Gordon Campbell: On Making Profits By Trashing Consumer Protections

The government has once again chosen to put the profits of business ahead of what the public health research is telling us. Under pressure from the giant Danone multinational, New Zealand has backed out of signing a proposed Trans-Tasman labelling standard for Infant Formula. This is despite the fact the WHO and many national public health bodies from Europe to Australia are keen to regulate how infant formula can be marketed, and labelled. The aim is to ensure that the health and wellbeing of babies remains the top priority, and not the market opportunities for manufacturers.