The Origins Of The Nestlé Company

We are still looking at diabolical corporations engaged in the war on food and nutrition, and the essence of our discussions has been that and  in an increasingly interconnected world, it becomes crucial for people to be aware of the practices of large corporations that impact their lives. Often, these companies engage in actions that the general public is unaware of, with consequences that can be devastating, especially for the most vulnerable. Today, we thus look at how the actions of diabolical corporations have even affected the health and nutrition of vulnerable groups, including children.
THE ORIGINS OF THE NESTLÉ COMPANY
And now onto our first question, which is: What is the origin story of the Nestle Company? Well, Nestlé began in Switzerland in the mid 1860s when founder Henri Nestlé created one of the first baby formulas. Henri realized the need for a healthy and economical product to serve as an alternative for mothers who could not breastfeed their babies. Mothers who were unable to breastfeed often lost their infants to malnutrition. Henri’s product was a carefully formulated mixture of cow’s milk, flour and sugar. Nestlé’s first product was called Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé. The product was first used on a premature baby who could not tolerate his mother’s milk or other alternative products of that time. Doctors gave up on treating the infant. And, yet babies were said to have tolerated Henri’s new formula. Within a few years the first Nestlé product was marketed in Europe.
Then, in 1874 the Nestlé Company was purchased by Jules Monnerat. Nestlé developed its own condensed milk to contend with its competitor, the Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company. The Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk Company made products like cheese and instant formulas. The two companies merged in 1905, the year after Nestlé added chocolate to its line of foods. The newly formed Nestlé and Anglo-Swiss Milk Company had factories in the United States, Britain, Spain and Germany. Soon the company was full-scale manufacturing in Australia with warehouses in Singapore, Hong Kong and Bombay. Most production still took place in Europe.
However, the start of World War I made it difficult for Nestlé to buy raw ingredients and distribute products. Fresh milk was scarce in Europe, and factories had to sell milk for the public need instead of using it as an ingredient in foods. Nestlé purchased several factories in the US to keep up with the increasing demand for condensed milk and dairy products via government contracts. The company’s production doubled by the end of the war. When fresh milk became available again after the war, Nestlé suffered and slipped into debt. The price of ingredients was increasing, the economy has slowed and exchange rates deteriorated because of the war.
In light of this, an expert banker helped Nestlé find ways to reduce its debt. By the 1920s Nestlé was creating new chocolate and powdered beverage products. Adding to the product line once again, Nestlé developed Nescafé in the 1930s and Nestea followed. Nescafé, a soluble powder, changed coffee drinking and became popular. Here’s more on the company’s origins.
THE NESTLÉ COMPANY’S BABY FORMULA SCANDAL
This then brings us to the second question, being: What was the Nestle baby formula scandal? Now, since the company’s conception in 1867, Nestlé has convinced people its baby formula is better for infants than breast milk — a claim that is categorically false. They placed particular focus on marketing in developing countries in Africa, Latin America and Asia during the 1970s, sending saleswomen dressed as nurses to convince the mothers that their formula was better for their children than their own breast milk.
Many women, struggling to afford the expensive milk touted as better than what their bodies produced for free, diluted the formula with (often unsanitary) water, further reducing its nutritional value. Millions of infants died. Many more grew up nutritionally deficient, dramatically impacting the health and lifespan of swathes of the developing world — one of the worst scandals a corporation has ever publicly faced. Meanwhile, the company pocketed billions in revenue from baby formula and continues to do so.
It’s worth pointing out that some women cannot breastfeed, and baby formula, when prepared correctly, is an adequate substitute for breast milk. However, Nestlé exploited women by forcefully deceiving millions regarding its superiority over breast milk. It failed to educate people about proper preparation and even paid off doctors and hospitals to bolster its bogus claims.
Today, the misconception lives on, and baby formula remains a booming market. Despite global outrage now lasting half a century, as well as tons of new research into the harm caused by Nestlé baby formula and other Nestlé products, infant formula remains an $11.5-billion market — and growing.
HOW NESTLÉ TARGETED MOTHERS IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
Which then brings us to the final question, being: How did Nestle contribute to malnutrition concerns for babies in less developed countries? To answer this question, we would have to address who Edward Bernays is. Edward Bernays, whose uncle was Sigmund Freud, is credited with fathering the field of public relations (which is often in reference to propaganda, rather than mere optics). His methods were often to shift massive cultural trends in order to make his products or ideas more appealing. He presumed, based on his uncle’s work, that consumers were never actually reasonable but driven rather by powerful subconscious forces. These forces could be manipulated, and the result might be anything from increased cigarette sales to majority support of a war. But, Edward Bernays did NOT just want to sell people a product or an idea, he wanted to change the very fabric of society around then, so that the product (or idea) became from a person’s new perspective, the most obvious choice – even if the choice he was presenting was objectively bad.
For instance, that women were targeted as consumers at all was due largely to Bernays’ influence. Up until he was contracted by Virginia Slims, it was unsociable or, even in some states, unlawful for women to smoke. But Bernays saw an opportunity in growing support for the suffragette movement. When a womens’ march was scheduled in New York, he encouraged a group of its participants to light up at the same moment, a moment when his hired newspaper photographers were in position with cameras ready. The result was what he had the papers describe as “torches of freedom.” And a great deal of hesitation on the part of potential female buyers, as well as any red tape which their state governments had established were forsaken.
Well, in the case of Nestle’s baby formula in third world countries, Nestle employed propaganda techniques that ranged from using the affluence of white women, to lying about harms of breast milk to even providing free samples that coerced mothers to give babies Nestle formula – all in order to create a market for its baby formula.