PHM-Exch> Fwd: Taking your messages to the heart of Nestle's empire

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: Baby Milk Action <mikebrady at babymilkaction.org>


I recently contacted everyone who had emailed Nestlé over its marketing of
baby milks to see if you had received a reply. Nobody had, even though
Nestlé publicly invites questions about its business practices.

Given the lack of response, I did two things:

* I wrote to Nestlé, and

* I went to Nestlé's shareholder meeting in Switzerland on 10 April to
question Nestlé's Chairman in front of more than 2,700 shareholders.

Nestlé was expecting me at the shareholder meeting and replied to my letter
a few days before. Their Public Affairs Manager said, 'Please be advised
that we have a policy of not responding to mass emails.'

If you are disappointed that Nestlé thinks you do not deserve a reply, then
you could try contacting it again. See our email Nestlé page for details on
how to do so:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/emailnestle

I told the shareholders about ongoing concerns with Nestlé's baby food
marketing practices and highlighted that we are not alone in calling Nestlé
to change its policies and practices.

I was able to expose that Nestlé had misled shareholders in its reports by
downplaying the amount of criticism it attracts. Even if shareholders are
not concerned about how Nestlé does business, they should be concerned
about its misleading reports.

In a telling moment, the Chief Executive of Nestlé Health Science admitted
that 90% of the violations of international marketing standards we and our
colleagues report are permitted by Nestlé's own policies - which are much
weaker than they should be.

But the Chairman refused to accept Nestlé should bring its policies into
line - so the boycott remains essential to keep up the pressure. For
further details see my blog at:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/news/campaignblog220414

At the same time we continue to work with our partners around the world to
bring in laws that hold it to account (over 70 countries now have laws in
place).

We will continue to expose Nestlé malpractice to shareholders and more
widely.

You can support this work by becoming a member of Baby Milk Action and by
spreading the word.

For example, use our Nestlé-Free Zone stickers to declare that Nestlé is
not welcome at your home or where you work. See:
http://www.babymilkaction.org/shop/stickers.html

---
Mike Brady
Campaigns and Networking Coordinator
Baby Milk Action
Tel: 01223 464420
Fax: 01223 464417
Baby Milk Action, 34 Trumpington Street, Cambridge, CB2 1QY
http://www.babymilkaction.org/
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