546142/trump-breastfeeding-new-york-times-ecuador) quotes two Trump tweets which denigrate breastfeeding women. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/12 "2018-07-09T00:17:17Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > They’d rather support Nestles profits There’s plenty of US based firms with trotters in this trough. I’d have thought [Abbott Laboratories](https://abbottnutrition.com/) considers this as \*quid pro quo \*for their contribution to Trumps inaugural bash. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/13 "2018-07-09T00:22:40Z")
From the NYT article: > [@](#): > > The United States also insisted that the words “evidence-based” accompany references to long-established initiatives that promote breast-feeding, which critics described as a ploy that could be used to undermine programs that provide parents with feeding advice and support. Not entirely a ploy (as [some](https://www.forbes.com/sites/kavinsenapathy/2016/12/20/yet-another-study-claims-and-fails-to-show-that-breastfeeding-is-best/#365ed6af5831) of the research used to promote breastfeeding is shaky), but hypocritical in the extreme, given the [dubious claims](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/01/nestle-under-fire-for-marketing-claims-on-baby-milk-formulas) made by formula marketers (and the administration’s contempt for science in general). ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/14 "2018-07-09T00:53:17Z")
Next stop: De-clawing of all cats in the lower 48! Alaska and Hawaii becomes a safe zone for the kitties. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/15 "2018-07-09T00:56:01Z")
(My bad on the Nestles reference, I had ‘the likes of Nestles’, and somehow lost it on edit. There were just the first maker of baby formula that came to mind. Also they lost that epic lawsuit, over this very issue in India, a long time back now. Apologies.) ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/16 "2018-07-09T01:21:13Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Some evidence supports this. This [Vox article](https://www.vox.com/2018/7/8/17546142/trump-breastfeeding-new-york-times-ecuador) quotes two Trump tweets which denigrate breastfeeding women. I wouldn’t find it surprising in the least if I heard that Loser Donald refused to let his children be breast-fed. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/17 "2018-07-09T01:37:21Z")
This is appalling beyond words. Now Putin is wearing the white hat. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/18 "2018-07-09T01:45:13Z")
Well, _of course_ Trump & Co. are all about profits for formula makers and, can’t have all those worker-bee women taking time out from wage-slavery to feed babies, right? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/19 "2018-07-09T02:23:23Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Well, _of course_ Trump & Co. are all about profits for formula makers and, can’t have all those worker-bee women taking time out from wage-slavery to feed babies, right? Not unless they agree to be hooked up to a milking machine so the administration and its partners can benefit from those selfish bitches wasting their time putting something meant to look sexy for men to enjoy in a baby’s mouth. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2018, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529/20 "2018-07-09T02:26:25Z")
> [@](#): > > It was the Russians who ultimately stepped in to introduce the measure - and the Americans did not threaten them. Nice to know that the new overlords of the US have _some_ moral standards that they’re willing to impose on their serfs. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-stuns-at-who-over-breastfeeding/817529.md?page=2)