Comments on: Avoiding Nestle Without Even Trying http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/ A rich life without a lot of money Fri, 25 May 2012 09:15:00 +0000 hourly 1 By: Lesley Keegan http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29445 Lesley Keegan Tue, 13 Jul 2010 18:34:17 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29445 I have been boycotting Nestle because they bought milk from Grace Mogabe's dairies. She just took a lot of the successful farms from farmers and kept them for herself and gave some of the farms to her son. Robert and Grace Mogabe are guilty of the loss of so many hundreds of thousands of lives in Zimbabwe. Nestle should never have dealt with Grace Mogabe - I don't think they gave ethics and values much thought when doing business with her. I have been boycotting Nestle because they bought milk from Grace Mogabe’s dairies. She just took a lot of the successful farms from farmers and kept them for herself and gave some of the farms to her son.
Robert and Grace Mogabe are guilty of the loss of so many hundreds of thousands of lives in Zimbabwe. Nestle should never have dealt with Grace Mogabe – I don’t think they gave ethics and values much thought when doing business with her.

]]> By: Julie http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29369 Julie Thu, 08 Jul 2010 16:40:37 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29369 Greetings! First, thank you for not deleting this email. ? I’m a member of the social media group at my organization, American Consumer Credit Counseling, which is a non-profit credit counseling agency. We’re reaching out to bloggers who we read to get a little advice about our new endeavor. Our brand new blog is full of free information for consumers who have fallen into credit card debt. As a non profit organization, we are not monetizing our blog with any advertising, or selling any ebooks, memberships or anything like that. I came upon your blog in my river-like meanderings through the blog world (is there any other way to navigate it) and I’m so happy I did. I very much resonate with your life style and your values- especially the clean, socially and environmentally conscious ones. I’ve worked in microfinance before and follow international development projects (on the sidelines for now…), so your Nestle post garnered a “Right On!” from me. Plus, in regards to budgeting, life style inflation is a danger that everybody- even those who teach budgeting to the community like me- have to be cautious of. This being said, you obviously have a lot of experience and strong understanding of the blog building process. Could you take a few moments and think of some feedback about these questions? What kind of advice can you give to “beginning bloggers”? Were any particular resources most helpful when you started your blog? Any pitfalls or traps we should avoid? Would you be interested in being a guest blogger later on as we develop readership? I and the social media team look forward to building an ongoing relationship with you. Thanks so much for your time, and thank you very much for your response. Cheers, Julie Social Media Team Albie John T Kathleen Jesse Greetings!

First, thank you for not deleting this email. ? I’m a member of the social media group at my organization, American Consumer Credit Counseling, which is a non-profit credit counseling agency. We’re reaching out to bloggers who we read to get a little advice about our new endeavor. Our brand new blog is full of free information for consumers who have fallen into credit card debt. As a non profit organization, we are not monetizing our blog with any advertising, or selling any ebooks, memberships or anything like that.

I came upon your blog in my river-like meanderings through the blog world (is there any other way to navigate it) and I’m so happy I did. I very much resonate with your life style and your values- especially the clean, socially and environmentally conscious ones. I’ve worked in microfinance before and follow international development projects (on the sidelines for now…), so your Nestle post garnered a “Right On!” from me. Plus, in regards to budgeting, life style inflation is a danger that everybody- even those who teach budgeting to the community like me- have to be cautious of.

This being said, you obviously have a lot of experience and strong understanding of the blog building process. Could you take a few moments and think of some feedback about these questions?

What kind of advice can you give to “beginning bloggers”?
Were any particular resources most helpful when you started your blog?
Any pitfalls or traps we should avoid?
Would you be interested in being a guest blogger later on as we develop readership?

I and the social media team look forward to building an ongoing relationship with you.
Thanks so much for your time, and thank you very much for your response.

