Article summary and key findings

Ethical/Unethical Dilemma

Nestle is a world known food company that is known in the United States for instant coffee, Nescafe and its chocolate. But this company has had a great deal of controversies and ethical dilemmas that surround it throughout the history of its existence. They have had negative public reaction due to some of the dubious decisions that they often make.

One of the biggest and most sustained controversies that Nestle has been dealing with started in 1970 when the company made efforts to introduce into the market and sell baby formula to third world countries. The ethical dilemma came up when Nestle was carrying out promotional practices for the formula as an alternative to breast feeding. Many of the critics which include pediatricians and nutritionists clearly stated and argued that the formula they produce is not an equal substitute for breastfeeding let alone being the option that can be preferred among others. This dilemma brought about the breast milk substitute marketing rules by the world health organization. Nestle has however continued to violate the rules and hence brought about worldwide boycotts of Nestle which continues to the present date.

The ethical dilemma revolves around the misleading promotions that can cause negative impact on the health of babies if mothers take these promotions seriously and stop breastfeeding the babies. In the real sense the Nestle products cannot be supplements of breast milk since breast milk has essential nutrients for the children, yet these are not present or cannot all be incorporated into the formula. This therefore means that the children who take the formula can grow up lacking some essential nutrients that they need to grow. Therefore this is a serious ethical dilemma that Nestle has been facing and continues to face.

Nestle faced a similar ethical dilemma in 2008 in china when the authorities in Hong Kong made claims that they had found melamine in one of their products made for babies. There was also a tainted milk outbreak that affected more than three hundred thousand Chinese children. The products were found to have traces which are very minute. This has led to the delisted of nestle products from china. This is a very big blow to nestle as a company since it has lost a big population which as a consumer of its products. This means that the ethical dilemma that faces the products of the company is a great challenge since it has an adverse effect on the economics of the company.