A
resolution to encourage breast-feeding was expected to be approved
quickly and easily by the hundreds of government delegates who gathered
this spring in Geneva for the United Nations-affiliated World Health
Assembly.Based on decades of
research, the resolution says that mother’s milk is healthiest for
children and countries should strive to limit the inaccurate or
misleading marketing of breast milk substitutes.Then the United States delegation, embracing the interests of infant formula manufacturers, upended the deliberations.
American
officials sought to water down the resolution by removing language that
called on governments to “protect, promote and support breast-feeding”
and another passage that called on policymakers to restrict the
promotion of food products that many experts say can have deleterious
effects on young children.When
that failed, they turned to threats, according to diplomats and
government officials who took part in the discussions. Ecuador, which
had planned to introduce the measure, was the first to find itself in
the cross hairs.The Americans were
blunt: If Ecuador refused to drop the resolution, Washington would
unleash punishing trade measures and withdraw crucial military aid. The
Ecuadorean government quickly acquiesced.
U.S. Opposition to Breast-Feeding Resolution Stuns World Health Officials
Water Witches 