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Baby Milk Action radio and televisionClick here for our Campaign Coordinator's weekly podcast. A central objective of Baby Milk Action is to assist campaigners in developing countries to have their voices heard in the UK and elsewhere. In this section you will find interviews and statements from campaigners around the world, setting out their concerns. UK campaigners also give their support to the campaign. If you would like to be interviewed for Baby Milk Action radio or television, please contact Mike Brady. Contents
Other interviews Deconstructing Dinner 27 July 2006. Canadian radio programme examining various aspects of Nestlé malpractice. Media Watch 11 September 2003: German NDT television Panorama programme exposes Nestlé violations in the Philippines, showing the impact on infants of unsafe bottle feeding. Humana violations in Germany also exposed. Streaming video - watch the programme. Click here to download a transcript in English. BBC Radio 4 - 30 September 2003: "PUPIL POWER - The pupils at Cardinal Newman Catholic school in Hove, East Sussex have boycotted their school vending machines on a matter of principle. They fought to remove the Nestlé chocolate machines because they believe that Nestlé violates the marketing rules for baby foods adopted by the World Health Assembly, that it promotes baby milk substitutes at the expense of mother’s milk. Nestlé disagree and debated the issue with pupils and Baby Milk Action earlier this year. Libby Purves is joined by Steven Emerson and Anita D’Mello, pupils at Cardinal Newman Catholic school to hear the results of their campaign." Note: A video of the debate between Nestlé and Baby Milk Action is available for you to make up your own mind. Contact Baby Milk Action for details. Baby Milk Action head-to-head with Nestlé consultant, Lord Ahmed Colombian trade unionists present evidence of Nestlé corruption to a tribunal in SwitzerlandBackgroundOn 29 October 2005 experts and witnesses from the Colombian Food Workers Union (Sinaltrainal) presented evidence of Nestlé corruption to a tribunal in Bern, Switzerland, convened by Multiwatch, a coalition of leading Swiss campaigning and development organisations with trade unions and some political parties, formed to promote global justice. Click here to listen to a report prepared by Baby Milk Action's Campaigns and Networking Coordinator, Mike Brady (you need Realplayer to listen to the report).
Working groups on 30 October developed a declaration calling for action at national and international level to hold corporations accountable (these documents are available on the Multiwatch site and will be posted here once translated). Four main allegations were made against Nestlé:
Disrespect for workers rights: Nestlé refused to recognise the legally registered Sinaltrainal trade union and has targetted those involved in it. In addition, on 17 September 2003 Nestlé staff at one factory where taken in separate groups to hotels and told they had to sign agreements to resign before they would be released and if they refused to sign would lose the pay-off on offer. They were kept until the early hours of the morning and all but one resigned. Nestlé employed new staff on much lower wages and the benefits won by the union before Nestlé took over the factory were removed from new contracts. Re-labelling of expired milk: On six occassions Nestlé has had milk confiscated by the authorities in Colombia. The company was importing expired powdered milk from Uruguay, Argentina and New Zealand and re-packaging it. A Nestlé employee explained they had to mix the powder 50% with new powder. Nestlé claimed the original labels had been printed incorrectly. A Senator spoke by video denouncing Nestlé's actions. Pollution of water sources: Documentary evidence of pollution of a water source and the environmental damage resulting was handed to the Tribunal and is summarised in their ruling. InterviewsBaby Milk Action's Campaigns and Networking Coordinator, Mike Brady, attended the Tribunal and recorded interviews with key people involved in it. This material is available in broadcast quality. Journalists can contact Mike Brady for access to the material and documentary substantiation. The audio material will be posted as soon as possible. Nestlé's impact on farmers in Colombia - Nestlé's new Fairtrade coffee 'Partner's Blend' is labelled as a 'big joke' by Colombian trade unionist.A Sinaltrainal trade union researcher was interviewed about Nestlé's impact on farmers in Colombia. He claims that 150,000 families have lost their livelihoods in the dairy industry due to Nestlé's policies and a similar number in the coffee industry. Asked about Nestlé's launch of a Fairtrade product - Partners' Blend coffee - and Nestlé's claim that this shows it is committed to improving the situation of farmers, he responded:
Although he spoke on the record and agreed for his name to be used, Baby Milk Action is not revealing his name as we do not wish to put him at risk, given the assassination of colleagues who have campaigned against Nestlé malpractice (see above). This information will be made available to journalists whose ability to generate greater publicity will provide a level of protection. Click here to listen to the interview with Realplayer (Many thanks to Yvonne for interpreting. The full Spanish interview is available for journalists - note: the quality of this recording has deteriorated as we had to play it into the computer via the microphone - we are trying to improve our technology. Donations welcome). Nestlé has followed the same strategy of destroying indigenous dairy industries in many countries. Click here for a past interview with campaigners in Sri Lanka who have a similar story to tell. Nestlé in the Philippines: campaigners speak on abuse of workers' rights, the assassination of Diosdado Fortuna, baby food marketing and what they think of Nestlé's Fairtrade productBaby Milk Action was able to interview Swiss-based campaigners from the Philippines, who attended the Nestlé Tribunal in Bern in solidarity with trade unionists from Colombia and to raise awareness of Nestlé abuses in the Philippines. Click here to listen to the interview with Realplayer. The campaigners speak of:
Baby Milk Action works to ensure the voices of people in other countries, particularly developing countries, are heard. Usually we are working on behalf of those who suffer as a result of Nestlé's baby food marketing practices, but as we inevitably come across other examples of Nestlé malpractice we attempt to assist others in presenting their grievances to a wider audience. We are most grateful to everyone who sends a donation, purchases items or becomes a member of Baby Milk Action, which enables this work to continue (click here to visit our on-line Virtual Shop). We are just as grateful to everyone who helps the campaign by sharing the information we research and directs people to this website. As one of the campaigners from the Philippines comments, in every country Nestlé claims those who campaign against its malpractice are the exception and in no other country are issues raised. Elsewhere Nestlé is seen as an ethical, the company claims. By sharing experiences we better demonstrate that Nestlé malpractice is a pattern of behaviour coming from its Swiss headquarters and its Chief Executive, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, and that effective action must be taken to hold the company and Mr. Brabeck to account. Baby Milk Action head-to-head with Nestlé consultant, Lord AhmedClick here for Baby Milk Action's recording of its interview with the BBC Asian Network, head-to-head with Lord Ahmed, a paid Nestlé consultant, broadcast live by the BBC on 19 March 2002 (apologies for the poor quality of the recording which was made as we took part in the interview). The interview was prompted by the revelation that Lord Ahmed's so-called 'independent' fact-finding trip to Pakistan to investigate allegations made by former Nestlé employee, Syed Aamar Raza, had been financed and organised by Nestlé. Following the trip, Lord Ahmed made statements and wrote letters in defence of Nestlé and made allegations of criminal activity against Syed Aamar Raza, but has refused to offer any substantiation for them or give Aamar a chance to respond. Prior to this interview it was revealed that Lord Ahmed was becoming a paid consultant to Nestlé. Hear Baby Milk Action raise the tough questions about Lord Ahmed's relationship with Nestlé and his treatment of Aamar. You will need the free RealPlayer or RealOne Player software to listen to this interview. You can download RealOne Player free from http://www.realplayer.com/. If RealOne Player does not open automatically when you click on the interview link, open your internet browser's Download Manager to locate the file lordahmed0302.ram and click on the file or launch RealOne Player and open the file.
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