Hello to Ted Greiner at Uppsala Univ. from here in Mexico:

Your posting re: the Nestle company and their strategy for making a place
in the U.S. formula market was very eye-opening to me, since I was not
aware that they were NOT in the U.S. (sorry about the double negative)
Here in Mexico they have been in the formula biz for years and have a cadre
of 'detail men' as you call them, canvassing Dr.s all the time.

I had never given a thought to the continuance of product use than you outlined:
formula-> cereal-> instant coffee-> candy bars....but your logic sounds
more than plausible. Two of their major products used here daily in Mexican
cooking are: Canned cream and sweetened condensed milk.  They even package
a mini-can of the latter product which is eaten by school children as a
yummy snack. (Future diabetics, no doubt....Mexico, and Yucatan where I am
in particular, has an extremely high rate of diabetes due to an early and
heavy diet of carbonated beverages (the @#>$&* Generation, and its rival)
and other factors.

Despite the full Mexican gov't support of the UNICEF/WHO Baby Friendly
Hosp. Initiative through the socialized medicine system, the private sector
lags woefully behind and is greatly under the influence of the formula
companies.
At all the medical conferences the coffee-breaks are donated by Nestle
(coffee, iced tea and milk products) and so it goes.

It is good to have you on Lactnet!

Roberta