Baby Milk Action sends appeal to George

Baby Milk Action has issues a Press Release calling upon George to “look more closely” concerning the briefing he received from Nestle prior to his signing on for the Nespresso Campaign.

We have learned over the years, the depths that Nestlé will go to protect its interests. The spying case exposed recently is perhaps particularly blatant, but it is not surprising.

One strategy Nestlé uses is recruiting celebrities to defend it. A recent example is George Clooney, who appears in Nespresso advertisements. When people have raised with him concerns about Nestlé malpractice, his office has provided a briefing produced by Nestlé. This briefing is extremely dishonest. We have an exposé of it available, but I will take just one example to illustrate.

In the briefing Nestlé provided to Mr. Clooney, the company claims in its defence that the Methodist Church has invested in the company as it sees no ethical barrier to doing so. Nestlé wants people to believe that the Church and Nestlé critics have conflicting views of Nestlé practices.

The Methodist Church Central Finance Board statement on Nestlé explains why it invested:

JACEI [the Joint Advisory Committee on the Ethics in Investment] acknowledges and respects the work of organisations such as Baby Milk Action in highlighting the scandal of inappropriate marketing of breast milk substitutes. The way in which the CFB responds to such activities is to engage with company managements and seek change from within. These approaches should be seen as complementary strategies working to achieve a common aim.

Prior to the investment, the 2006 Methodist Conference adopted texts that suggested ‘engagement’ and the ‘boycott’ go hand in hand:

JACEI acknowledges the continuing concern with regard to some aspects of Nestlé’s interpretation of the International Code, the implementation of company guidelines and the transparency of the procedures for monitoring compliance. These concerns may cause some through conscience to maintain a consumer boycott of Nestlé products.

So George Clooney was misled by Nestlé. Church investment is intended to press the company to stop malpractice. It is not, as Nestlé wants people to believe, a reward for good behaviour. Indeed, the Methodist Church Conference stated that it sees ‘engagement’ and the ‘boycott’ as complementary strategies.

I would, therefore, like to appeal to Mr. Clooney to look at little closer at this issue before sending out Nestlé’s briefing to anyone else. Nestlé does not tell the truth about its activities and its claims cannot be taken at face value. The evidence that we and others have tried to provide to him, show that the reality on the ground tells a different story.

I recommend that you read the full Press Release at Baby Milk Action

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