In blatant disregard of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and the infant health that it is designed to protect, Canadian formula companies are pushing even harder within the health care system both to gain credibility and to promote their products. Two of Canada’s most respected children’s hospitals recently accepted sponsorship for nutrition education events, despite the fact corporate philanthropy that seeks to steal market share can only do so by robbing babies of the benefits of breastfeeding, often with disastrous results. As Dr. Natividad Clavano, Chief of Paediatrics, Bagulo General Hospital, The Philippines, cautions, "We allowed the companies to touch the lives of our babies, not because we did not care, but because we did not realize the consequences of granting such a privilege." Judith Richter warns that these sponsorships can also serve to polish the tarnished image of formula companies. "Most are unaware that sponsorship and dialogues can be used for ‘image transfer’ – the transfer of the good reputation of the sponsored or invited group, organization or person to the sponsor or organizer of the meeting." (Engineering of Consent: Uncovering  Corporate PR, The CornerHouse, March 1998).

Formula companies "sponsor" nutrition workshops

    Despite this, formula companies press on, unabashed. Earlier this year the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) advertised that it was hosting a Pediatric Nutrition Day with Nestlé and Mead Johnson as its sponsors. INFACT Canada immediately sent a letter to CHEO’s CEO, Garry Cardiff, asking the hospital to cancel the sponsorship and we invited our INFACT members to do the same.

CHEO cancels

    In response to the overwhelming numbers of letters that it received, the hospital cancelled the event. Luce Lavoie, CHEO’s Director of Public Relations said, "If we were giving the perception of not being supportive of breastfeeding, that was not our intent.  The event won’t take place. We remain committed to sharing the information that was going to be shared that day with dietitians. It’s an important mandate, and when we talked about our community partners, who we meant were the community dietitians."

    When asked if the hospital would consider Nestlé or Mead Johnson as sponsors in the future, Ms. Lavoie said, "We did not view this as sponsorship. The companies offered to pay for breakfast and lunch." She also added, "Obviously an interesting and important perspective was brought forward, and we will most certainly consider that perspective in the future."

Sick Kids compromised

    Even before we received notice of the CHEO cancellation, Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children announced that it was hosting a workshop for health professionals entitled Building Blocks for Paediatric Growth and Nutrition on May 16. The event is being sponsored by Nestlé Nutrition, Mead Johnson, and Abbot Ross. Once again, INFACT Canada went into action and invited our members to do the same. (As of this writing, we have not had a response from Sick Kids.)

    Again, INFACT members and supporters Con.ict of interest supporters responded with letters to Sick Kids. Linda Smith wrote, "Accepting this corporate "sponsorship" is a blatant con.ict of interest for Sick Kids. Formula manufacturers are in direct competition with women. Their products – even when used "safely" in industrialized countries like Canada and the USA – compromise infant health and development, thus undermining Canadian and global health goals for infants and young children. Every dollar they spend advertising their products is a dollar that a mother or father will have to pay to purchase inferior food for their baby. Every dollar that Sick Kids accepts from these companies ultimately comes from the wallet of a family whose child is compromised by consuming that company’s products."

    Dr. Jack Newman added his own very personal touch: "It is with sadness that I have heard that the Hospital for Sick Children will be hosting a "nutrition seminar" in conjunction with Nestlé, Ross and Mead Johnson. "For so many years, I have tried to convince myself, despite abundant evidence to the contrary, that the Hospital for Sick Children, where I trained, where I started the breastfeeding clinic in Canada in 1984, was making efforts to be "breastfeeding friendly." "However, having such a seminar is clearly not "breastfeeding friendly" and it is also a clear violation of the WHO International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes to which Canada is a signatory. I should point out that the formula companies also subscribed to this code as a standard for ethical marketing of their products."

You can help.

    If you receive nutrition "information" or invitations to attend seminars or other events sponsored by formula companies, please contact INFACT Canada at info@infactacanada.ca or call  416-595-9819.