Norma wrote a great response to Betsy Hart.  I suspect that Ms. Hart's original article may have 
been motivated not by her personal frustration with bans on formula gift bags but by her 
relationship with lobbyists for the formula industry.  I am not claiming this is true, but that I 
suspect it.  

I suspected something similar when several conservative columnists wrote very scathing pieces 
about the World Health Organization when WHO was pushing for warning labels on containers of 
formula.  It seemed quite a coincidence that so many columnists devoted themselves to that topic 
and that they all covered pretty much the same talking points.  Ms. Hart's article seems to cover 
the same talking points I read from a formula industry spokesperson regarding the gift-bag ban.

Many of us remember that a number of columnists in the past few years have been exposed as 
having taken money from the goverment to write positive opinion pieces about government 
programs.  Again, I am not claiming that this is happening now.  I am suggesting that when a 
major industry such as the formula industry sees something that threatens business (warning 
labels on their product, a ban on give aways at hospitals), it is completely plausible that they 
would fight back by contacting pro-business columnists and asking them to help shape public 
opinion.

As such, I wonder how we should respond.  My sense is that rather than arguing against these 
opinion pieces point-by-point, we should carefully raise questions such as those I have raised, 
and at least get it into the public consciousness that something rotten could be going on.

I also think Norma's response is fantastic.  Rather than taking Ms. Hart's piece seriously, it 
parodies it and in doing so reveals its absurdity.  Some people will, of course, be put off by such 
parody, but at least a few will have an "a-ha"  moment.

All best,
Kerry Ose

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