Comments on Blacktating: #NestleFamily, Bloggers & Race: Why It Matters

thanks you Lisa for pointing out that what we as a...

2010-11-05T02:54:06.956-04:00

thanks you Lisa for pointing out that what we as americans see as "common sense" is because we are swimming in constant information and education. if one lived in a shack with no schools, no internet, no tvs, no doctors, are they just going to be psychic and know the ins and outs of formula? that is ridiculous to suggests. My husband had to be told several times how to make a bottle when i had to supplement with formula and he has a master degree.

hello i am a white mom of five and am breastfeedin...

2010-11-05T02:46:14.139-04:00

hello i am a white mom of five and am breastfeeding my five month old and i just wanted to say that i really am touched my your message and your research and hope that any mother who is breastfeeding will enlist this sight for encouragement and information.

Out of the many protein sources out there, hemp pr...

2010-07-12T13:00:21.152-04:00

Out of the many protein sources out there, hemp protein is the ultimate. It comes from nutrition. Go to http://www.hempproteinguide.net/ for great information.

EQ POLL:Can You Trust Nestle? http://www.equalize...

2010-01-27T04:11:32.709-05:00

EQ POLL:Can You Trust Nestle?

http://www.equalizerpost.com/

Elita, I'm so glad you alerted me to this post...

2009-10-08T16:50:04.325-04:00

Elita,
I'm so glad you alerted me to this post. I watched a little of the documentary on women in the Philippines that was up on Baby Milk Action's site (parts 1-5 here) and it just broke my heart. I'm not Filipino, but I am a mother and I care very much what Nestle does in the third world as well as in North America.

I loved Melissa Wardy's comment about how it's too bad Nestle doesn't have the will or inclination to develop women's nutrition bars or vitamins for lactating mothers to help enrich their breast milk instead of selling them a product that's potentially deadly for their babies.

And I also think it's important to emphasize what we can do to support our sisters in the third world. Too often people say, "Well, they make so many products, own so many brands, how can I make a difference?"

I'm no historian of advertising but I'd venture to say that brand diversification is a strategy pioneered by RJR Reynolds in part after their cigarette business suffered a decline and the foil wrap wouldn't make up the difference. Likewise Nestle. Among the "merits" of this diversification is that it helps diffuse the impact of a boycott. Regardless, I think it's still worth conducting boycotts and making a statement to Nestle that their refusal to change after 30 years of illegal behavior and violating national laws and international codes of conduct is UNACCEPTABLE.

So what can we do?

Baby Milk Action is stepping up efforts on a boycott during Nestle Free Week Oct 26-Nov 1 to coincide with Halloween.

What if we blog that we're not going to buy Nestle brand Halloween candy, and save the non-Nestle wrappers we do have from other brands and mail them in to corporate headquarters?

We moms have direct control over what Halloween candy we buy to give out and allow our children to eat. Sending wrappers from other candy makers to Nestle says that we have other choices and we'll exercise them.

I have a couple more ideas too, but this is turning into a blog post! So I'll just post them later on tonight at my own blog instead of hijacking yours, Elita. :)

Let's find ways to make a strong statement and keep the focus on changing the bad behavior. I'm up for any other suggestions too.

Thank you for this post. I had no idea. :(

2009-10-07T22:04:35.264-04:00

Thank you for this post. I had no idea. :(

I'm going to echo what other commenters have s...

2009-10-07T02:08:40.976-04:00

I'm going to echo what other commenters have said: There is nothing wrong with writing passionately. You actually didn't come across as angry to me, maybe angry about the issue, but not a generally angry person. Your article was nicely written and certainly caught my attention. Thank you for the info and bringing my attention to the racism involved. Even though I despise racism, I honestly don't think about it very often because of my life circumstances. I can't say if Nestle is racist or not, but they certainly are opportunists from what I've read.

And I cannot believe people would actually blame poor, uneducated people for diluting formula or using contaminated water. It may seem obvious that people should know that that formula shouldn't be diluted, but unless they are educated on nutrition, they wouldn't understand that. It doesn't mean that they are unintelligent or irresponsible!

what's up with the "tone" stuff?? E...

