The missionary was “mad as a wet hen,” as they say. She was telling us about how mother after mother would come to the gate of the compound carrying an emaciated baby. The missionary would know where to look first. Not at the child, but in the belongings that the mother was carrying. Rummaging around in the bags, she would find what she expected — an empty glass bottle with the remains of its contents still visible — infant formula.
Demonstrating to those of us in attendance at the Global Mission Conference at Montreat, she showed us what she would do next — grab that bottle and throw it as hard as she could into the corner of the stone walls — onto a pile of other broken bottles she had thrown there.
The mothers, the missionary related, had been convinced that feeding their babies’ powdered infant formula would make their babies look like those plump babies in Western countries. Never mind that many of the women lived in villages where the water was polluted. Never mind that they were not taught how to sterilize the water. Never mind that there was no refrigeration to store any formula already mixed up that the baby might not drink. Never mind that the powder was expensive — when the can of powder started getting low the mother just used less of it in the bottle and added more water.
Numerous infant formula producers were trying to expand their market into developing countries. All of them were at fault. But too many babies were dying unnecessarily. This had to stop. There was one company that was the biggest culprit. And there was only one way to convince Nestle, based in Switzerland, to stop. “Boycott Nestle,” she demanded.
2013 marks the 35th anniversary of the approval of the Nestle Boycott by the 1978 (118th) PC(US) General Assembly in Shreveport, Louisiana. Many other national church bodies would take that action — but the PC(US) was the first. It was also the first-ever boycott in our denomination’s history.
How did that happen? In 2005 I did a phone interview with David S. Duncan, one of the two men who signed and initiated the commissioner resolution. When asked this question, his answer seemed almost matter-of-fact: “It was the right thing to do and everyone knew it.”
Rev. Duncan had been acquainted with William S. Smith, the other cosigner, but was not great friends with him. According to Duncan, at one of the orientation sessions Smith was sitting beside him and leaned over to Duncan and said, “You know, we ought to submit a resolution to boycott Nestle.” Duncan nodded, and the rest, as they say, is history. A 36-line resolution was drafted, circulated to get the required number of signatures from other commissioners that helped assure that it had some backing, and was delivered to the stated clerk, Jim Andrews. Andrews recommended and the assembly approved that this resolution be assigned to the Standing Committee on Justice & Human Development for its consideration.
That committee approved the resolution by a vote of 32-11, and so the recommendation came to the assembly itself. On the floor a number of commissioners spoke both pro and con. Two opposed boycotts in general, another questioned the accuracy of the facts, but hearts seem to have been won over by one commissioner who said that she had taught missionary children in Zaire and had personally seen Nestle sales representatives in hospitals and clinics dressed as nurses and doctors. The resolution passed.
One person can make a difference! Well, in this case, it took two. I am grateful to God for David Duncan and William Smith, as well as commissioners of the 118th General Assembly for their action which clearly saved many infants. It feels good to look back 35 years and be confident that they did the right thing.
Bob Tuttle is vice president of the Center for Youth & Young Adult Ministry, Montreat Conference Center, Montreat, N.C.
