vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 5 months ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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Breast milk environment-friendly too

Posted by: Alecks P. Pabico | June 25, 2007 at 5:02 pm
Filed under: Environment Watch, Public Health

BREASTFEEDING advocates have found a natural ally in environmentalists in their raging battle against pharmaceutical and milk companies over the suspended implementation of stricter rules governing the promotion of breast-milk substitutes.

Environmental groups under the EcoWaste Coalition, a public-interest network tackling waste and pollution issues, have expressed support for the efforts undertaken by the Department of Health and breastfeeding activists in defending the “culture of breastfeeding,” which they say is suffering from the aggressive marketing campaigns of milk and advertising companies to create a larger market for infant formula.

In advocating for breastfeeding, Ecowaste says it believes that breast milk is best for babies and their mothers, in terms of providing the best nutritional start in life for children, providing babies with essential nutrients, adequate water for hydration, and antibodies to protect them against infection and allergy, and at the same time enhancing positive mother-baby bonding and development.

Medical evidence does attribute infant deaths and malnutrition in children to the decline in breastfeeding practice. At least 16,000 infant deaths annually in the country, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) reported, could have been prevented had there been exclusive breastfeeding in the first hour and the first six months; and at least two years of continued breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding.

But apart from acknowledging that breastfeeding promotes child and maternal health, EcoWaste asserts that it is also best in protecting the environment, adding that any attempt to undermine breastfeeding is a “gross disservice to Mother Earth and humanity.”

“Breastmilk, to emphasize the obvious, is produced and delivered to the infant consumer without creating waste and pollution that leads to climate change and a host of community health and environmental problems. It is naturally produced and is readily available anytime at the right temperature to satisfy the baby’s nutritional needs,” says lactating mother Gigie Cruz of the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives, an EcoWaste member.

Cruz also points to the fact that unlike infant formula, breast milk does not require paper, plastic and tin packaging, as well as feeding gear like plastic bottles and teats, whose production is said to consume lots of raw materials while generating tons of wastes and toxics in the process.

“By breastfeeding, women forestall the further destruction of our ravaged environment, given that breastfeeding requires no forest to be cleared for pasture or to grow cattle feed, no trees to be felled for the labels and promotional tricks, no mountain to be mined to produce tin cans, and no fossil fuels to be burned to support the complex cycle of producing and transporting milk substitutes,” she claims.

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) also cautions against breast-milk substitutes. Its website FAQ provides the following information:

There are different contaminants in commercial feeding products, including infant formula, the water in which it is mixed, the containers in which it is stored and often in the bottles used for feeding. Heavy metals such as lead, aluminum, cadmium and mercury, chemical residues from pesticides and fertilizers, and hormone-disrupting plasticizers have all been found in commercial infant foods. Recalls of infant formula from the market are regularly made because of industrial and bacterial contamination; they are not sterile products. Reports and advisories in recent years have warned that infant formula can be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, after several infants died or became seriously ill from consuming infant formula contaminated by Enterobacter sakazakii. In addition, while some common contaminants such as nitrates in ground water may be tolerated when ingested by a breastfeeding mother, they can be fatal if the water is given directly to the baby.

The use of genetically engineered ingredients (such as soy in soy-based infant formulas) and the inclusion in infant formula of components produced by genetic modification, pose new and as yet unknown risks. Although these are not chemical contaminants, they underscore the importance of promoting breastfeeding as the healthier choice.

Compared to the natural production of breast milk, the production of infant formula adds to environmental contamination. The consumption of materials such as fossil fuels, wood products, and other kinds of energy, as well as the clearing of forests for cattle grazing, and the ensuing production and disposal of wastes (greenhouse gases and the use of metals, plastics, and paper for infant formula packaging) are prominent features of the manufacture, distribution, and use of commercial infant and baby foods. In contrast, the production and consumption of breast milk is an environmentally friendly act.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 25th, 2007 and is filed under Environment Watch, Public Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

3 people have left comments

These irritating info commercials on breast-milk substitutes simply has to be banned period. They are clearly deceiving a lot of people w/ those ads about “gifted children” due to certain infant formula. A cow’s milk is better than a mother’s milk? It’s so ridiculous. Sadly a lot of people have been deceived by these aggressive marketing campaigns by milk & pharmaceutical companies.

If it is true that these milk commercials are banned if not regulated in other countries, I don’t see any reason why we can’t do it here in the Philippines. These milk companies should be stopped from fooling the people. But it’s so ironical that the wife of Joker Arroyo is the one defending these companies. So much for delicadeza, I guess lawyers will always be lawyers.

jr_lad wrote on June 26, 2007 - 2:48 pm | Visit Link

[...] Clerical Whispers reports that a World Health Organization official asked the help of the influential Catholic Church to promote breastfeeding. Mom Exchange is happy over the operation of a breastmilk bank in the country. Environmentalists also endorse breastfeeding. Sonnie’s porch blogs about the milk wars and corporate social responsibility. Tiene Ara Zamboanguena is shocked that some mothers are using coffee creamer as breastmilk substitute. [...]

Global Voices Online » Milk wars in the Philippines: Breastmilk versus Infant Formula wrote on July 11, 2007 - 2:48 pm | Visit Link

[...] more info click here, here, here, here and [...]

On Breastmilks | The Mis-Adventures of a Philippine SEO Specialist wrote on September 4, 2008 - 10:36 am | Visit Link