"What happened to free enterprise in the USA? What happened to old fashioned capitalism and marketing at its best. You market your product your way, and we market our product our way. ...I am so insulted that the formula companies think they have free reign in the advertising world for infant feeding and that the breastfeeding people better tow the line and market our product the way they find acceptable. They won't listen to us, they won't follow the WHO Code." I wanted to comment to this statement and I am sorry I don't know who made it. I am not sure why people are blaming the infant formula industry? They market under a government that could, if it wanted to, regulate that industry. Who is responsible for this media problem? Who is listening to the industry and having the ads revamped to suit that industry? The infant formula industry is doing what all businesses do in the USA. They compete in the marketplace and do whatever they can to defeat the competitor. Who is the competitor? Breastfeeding. If the US Health Department/US Government listen to the infant formula industry, who is responsible for the problem? The US Health Department/the US Government have an economic investment in the infant formula industry. Some of the human milk component patents are owned partially or wholly by the US Health Department/US Government. The Government has paid industry and academic institutions to make a better infant formula. The infant formula industry is only doing what businesses do--eliminate the competition in any way possible. (yes, I do realize that there are many people in government working hard to promote breastfeeding--but obviously the governmental decision makers are not listening to them) Government regulation of the infant formula industry is impossible when the government itself is invested in that industry. Understanding of the problem is difficult because many of our medical/agricultural academic institutions are invested in this industry, too. The need for evidence-based medicine is paramount. But is most difficult to attain when governments and institutions of higher learning are heavily invested in this industry. Valerie W. McClain, IBCLC *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html