"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


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