The big noise to wake up Nestlé management Isn't it time the 'least ethical company' listened? 10th May - no embargo Note: an updated press release with high resolution photos will be available on Sunday 11th May.   Click here to download a high resolution version of this picture for publication (Photo credit: Andrew Finney) Nestlé, officially the ‘least ethical company’ according to a recent Ethical Consumer Magazine survey, is the target of nationwide demonstrations on 10th May - the Saturday before UK National Breastfeeding Week. Every 30 seconds a baby dies somewhere in the world because it was not breastfed (WHO statistic). Where water is unsafe an artificially-fed child is up to 25 times more likely to die as a result of diarrhoea than a breastfed child, according to UNICEF. Despite this on-going tragedy, Nestlé continues to aggressively promote its baby foods in violation of international marketing standards, something reported once again in the British Medical Journal in January 2003. Demonstrators will symbolically mark each death with drums, cymbals etc. between 11.00 and mid-day. Film clips and photos will be available shortly after the event on the Baby Milk Action website and interviews can be arranged on the day (contact Mike Brady on 07986 736179). Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networling Coordinator at Baby Milk Action, which is currently the secretariat for the International Nestlé Boycott Committee (Nestlé is the target of a boycott in 20 countries), said: "Nestlé malpractice ranges from giving inducements to health workers to encouraging mothers to join its baby clubs. It advertises products it should not. It distributes free samples and supplies, which interrupt a mother’s breastfeeding. Its labels idealize its products and are not always in the appropriate language of the country where the products are sold. These practices are all prohibited. We are not asking Nestlé to stop selling baby foods. We, like UNICEF and others, are asking it to bring its policies and practices into line with the marketing requirements set out by the World Health Assembly. The demonstrations are not aimed at Nestlé employees, they are aimed at Nestlé executives, such as Mr. Alastair Sykes in Croydon and Mr. Peter Brabeck-Letmathé in Switzerland. We hope Nestlé staff will join us in demanding that executives respect international minimum standards." The International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes was adopted by the World Health Assembly in 1981 and has been clarified and amplified by subsequent Resolutions. Baby Milk Action is the UK member of the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN). Monitoring conducted around the world finds Nestlé to be responsible for more violations of the Code and Resolutions than any other company. For further information see the demonstrations section of the website or contact: Mike Brady, Baby Milk Action, 23 St. Andrew's Street, Cambridge, CB2 3AX, UK. Tel +44 (0)1223 464420 Fax: +44 (0)1223 464417 Mobile: 07986 736179 The 'broadcasts' section includes an interview with Dr. Oscar Lanza in Bolivia, who speaks of the importance of the boycott, the role of Nestlé in undermining breastfeeding and opposing legislation and the infant deaths he and his fellow campaigners are attempting to prevent.