Does Reuters shill for Corporations that sell Baby Formula in Venezuela?

[Judi Lynn]

Does Reuters shill for Corporations that sell Baby Formula in Venezuela?
By Joe Emersberger at Jun 15, 2013

I couldn’t resist making the title to this blog post as wildly dramatic and accusatory as the headline to this Reuters article:

Venezuela considers taking bottles from babies' mouths



Apparently, Venezuelan law already promotes breast feeding over bottled formula. The Venezuelan legislature will be debating ways to strengthen the law through undisclosed “penalties”. Reuters doesn’t know the details by their own admission.

Will it be proposed that police swoop into people’s homes to wrench baby bottles out of mother’s hands as the headline suggests? Or will the legislature debate if hospitals or doctors be penalized for promoting formula over breast milk?

Reuters hasn’t a clue but why wait to find out? Why wait to report on what is actually debated?

More:
http://www.zcommunications.org/does-reuters-shill-for-corporations-that-sell-baby-formula-in-venezuela-by-joe-emersberger

[reorg]

1. what else?

When it comes to infant formula, parents at all income levels in the developed world — and increasingly, the emerging markets — are deeply brand-conscious. Indeed, while packaged food sales have grown 6.1% annually over the past five years, sales of baby food have climbed 9.6% annually over the same period. Rising populations in emerging markets are driving growth in the $36.7 billion global baby food market.

While the legislators in Venezuela are concerned with health issues and try to encourage breast-feeding, the US Goverment appears to be more concerned with the freedom of salespersons.

These infant formula manufacturers have also shrewdly developed longstanding relationships with US health-care providers. It’s rare for new parents to leave the hospital without being loaded down by free samples of infant formula. The perceived imprimatur of health-care providers is key in developing brand awareness and establishing a relationship with these products during the first week of an infant’s life.

They don't even shy away from "socialist" (the socialism for capitalists variant) measures in the US:

While the high cost of formula is a consideration for some parents who favor breastfeeding, the US market is actually heavily subsidized. UBIC Consulting estimates that at least one-third of the US infant formula market receives support from government programs. Those programs include both food stamps as well as the Special Supplemental Nutritional Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Read more: http://www.minyanville.com/trading-and-investing/stocks/articles/boomer-stocks-stocks-to-watch-stocks/6/18/2012/id/41797#ixzz2WTx2nvgj

Some people may not remember the Nestlé scandal in the seventies, but I still do ...
http://www.businessinsider.com/nestles-infant-formula-scandal-2012-6?op=1

[Peace Patriot]

2. Unfriggingbelievable what the corporate 'news' and their hacks here at DU will say...

...in their headlines, lede lines, articles and posts, and what they fail to say, in their 'blackholes' where information should be, in order to slander Venezuelan leftists.

It's a measure of how effective those leftists and their millions of supporters have been at CHANGING public dialogue from all corporate 'talking points' all the time, to REAL public issues, such as "Why should hospitals be pushing baby formula when it's a known fact that breastfeeding is healthier for babies? How can profit be allowed to trump known health facts? How can government--i.e., government reflecting the will of the people--change the balance toward health and away from exploitation?"

I have to laugh at corporate accusations against Venezuelan leftists about "free speech" when the corporations really mean CORPORATE SPEECH. The corporations want exclusive "free speech" for themselves alone, as demonstrated during the 2002 coup attempt, wherein the corporate 'news' channels BANNED Chavez government members from the PUBLIC airwaves!

That is an unfriggingbelievable headline from Rotters! But it's kind of like the Bush Junta here, and the "me tooism" of Obama & Co.--the shocking end product of a long series of corporate/war profiteer assaults on our democracy, starting with Reagan (and probably further back with the CIA assassination of JFK), and ending with U.S. wars that the people of the U.S. have no say about whatsoever--corporate oil wars--and Great Depression II, with the rich getting richer, and BILLIONS AND BILLIONS of poor peoples' tax dollars STOLEN to enrich the rich.

Consider just two society-wrecking actions of the Reagan regime: The end of the "Fairness Doctrine" in use of our public airwaves and the end of the progressive tax. Those acts began the train of assaults that produced presidential wars of choice, cheered on by the corporate media, and today's corporate/billionaire tax scofflaws, with the worst rich/poor discrepancy in our history (or perhaps anyone's history).

So, too, the corporate media--unimpeded by conscience, journalistic integrity or proper regulation--has escalated the attacks on Venezuela's leftist government, to the point that the bastards at Rotters could write such a headline. What the "Fairness Doctrine" did was to REQUIRE fair debate on the public airwaves (because of broadcast media's inherent power--penetrating every home and vehicle-- to control public debate and even to overthrow the government by means of propaganda, which is what happened in Venezuela in 2002) and to INFLUENCE print media toward fairness. That is what we had with the "Fairness Doctrine" and that is what we DON'T have now.

We see the long train of events that has resulted in this unfriggingbelievable headline by Rotters--an imperium of war and corporate rule that now spans the western world. Venezuelans opted out of it and they are getting slammed relentlessly in an ever-escalating CORPORATE NEWS CAMPAIGN to overthrow their democracy.