Cheers,

Julie

Social Media Team
Albie
John T
Kathleen
Jesse

]]> By: Molly On Money http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29357 Molly On Money Wed, 07 Jul 2010 14:54:29 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29357 FB- your kinda like the poster child for where many of us are heading, or, trying to head. I recently took over the grocery shopping from my husband and when I look in the cart I take an inventory of everything that is in a package in my cart. I either decide than and there to take it out because I have a non-package solution OR buy it and start thinking about a substitute for the product. I recently found out my Mom's goal when she went to the store. She tried not to feed us food from a 'box'. She too refused to buy anything from Nestle. I can still remember buying candy on the sly (we weren't allowed sweets) and feeling guilty that children in foreign countries were suffering because I was eating this evil candy. FB- your kinda like the poster child for where many of us are heading, or, trying to head. I recently took over the grocery shopping from my husband and when I look in the cart I take an inventory of everything that is in a package in my cart. I either decide than and there to take it out because I have a non-package solution OR buy it and start thinking about a substitute for the product.
I recently found out my Mom’s goal when she went to the store. She tried not to feed us food from a ‘box’. She too refused to buy anything from Nestle. I can still remember buying candy on the sly (we weren’t allowed sweets) and feeling guilty that children in foreign countries were suffering because I was eating this evil candy.

]]> By: Benjamin Bankruptcy http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29355 Benjamin Bankruptcy Wed, 07 Jul 2010 04:14:33 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29355 They own san pellegrino? Argh why must everything be owned by an evil corporate giant! They own san pellegrino? Argh why must everything be owned by an evil corporate giant!

]]> By: FrugalBabe http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29324 FrugalBabe Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:46:47 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29324 Raj - It's great to hear that the rural mothers there are solidly behind breastfeeding. Hopefully they continue that tradition, regardless of marketing hype from companies like Nestle. Judy - The HIV/AIDS crisis is close to my heart, and was a major issue in the African country where I served in the Peace Corps. But Nestle has used this human tragedy for their own benefit. Despite what Nestle would like us to believe, feeding formula is not a magic bullet when mothers are HIV positive, as the formula comes with it's own host of problems. Here's a link with some more info: http://www.infactcanada.ca/Nestle_Exploits_HIV.htm Raj – It’s great to hear that the rural mothers there are solidly behind breastfeeding. Hopefully they continue that tradition, regardless of marketing hype from companies like Nestle.

Judy – The HIV/AIDS crisis is close to my heart, and was a major issue in the African country where I served in the Peace Corps. But Nestle has used this human tragedy for their own benefit. Despite what Nestle would like us to believe, feeding formula is not a magic bullet when mothers are HIV positive, as the formula comes with it’s own host of problems. Here’s a link with some more info:
http://www.infactcanada.ca/Nestle_Exploits_HIV.htm

]]> By: GC http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29322 GC Tue, 06 Jul 2010 13:46:44 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29322 I had heard of some of the unethical practices of discouraging breastfeeding in some countries but never knew who was responsible. Thanks for writing this post. We are thinking about having a baby eventually and one can't have too much information. I had heard of some of the unethical practices of discouraging breastfeeding in some countries but never knew who was responsible.
Thanks for writing this post.
We are thinking about having a baby eventually and one can’t have too much information.

]]> By: Judy http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29318 Judy Tue, 06 Jul 2010 12:59:47 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29318 It was interesting to learn 'bad' side of Nestle which I also researched on other sites. However, as someone from a country devastated by AIDS, I would not want to see Nestle formula, which is the most widely marketed, being boycotted. Many new mothers have HIV or AIDS and do not breastfeed their babies so as not to infect them. Instead, they give them formula. You can only imagine how much suffering would be caused by a boycott. The boycott would work in the US where there are lots of options to choose from, but definitely not in my country. It was interesting to learn ‘bad’ side of Nestle which I also researched on other sites. However, as someone from a country devastated by AIDS, I would not want to see Nestle formula, which is the most widely marketed, being boycotted. Many new mothers have HIV or AIDS and do not breastfeed their babies so as not to infect them. Instead, they give them formula. You can only imagine how much suffering would be caused by a boycott. The boycott would work in the US where there are lots of options to choose from, but definitely not in my country.

]]> By: Raj http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29313 Raj Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:29:42 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29313 well I didnt know about the babyfood issue, I was talking about their other products and anyway in a country like mine, mothers especially in rural areas breastfeed their children even when the more convenient alternative is there simply because the grandmas and mother inlaws wont allow anything else. Science may have discovered the advantages of breastfeeding babies over giving say cow milk or now babyfood but they have known it for ages. well I didnt know about the babyfood issue, I was talking about their other products and anyway in a country like mine, mothers especially in rural areas breastfeed their children even when the more convenient alternative is there simply because the grandmas and mother inlaws wont allow anything else. Science may have discovered the advantages of breastfeeding babies over giving say cow milk or now babyfood but they have known it for ages.

