Baby Milk Action Resources Centre

Nestlé and the Sri Lankan milk industry

Sarath Fernando, director of Monlar, interviewed by Mike Brady on 10 December 2002 (duration approximately 15 minutes).

Click here to listen with RealPlayer

Click here to visit the Monlar website http://www.geocities.com/monlarslk/

Are there really no concerns about Nestlé's activities in Sri Lanka? Click here for Monlar's gallery of photos.

You will need the free RealPlayer or RealOne Player software to listen to this interview. You can download RealOne Player free from http://www.realplayer.com/.

If RealOne Player does not open automatically when you click on the interview link, open your internet browser's Download Manager to locate the file monlarinterview03.ram and click on the file or launch RealOne Player and open the file.

Sarath Fernando, director of the Movement for National Land and Agriculture Reform (MONLAR) in Sri Lanka, speaks about the destruction of the Sri Lankan milk industry, since transnationals, principally Nestlé, entered the market. He reports that dairy farmers are paid too little by Nestlé to make a living. Distribution of domestic fresh milk has been largely replaced by processed, often imported, milk. Since gaining market dominance, Nestlé has significantly increased prices, whilst conducting aggressive marketing campaigns, including promoting milks for young children and babies. Families find it difficult to meet the much greater price of the Nestlé milk and the dairy farmers in much of the country no longer have access to a distribution system for their fresh milk.

This interview exposes Nestlé's public relations machine. Beverley Mirando, Nestlé's Senior Policy Advisor, is from Sri Lanka and lobbies boycott supporters in the UK. She claims there are no concerns in Sri Lanka about Nestlé's activities and presents herself as the voice of the developing world. In reality she is a member of Nestlé management and is following the company strategy of denials and deception to enable Nestlé to continue with business as usual.

Listen to Sarath Fernando and make contact with MONLAR to find out why people in Sri Lanka are accusing Nestlé of following "criminal" policies in their country.

(Note: Baby Milk Action has recorded Beverley Mirando's claims regarding Sri Lanka when we have taken part in debates. One might expect that Nestlé would like you to hear its explanation of its activities in Sri Lanka, but no, Nestlé has attempted to attach conditions to the debates, saying that it does not want us to pass recordings on to 'third parties' and has said it would view posting a clip on our website as an 'infringement of the privacy of its staff'. We find this argument absurd as the debates are public meetings which the media are permitted to enter. Nestlé's wish to keep what it says at debates from being divulged suggests that it is aware that its claims do not stand up to scrutiny.)

Emma Thompson and Steve Coogan support the Nestlé boycott

Click here for the press release on the Perrier Awards boycott at the Edinburgh Fringe 2001 (Nestlé owns Perrier) and video clips of Emma and Steve.

Baby Milk Action head-to-head with Nestlé consultant, Lord Ahmed

Click here for Baby Milk Action's recording of its interview with the BBC Asian Network, head-to-head with Lord Ahmed, a paid Nestlé consultant, broadcast live by the BBC on 19 March 2002 (apologies for the poor quality of the recording which was made as we took part in the interview).

The interview was prompted by the revelation that Lord Ahmed's so-called 'independent' fact-finding trip to Pakistan to investigate allegations made by former Nestlé employee, Syed Aamar Raza, had been financed and organised by Nestlé. Following the trip, Lord Ahmed made statements and wrote letters in defence of Nestlé and made allegations of criminal activity against Syed Aamar Raza, but has refused to offer any substantiation for them or give Aamar a chance to respond. Prior to this interview it was revealed that Lord Ahmed was becoming a paid consultant to Nestlé. Hear Baby Milk Action raise the tough questions about Lord Ahmed's relationship with Nestlé and his treatment of Aamar.

You will need the free RealPlayer or RealOne Player software to listen to this interview. You can download RealOne Player free from http://www.realplayer.com/.

If RealOne Player does not open automatically when you click on the interview link, open your internet browser's Download Manager to locate the file lordahmed0302.ram and click on the file or launch RealOne Player and open the file.