2009-10-06T21:37:29.650-04:00

what's up with the "tone" stuff?? Expressing indignance in a thoughtful and intelligent manner is NOT parallel to making jokes about slavery and making light of illness, malnourishment and death in developing nations. As a previous commentor said,

"outrageous actions deserve outrage."

This blog entry was right up my alley, though. I'm always reading and writing about the unethical practices of multinational corporations in the developing world. It never fails to anger me... and it's a righteous anger. All lives have worth, and should be treated as such. There is no monetary value that can quantify the human being's worth.

I wrote this on my blog:

"I am irreducibly human.
I am more than the hands that produce, more than the body that functions.
I am more than the systemic constructions of my sex and race.
I am more than the atomized individual that society makes me out to be.
I am more than the voice denied, the body objectified, the soul belittled.
I am not a nameless, faceless entity who can be stripped of my personhood and agency.
I am God’s beloved creation"

Came over here from Renee's blog. This is a t...

2009-10-06T17:45:23.912-04:00

Came over here from Renee's blog.

This is a terrific post, and it needs to be said again and again, and loudly, until enough outrage is raised that Nestle changes its practices. I had some vague idea that they were a bad company--but I had no idea *how* bad until I read your post.

All this "tone" crap that's getting tossed at you is pretty infuriating, too. I can't imagine reading about this, and instead of getting outraged at the fact that children are enslaved, getting ruffled at the tone in which said facts are delivered. I mean, what? Really? We're talking about kids enslaved to make cocoa, and some people are worried about tone?

The mind boggles. Well, THANK YOU for putting this out there. And please keep being angry.

Great post. Sad stuff. I'm letting people know...

2009-10-06T06:11:43.081-04:00

Great post. Sad stuff.
I'm letting people know about the boycott, & why.
I appreciate your righteous anger. ;p

~a White ally~

Great post! And of course you should be pissed ...

2009-10-05T17:45:46.579-04:00

Great post!

And of course you should be pissed at Nestle and shouldn't reign in your anger -- outrage is an appropriate response to outrageous acts!

Everyone should be angry with this company.

For the record, I have nice chubby white babies with pink cheeks and halos of blonde curls and people often call them "Gerber babies" to which I always reply that I wouldn't let my baby touch that Gerber crap with a 10-foot pole."

I love babies, NOT formula companies and definately not their brand, their swag, and their abhorrent business practices.

Elisa, Thank you for comment. I know I follow you ...

2009-10-05T11:41:51.913-04:00

Elisa,
Thank you for comment. I know I follow you on Twitter, but haven't seen much from you lately, so I am not sure how much you were watching the whole saga unfold. First of all, I first questioned the bloggers who were attending this event on Sept. 4. So people who claim ignorance of Nestle's business practices had a full 3 weeks to do their due diligence and decide if this was a company they wanted to align themselves with. Instead, we heard comment after comment about how they preferred to get Nestle's side first before making a decision (that's a head scratcher for me, personally). I think that when you're a big name blogger, your readers think of you in a certain way. If you blog about attending a Nestle event and gush over how great the chocolate is, your readers hear, "Wow, Nestle is a great brand and so-and-so endorses them." It may be wrong, but if you go on an all-expenses paid trip on Nestle's dime, you become a brand ambassador, whether you meant to or not. The fact that they kept spouting off almost gag-inducing tweets about how FABULOUS Nestle is only sealed the deal.

I don't disagree with your position about Nest...

2009-10-04T02:12:24.335-04:00

I don't disagree with your position about Nestle. I do, however, fail to see where attending the trip is "aligning" oneself to the company.

As long as they don't end up all being Nestle Moms & Dads, I don't think they should be attacked just for being in attendance.

How they use that attendance, well, that's another story.

GAH. How about some paragraphs? Or is that racis...

2009-10-03T23:36:08.015-04:00

GAH.

How about some paragraphs? Or is that racist of me to mention?

Hang on a minute, people are joking about slave la...

