Don't make the mistake of thinking that Code compliance is a free pass into
Heaven. Code compliance is what it is--a measurable compliance with an
agreed-upon code.  It is certainly not a code to prohibit marketing of
breastmilk substitutes--it is simply a code to constrain marketing within
agreed upon limits.

As weak as the Code is, we have not yet, in a quarter of a century, had
significant compliance. Enormous multinationals, such as Nestle and Gerber,
dedicate themselves to flouting the Code. So, if Evenflo comes into
compliance, it is a step forward. It is a step toward saving some of the one
and a half million infant lives thrown away yearly by the unethical
marketing of an unethical product.

Remember, there is no need for animal- or vegetable-based formulas at all.
None. Not with some 3 billion women on the planet.

There is a need for human milk banks for the tiny proportion of the
population that needs help to provide milk for its offspring. An even
smaller amount of this banked milk will need to be modified to meet unusual
medical needs, such as inborn errors of metabolism. Even this human milk
will not need to be delivered by bottle or artificial teat.

Celebrate the submission of a giant corporation to Code compliance, because
it is a victory, but don't lose sight of what Code compliance is, and why
corporations need to be reined in. 

Companies producing or promoting breastmilk substitutes are in an
unnecessary, wasteful, and deadly business--the Code is meant to restrict
their worst excesses. We need compliance--and we need a stronger Code.

Arly Helm, MS, IBCLC

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