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Susan Nachman-Srebrnik, LC
Lactation Consultant
23 Nativ Halamed-Hey
Ranana 43340
Israel
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
Fax:(972)-3-566-1914
Phone:(972)-9-771-8274
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Dear Lactnetters,

Happy holidays to all.

I'm going to play "devil's advocate" here for a moment...  As  part of revamping
my lifestyle to cut down on stress, I've decided to stop wasting so much energy on
"negative action" activities... angry letters, boycotts, ranting and raving about
how things are not getting done.  Being "anti" all the time leads to anger,
frustration and burn-out.

I honestly don't feel that boycotting major companies is effective in today's world
of commerce where mergers/takeovers are commonplace.  If my friends and I boycott
Avi's grocery store because we're not satisfied with his level of service, he is
going to suffer directly but Nestle is a multi-million $ conglomerate; Disney is the
same.  Do you think they give one fig if a few thousand people boycott?  It doesn't
make a dent.  The average consumer has no idea that Nestle has branched out to other
areas.  Some are obvious like the box of Cheerios which  has the N. logo on the
corner; others one wouldn't have a clue unless reading the Wall Street Journal.
What's
the connection between chocolate and cosmetics?  Another problem with boycotting is
where does it end?  I'd have to boycott Pepsi and Japanese car companies because
they fully participated in the Arab boycott.  All German products are out because
the Germans killed off my husband's family during WWII.  Pharma. companies are
absolutely out since they manufacture ABM and potentially dangerous products like
breast implants.  What about cosmetic companies who test their products on animals?
Heavy industry pollutes the environment.  Be careful of agricultural produce because
there are underpaid illegals doing the picking.  And what about travel?  There are
not too many countries in the world with pristine human rights records.  I could go
on and on...

How about a different approach?  I will buy at a certain supermarket BECAUSE they
use packaging which is more environment-friendly.  I look for dolphin-friendly
logos; buy cosmetics from the Body Shop which are not tested on animals.  If I have
the choice between buying X brand of tomato sauce, I'll pay a bit more and buy
Newman's because of his charitable work.  And I write to the companies telling them
why I buy their products.  This encourages them.  Soon their competitors jump on the
bandwagon.
Antagonism doesn't work.  Anger doesn't work.  Education and positive action are the
keys to change.

Susan