2009-10-03T21:41:26.496-04:00

Hang on a minute, people are joking about slave labour, racism and babies dying and we should be careful what we say because we might upset them?

I'm actually inclined to think that people who 'throw up their hands and spend time on the more important aspects of life' are a lost cause on this one, so I don't really mind if they get upset by what I say.

I know everyone has their own particular cause - we can't all do all things. But if you are listening to someone else's pet area and they are this angry and upset about it, isn't it a signal of how important it is, rather than a reason to tell them to back off.

Thank you for this post, Elita. And we second Deb&...

2009-10-03T20:49:13.084-04:00

Thank you for this post, Elita. And we second Deb's comment above.

Telling Dad, I' m going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you're just ignorant and don't realize how you come off, but it is really rude and offensive for you to come on to the blog of a woman of color and basically tell her 'hey you should quit being such an angry black woman'. (Especially after your first comment, where you launch into a criticism of her post only to then admit that you didn't even bother to read the whole thing.) I'm glad you made an attempt at a clarification, but still...dude, WTF. It's inappropriate.

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing your powerful v...

2009-10-02T23:45:38.492-04:00

Wow. Thank you so much for sharing your powerful voice, Elita. I, too, am outraged. We all, regardless of race or nationality SHOULD be outraged. And we should not temper the displays of our anger. It's not "pulling the race card" when you have a company who has been known for it's unethical practices in third world countries and against marginalized people for over 20 years.

What you have here, where people are unwilling or unable to recognize and condemn racism, is an unwillingness of people to really delve deeper within themselves and analyze their own privelege and prejudices. No one wants to feel guilty for enjoying a candy bar or accepting a free trip. No one wants to shoulder any responsibility for enabling a company to continue it's dirty practices. No one wants to be called on their shit. And don't let it be a BLACK WOMAN calling them on it!!!!!

Personally, I can't claim to be angry at any particular blogger for accepting the trip and attending the Nestle-fest. But that's only because I tend to give people the benefit of the doubt when I don't yet know all the facts of what went on. And I don't know what these bloggers said or did at this event. I certainly can't and won't defend them either for the same reason. But I will say this: It would certainly be more respectable if they had gone up there presenting a united front as people who care about children regardless of the color of their skin, who would actively and vehemently call Nestle to task over the hideous tactics they've used and continue to use around the globe, who would refuse to aid in promoting Nestle or it's subsidiaries on their blogs and instead write about the company's wrongdoings until Nestle cleaned up its act.

Passinthru, Thank you! Others have expressed their...

2009-10-02T14:52:15.776-04:00

Passinthru,
Thank you! Others have expressed their anger at Nestle's outrageous business tactics, but only the black woman gets told to simmer down.

You would think folks would not put these kinds of statements on a black woman's blog for all to see, but I guess it's better for us that they're letting it all hang out.

@JeneeLynn,
Thank you, I should link to the Baby Milk Action site & the boycott info.

Very thought provoking post. As in most matters, ...

2009-10-02T14:40:42.429-04:00

Very thought provoking post. As in most matters, hitting Nestle` in the pocketbook is the best way to make a difference. I would encourage you to post the website listing Nestle` products to be avoided for those who want to boycott. It can be found at the Baby Milk Action website, I believe. Lots of powerful and shocking information.

gosh. Haven't seen one of these in a decade or...

2009-10-02T14:20:51.404-04:00

gosh. Haven't seen one of these in a decade or two, but I guess I don't get out much.

For the record, and as a feminist, I'm %100 behind your choosing "imprudent" expressions of outrage as regards Nestle's racism and shady business practices. I can't believe anyone educated after 1962 would even DARE suggest that you "tone it down" to "be more accessible" or whatever they want to call it. And 'I'm a good person?" That's REALLY old school.

The fact is that institutional racism, like institutional sexism, requires "good people" and "we're going to play nice" to function. When we require cartoon villains, either as individuals or corporations, we're setting a standard that encourages maintaining the status quo... which is privilege. Nice how that works. And nice IS how that works.