]]> By: FrugalBabe http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29309 FrugalBabe Tue, 06 Jul 2010 02:04:38 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29309 Raj - I was going to reply to your comment but Kay already said everything I was going to say. Kelly - Good point. I know that a lot of the women receiving WIC assistance don't have the option of staying home with their babies. But I wish WIC would take the money they spend on formula and instead provide high-quality breast pumps and breastfeeding support. Sherri - The Nestle boycott does not have anything to do with eliminating formula from existence. There are absolutely circumstances when formula is truly necessary (serious illness or death of a mother, for example), but they are rare. Nestle is being boycotted because of their absolutely unethical marketing practices in developing countries. The boycott has been going on for 33 years, and Nestle seems to care not at all about the ethical issues around their marketing campaigns. They are interested in making money, and little else. I don't think that people participating in the boycott are hoping for a collapse of Nestle - the company is just too big and diversified for that. There is a simple four-point action plan that could end the boycott, but so far it hasn't happened: http://info.babymilkaction.org/nestle4pointplan Basically, I would like to see Nestle stop promoting formula in developing countries where babies often die when they aren't breastfed. Free samples of formula run out, and the families can't afford to buy more. But by then, the mother's milk has dried up. In addition, powdered formula has to be mixed with water, and the water in developing countries is often contaminated. I lived in Africa for two years, and I never drank any water without first boiling it or mixing it with iodine. And I was a healthy adult. A tiny baby should never be drinking that sort of water. As far as children already on formula in developing countries, Nestle and the other formula companies could continue to provide (ideally for free) formula until those babies don't need it anymore. But they absolutely should not be trying to expand their market in developing countries. Other companies are guilty of this too, but Nestle is by far the worst (and are thus the most boycotted company in history). Raj – I was going to reply to your comment but Kay already said everything I was going to say.
Kelly – Good point. I know that a lot of the women receiving WIC assistance don’t have the option of staying home with their babies. But I wish WIC would take the money they spend on formula and instead provide high-quality breast pumps and breastfeeding support.
Sherri – The Nestle boycott does not have anything to do with eliminating formula from existence. There are absolutely circumstances when formula is truly necessary (serious illness or death of a mother, for example), but they are rare. Nestle is being boycotted because of their absolutely unethical marketing practices in developing countries. The boycott has been going on for 33 years, and Nestle seems to care not at all about the ethical issues around their marketing campaigns. They are interested in making money, and little else.
I don’t think that people participating in the boycott are hoping for a collapse of Nestle – the company is just too big and diversified for that. There is a simple four-point action plan that could end the boycott, but so far it hasn’t happened:
http://info.babymilkaction.org/nestle4pointplan
Basically, I would like to see Nestle stop promoting formula in developing countries where babies often die when they aren’t breastfed. Free samples of formula run out, and the families can’t afford to buy more. But by then, the mother’s milk has dried up. In addition, powdered formula has to be mixed with water, and the water in developing countries is often contaminated. I lived in Africa for two years, and I never drank any water without first boiling it or mixing it with iodine. And I was a healthy adult. A tiny baby should never be drinking that sort of water.
As far as children already on formula in developing countries, Nestle and the other formula companies could continue to provide (ideally for free) formula until those babies don’t need it anymore. But they absolutely should not be trying to expand their market in developing countries. Other companies are guilty of this too, but Nestle is by far the worst (and are thus the most boycotted company in history).

]]> By: mindy @ just a one girl revolution. http://frugalbabe.com/2010/07/04/avoiding-nestle-without-even-trying/#comment-29308 mindy @ just a one girl revolution. Tue, 06 Jul 2010 01:27:11 +0000 http://frugalbabe.com/?p=1338#comment-29308 Wow, I never knew anything about the boycott! I'm definitely going to have to do more research on it...thanks for the heads up! Wow, I never knew anything about the boycott! I’m definitely going to have to do more research on it…thanks for the heads up!

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