In Quebec we put together a premise on how to support breastfeeding. We have many baby-friendly hospitals in Quebec, and breastfeeding is taking on a kind of new renaissance. Part of the code of commercialization does not allow hospitals to receive gifts from companies that make substitutes for breast milk. So if you can't receive the gift, the companies can't send their ads, and if they can't send their ads, they have to find someplace else. So they find the Internet and all kinds of other ways to get their message out. Of course, they're really good and have lots of money to advertise about that. That's one of the things.
Another example of what's been happening recently is in Haiti. I was at the Coalition for Improving Maternity Services in February, and we had a midwife who worked in Malaysia speak to us about Haiti. She said one of the first things that happened was that Nestlé dropped off their milk and said, “Aren't we good? We're bringing all these substitutes for milk.” But they didn't have clean water and the circumstances under which to sterilize bottles. She told the mothers to give it to their babies if they were walking. It has stuff in it and it isn't all bad, but it's not the kind of milk infants need.
The other issue you raised has to do with the environment. She was telling us about Malaysia and the women there. The rice they were eating 10 years ago had all the nutrients they needed, but now that we have GMOs and things that are denuded of all the nutrients, they have to give vitamin supplements to the mothers in order to allow them to have healthy babies and not hemorrhage after childbirth. So the commercial interests are sort of sneaking in all over the place, and we need to be vigilant.