To THREATEN someone ("many will tune stuff like this out", "you will never be taken seriously" which is code for "don't overstep") for calling you on your..."stuff", with a lot of loaded terms like "flock to negativity" "pull the race card" and the extremely telling "more important aspects of life" ... well, as I said, I haven't seen a man try that in at least a generation. You hit a nerve, I guess, Elita.

Go for it. You don't conquer prejudice by pretending it doesn't exist, anymore than you conquer arterial bleeding by wearing a long sleeve shirt. It takes calling people out on it, and often.

And two grammar notes TD: "account for something" means "explain it." If you wanted a contribution to be recognized you would want it to "COUNT for something." And the expression is, "I've said my piece" meaning, "I've contributed my part," not "I've said my peace", which inflammatory choice of phrasing makes clearly ridiculous.

Jenny, thank you for that comment. For those of yo...

2009-10-02T11:20:30.587-04:00

Jenny, thank you for that comment. For those of you still doubting whether there were inflammatory comments made by people ATTENDING THIS EVENT, please read this:

http://twitter.com/mommysnacks/statuses/4503572814

TellingDad, can you defend this? Do you think it's wrong to call out the bloggers who attended Nestle Family when they make remarks like this?

TellingDad, have you read MommyGoggles' post o...

2009-10-02T10:51:40.720-04:00

TellingDad, have you read MommyGoggles' post on this? I don't see a comment from you under it. (Go to mommygoggles dot com and check it out.) I have to say, I do find it frustrating when a woman "laughs out loud" at a "comical" video of starving children, and then a bunch of others pat her on the back for writing the post. Even if she doesn't think it's Nestle's fault, it should hurt her heart to see pictures of starving babies. It hurts mine. Speaking of venom, I found her post inflammatory. I also found the ignorance in the comments to be pretty pitiful.

I haven't said a word on Twitter, but after reading something like that I can certainly appreciate why someone would feel like blasting those who appear to just not care. It's frustrating. Mess with innocent chidren and anger will, and should, result.

I'm not saying you are one of these people who don't care. I visited your blog, read about the program you run for abused women and children and it appears you care deeply. I am not faulting you, I am just trying to help you understand why people are in such an uproar over this.

Elita, thanks for linking to that about the racism issue. I had not fully understood that until just now.

@Telling Dad, please read the Twitter stream. Read...

2009-10-02T07:39:11.999-04:00

@Telling Dad, please read the Twitter stream. Read all of the comments from people saying they are tired of hearing about racism, making jokes about slavery, wondering why people are upset because the "third world" already has a ton of problems, so what is one more in the form of contaminated formula? I find it difficult to believe you have no problem with your peers saying things like that.

I'm still waiting for someone to explain to me why black people are not allowed to exhibit anger when others are. MommyMelee wrote a post about how she is FURIOUS about the tone of this conversation and I didn't see anyone telling her to calm down, temper her anger and to stop being so aggressive.

Evelester, you need to take the time to examine yo...

2009-10-02T07:35:09.476-04:00

Evelester, you need to take the time to examine your privilege and try to understand that a poor woman living in a rural country who has no money and no access to clean water shouldn't be actively targeted and encouraged to formula feed. I think a lot of people can't separate the fact that they formula fed with the problems with Nestle.
I don't understand white people who can't see blatant racism for exactly what it is. You chastise me for "pulling the race card," but you pull the race card every day. You have the luxury of not having to worry about the things I do have to worry about as a black woman in America. It must be nice to go to sleep at night and really not care about people in other countries who are dying because of this unethical company's business practices. Continue to bury your head in the sand if that's the only way you can deal with it.

Well said. Here in the UK, formula companies regul...

2009-10-02T04:00:34.469-04:00

Well said. Here in the UK, formula companies regularly sponsor breastfeeding events which the NHS relies on to educate midwives and health visitors; Nestlé is among those companies. In countries where babies are less protected, they just go right ahead and say breastfeeding is akin to neglect. Baby Milk Action is the main UK organisation working against aggressive formula marketing.