At the end of each year, the Center for Media and Democracy issues the "Falsies Awards," "to recognize the people and players that take spin and propaganda to new lows." CMD investigates and exposes how the public relations industry and other professional propagandists manipulate public information, perceptions and opinion on behalf of governments and special interests. They are asking people to help identify the worst spinners and propagandists of 2007 by filling out their ballot at http://survey.prwatch.org/public/survey.php?name=falsies2007. One of the items to be voted on is below. The International Formula Council certainly deserves the gold "Falsie Award" for sinking to new lows in its efforts to preserve formula discharge bags in hospitals. The balloting closes at the end of the month.
Marsha Walker, RN, IBCLC
Weston, MA
Impeding Breast Feeding: The infant formula industry and its trade association, the International Formula Council (IFC), continue to pursue marketing strategies designed to undermine breastfeeding, even though babies that are not breast fed suffer higher rates of health problems including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), diabetes, lymphoma, leukemia, Hodgkin's disease, obesity, high cholesterol and asthma. Peggy O'Mara, the editor of Mothering Magazine, has noticed several IFC-affiliated "stealth" websites "that appear to be grassroots advocacy sites, but are actually mouthpieces for the formula industry." The websites, MomsFeedingFreedom.com and Babyfeedingchoice.org, are campaigning against proposed restrictions on the free bags of infant formula being given to new parents by hospitals. BanTheBags, which supports a ban on free samples, observes that the sites "use classic formula company strategies, paying lip service to benefits of breastfeeding even as they promote formula. When breastfeeding is mentioned, it’s a chore and a bother." The formula industry was especially vocal about frank ads being developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to warn about the consequences of not breastfeeding. According to the Washington Post, HHS bowed to industry pressure and toned down the ads so significantly that after they aired, the rate of breastfeeding in the U.S. actually dropped measurably.
Gold award
Silver award
Bronze award
Dishonorable mention
No prize
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