Regulation of Baby Food Commercialization, Industry Strategy and Breastfeeding

摘要

Breastfeeding is recognized at present as the best means of guaranteeing a baby's health. However, the decision to nurse and the adoption of practices that prolong its duration depend fundamentally on the mother. A broad network of economic agents that transmit information to reach their own individual objectives, however, influences her. The objective of the NBCAL is to harmonize public interest with the profit objective of manufacturers of substitute or complementary products to natural breastfeeding, seeking to correct a market failure stemming from incomplete, imperfect, and asymmetric information Nevertheless, the research showed that government failures and regulatory failures have resulted in an incredible lack of knowledge of the Norm, not only among mothers, but among doctors, health professionals, and nutritionists who should act as a filter to opportunistic and commercial action by manufacturers of breast-milk substitutes. The empirical study showed, furthermore, that the exclusive breastfeeding period is shorter than what the Norm establishes as ideal and that most mothers introduce foods inadequate for the baby on the advice of relatives, doctors, etc. Coordinated action of the various agents of this network, including the government, towards improving knowledge, information, and willingness to breastfeed is obviously desirable. However, some organizations resist partnerships between the public and private sectors because they believe that the exclusive interest in profit would compromise the success of any initiative in this direction.