[FrodosPet]

3. Will there be exceptions for dry mothers?

My sis had a premature baby. She had to use a breast pump, and after a couple months, she was dry.

If this happened to a mother in Venezuela, would she be able to buy formula and baby bottles? Would there be any penalties to health care providers who advised her?

It's a very confusing law. Encouraging breast feeding is the ideal, but it does not always work out.

[Bacchus4.0]

4. she'll probably need a waiver from the health ministry

so she isn't arrested for the crime of giving a bottle to a baby.

[reorg]

5. don't believe a word of these lies - here is what the actual proposal says

Had to look around for a few minutes, but here it is, published on 15 June in El Nacional (conservative Venezuelan newspaper):

http://www.el-nacional.com/sociedad/EFE-abre-guerra-tetero-Venezuela_0_209379135.html

El proyecto de ley prevé la prohibición de "la promoción y publicidad de fórmulas lácteas adaptadas para niñas y niños, así como de teteros, tetinas y chupones y demás productos designados, en todos los medios de comunicación y demás medios publicitarios con accesibilidad en el territorio nacional".

Contempla medidas como la prohibición de la entrega gratuita de este tipo de artículos y de muestras promocionales.

Además, prevé la adaptación de la nueva Ley del Trabajo obligando a las empresas a que se dé tiempo y un lugar específico para que las madres con niños recién nacidos puedan alimentarles.

Contempla también la "prohibición expresa de dar a las niñas y los niños lactantes menores de seis meses de edad, bebidas o alimentos distintos a la leche materna, salvo en caso de indicación médica especial", en los centros de salud.

So, the PROPOSAL which will be discussed provides for the following prohibitions:

1. Ban on advertising for formula, baby bottles, pacifiers
2. Ban on free samples of such articles
3. Ban on using such articles for children under six months in HEALTH CENTERS (except if medically indicated)

Several exceptions to the ban of those articles in health centers were listed elsewhere, among them were sickness of the mother, lack of milk in her breasts and so forth. There is no sanction WHATSOEVER planned against mothers using formula for feeding their babies at home.

[Bacchus4.0]

6. also, the fines for violating the law are indicated

La propuesta de la bancada del Partido Socialista (PSUV), del presidente Nicolás Maduro, que prevé imponer sanciones que van desde los 2.140 bolívares (674 dólares) a los 321.000 bolívares (50.952 dólares), ha levantado la controversia, ya que la oposición considera que no se puede promover la lactancia materna con políticas coercitivas.

Stupid fucking law from a stupid fucking government.

[reorg]

8. oh, Nestlé will be so grateful

that you rise up and take a stand for free enterprise!

It might help, though, to stick with the truth and cut out the propaganda.

I read Nestlé's annual profit is something around 10 billion Swiss Francs. They'll be hit hard if they have to pay a fine of 50.000 USD should they choose to engage in illegal advertising. If the proposals are accepted, that is.

http://www.babymilkaction.org/pdfs/babykiller.pdf

[Bacchus4.0]

10. they won't fine Nestle, they will fine the television stations, radio, and supermarkets

and anyway you slice it, its a stupid law.

[reorg]

11. Venezuelan television stations and supermarkets in Venezuela are law-breakers?

You don't say.

[Bacchus4.0]

13. No, I didn't say bobo. If this assenine law goes into effect and they show advertisements

for baby bottles and formula they are subject to fines.

[reorg]

14. it didn't take you long

to get from baby milk to the nether regions, the apparent abode of your thinking, as we can see from pretty much every thread you participate in, dragging it down to the smell that you seem fond of.

So, am I to take what you say as a prediction? Are you saying that TV stations and supermarkets are going to break the law if and when it goes into effect as proposed?

Are such suppositions coming directly out of the blue, or would you rather have reason to believe such entities are somehow prone to be lawbreakers, as others in Venezuela have on occasion suggested, hmmmm?

And why do you even care about breast-feeding? Do you have an opinion or are you just trolling for the latest Venezuela slander?

[Bacchus4.0]

15. I make no prediction. I imagine advertising for baby formula

will go the way of Family Guy in Venezuela. They advertise for formula now don't they? If the stupid law goes into effect the media and promoters would pay a fine and the formula companies too perhaps?? So, I imagine there won't be advertising or promotions. If they want to break the law, that their call. Its a dumb law. Thats not a prediction.

[Socialistlemur]

7. I got a question

Say a mother is an engineer in an oil rig offshore, will the new law penalize a day care center if she decides to work and leaves the baby with them with baby formula? If so it seems discriminatory against women professionals. There's no way PDVSA or one of the multinationals working in venezuela would b e able to have 3 month old babies aboard a drilling rig or in a refinery. It's just plain stupid.

[reorg]

9. try reading what I wrote

or what the article says.

[Judi Lynn]

12. Don't exhaust yourself posting. Wait until you have a valid point.

"... discriminatory against women professionals??????"

Good grief.

"..3 month old babies aboard a drilling rig or in a refinery."



[center]











I doubt it would be a problem for female professional message board disruptors.[/center]