Saturday, September 1, 2007
Big-money formula industry has its sway
Check out this article from Friday’s Washington Post about how the big-money formula industry worked behind the scenes to dramatically alter a Health and Human Services Department ad campaign originally designed to vividly illustrate the increased risks for infants who are not breastfed. Those television ads would have reached mothers less likely to be reading about the benefits of breastfeeding, and the less informative ads that replaced them were predicted by advertising agents to have little impact on the decision to breastfeed . And so far the watered-down ads, which aired from 2003 to 2005, seem to have made little difference. Sad to think that industry big-wigs and lobbyists and their government cronies are willing to bury the truth even when the victims of their subtle dishonesty are our very smallest, most vulnerable children. There are plenty of disturbing details in the article, so take a look…
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This whole "debate" gets so muddied because everybody starts bringing up guilt as a reason not to run the un-diluted ads. Yet as a mother I feel like I'm entitled to real, factual information, even if it might make me uncomfortable from time to time (and even if I might sometimes be helpless to act on it). I recognize that breastfeeding can be difficult, and our culture makes it even more so. Yet I think EVERYBODY (not just mothers!) needs to know the real truth. Otherwise I don't think there will ever be real change, not just on the mothers-making-choices level, but also their employers, relatives, friends, and elected representatives. (Because it's not just the mother's choice that matters, but how she is supported in making that choice by her coworkers and bosses, mother and mother-in-law, husband and friends, etc.)
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