Nestle and breast vs. bottle feeding: mainstream and Marxist perspectives. 1984

C E Campbell

The breast vs. bottle feeding issue has sparked a controversial debate. Mainstream analysis of the problem shows that arguments made by the business community, as represented by the Nestle Corporation, do not withstand examination of the evidence. For example, it cannot be substantiated that women begin formula feeding because they have entered the labor force. Mainstream studies of cost effectiveness further indicate that bottle feeding is a drain on the incomes of impoverished Third World families and nations. Marxist analysis gives a very different perspective. Nestle represents 19th century capitalist development and the Industrial Revolution, and 20th century imperialism, neocolonialism and monopoly capitalism. Its motive has been capital accumulation and expansion. To increase surplus value appropriation, capitalism must devalue the household (subsistence) economy in which women enjoyed considerable status. Women also produce the most fundamental commodity for capitalism-laborers; therefore, the biological connection must be masked and controlled for the benefit of capital. Thus, as the capitalist mode of production has developed, women have been removed from important roles in production and reproduction. Coupled with the ascendancy of science, expertism and public health imperialism, breast feeding in any market economy becomes nearly impossible. As women internalize the values of capitalist ideology, they elevate "man-made" marketed commodities over subsistence goods such as breast milk.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007223 Infant A child between 1 and 23 months of age. Infants
D007231 Infant, Newborn An infant during the first 28 days after birth. Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D011056 Political Systems The units based on political theory and chosen by countries under which their governmental power is organized and administered to their citizens. Political System,System, Political,Systems, Political
D011247 Pregnancy The status during which female mammals carry their developing young (EMBRYOS or FETUSES) in utero before birth, beginning from FERTILIZATION to BIRTH. Gestation,Pregnancies
D011634 Public Health Branch of medicine concerned with the prevention and control of disease and disability, and the promotion of physical and mental health of the population on the international, national, state, or municipal level. Community Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine & Public Health,Environment, Preventive Medicine and Public Health,Health, Community,Health, Public
D001903 Bottle Feeding Use of nursing bottles for feeding. Applies to humans and animals. Bottlefed,Bottlefeeding
D001942 Breast Feeding The nursing of an infant at the breast. Breast Fed,Breastfed,Milk Sharing,Wet Nursing,Breast Feeding, Exclusive,Breastfeeding,Breastfeeding, Exclusive,Exclusive Breast Feeding,Exclusive Breastfeeding,Sharing, Milk
D002675 Child, Preschool A child between the ages of 2 and 5. Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D003906 Developing Countries Countries in the process of change with economic growth, that is, an increase in production, per capita consumption, and income. The process of economic growth involves better utilization of natural and human resources, which results in a change in the social, political, and economic structures. LMICs,Less-Developed Countries,Low Income Countries,Low and Middle Income Countries,Lower-Middle-Income Country,Middle Income Countries,Third-World Countries,Under-Developed Countries,Developing Nations,Least Developed Countries,Less-Developed Nations,Third-World Nations,Under-Developed Nations,Countries, Middle Income,Countries, Third-World,Country, Least Developed,Country, Less-Developed,Country, Low Income,Country, Lower-Middle-Income,Country, Middle Income,Country, Third-World,Country, Under-Developed,Developed Country, Least,Developing Country,Developing Nation,Least Developed Country,Less Developed Countries,Less Developed Nations,Less-Developed Country,Less-Developed Nation,Low Income Country,Lower Middle Income Country,Lower-Middle-Income Countries,Middle Income Country,Nation, Less-Developed,Nation, Third-World,Nation, Under-Developed,Third World Countries,Third World Nations,Third-World Country,Third-World Nation,Under Developed Countries,Under Developed Nations,Under-Developed Country,Under-Developed Nation
D004467 Economics The science of utilization, distribution, and consumption of services and materials. Consumer Price Index,Capital,Conditions, Economic,Consumption,Cost of Living,Easterlin Hypothesis,Economic Conditions,Economic Policies,Economic Policy,Economics, Home,Home Economics,Household Consumption,Macroeconomic Factors,Microeconomic Factors,Policies, Economic,Policy, Economic,Production,Remittances,Utility Theory,Condition, Economic,Consumer Price Indices,Consumption, Household,Economic Condition,Factor, Macroeconomic,Factor, Microeconomic,Factors, Macroeconomic,Factors, Microeconomic,Household Consumptions,Hypothesis, Easterlin,Index, Consumer Price,Indices, Consumer Price,Living Cost,Living Costs,Remittance,Theories, Utility,Theory, Utility,Utility Theories

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