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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (May 28, 1981)
Portland Observer M a y 28. 1881 Page 3 From the Capitol Congressman Ron Hyden (This week Congressman Wyden talks about the controversy over sale o f infant form ula to T hird W orld Countries and the upcoming debate over reauthorization o f the Clean A ir Act.) Q. Congressman Wyden, this week you called f o r the ad m inistration to reverse its decision to oppose a code recommending restrictions on the m arketing o f breast feeding substitutes - p a r ticu la rly in th ird w orld countries. Why do you think this is important? A. First let me say that despite urging o f myself and other concer ned Americans, the U.S. did go ahead and vote against the code - the only nation to do so. M y feelings about that vote in retrospect are the same as before it was taken - I think it is atrocious that America would go on record in support o f a product that has proven detrimental to the most in nocent, vulnerable members o f the human - underprivileged babies. The issue is not whether breast m ilk substitutes have any value. Undeniably, they do. The issue is that we have allowed these sub stitutes to be marketed in situations, particulary in T hird W orld coun tries, where they arc not helpful; in deed are harmful. Situations such as in L atin Am erica and India, in which the result is increased disease; retarded growth; even death. We cannot as a nation hope to solve all the problems o f the world. We can, however, at least do our part by discouraging marketing o f products which have proven harm ful to human life. Q. The Clean A ir A ct is up fo r reauthorization this year. What is the significance o f this fo r Oregon ians and other A mericans? A. The Clean A ir Act is perhaps the most im portant piece o f en vironmental legislation ever passed in the United States. The cleanliness o f the air you breathe w ill in good part depend on what Congress decides during the reauthorization process. As a member o f the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Act, Dick Does this country care more about corporate profits than it does about healthy children in the developing nations? Let’ s hope the United States’ vote at the meeting o f the World Health Organization in Geneva last week is not a true indicator. The issue was an internation al code o f ethics up fo r vote which would urge governments to do far more to protect and promote breast feeding and to take responsibility for distributing reliable information about breask milk substitutes. The U.S. and two other nations were the only countries to vote against adoption o f the proposed code. Immediately after the vote, representatives o f the other two nations stated they had misunder stood the question and had they had complete understanding o f what was at stake they would have voted exactly opposite. A spokesman fo r the United Nations C h ild re n ’ s Fund (UNICEF) says that a million infant deaths could be prevented each year if the internation al com m unity would prom ote natural breast feeding. Some in favor o f the code say there is simply too much danger o f women in developing countries being entietd by infant formula ad vertising to abandon breast feeding. This is dangerous, they say, because of the high cost of formula resulting in poor women d ilu tin g it to nutrionally dangerous levels or o f powdered formula being mixed with polluted water. They also see a danger in that some poor women may start o ff bottle feeding their infants and then when they discover they can no longer afford the formula, it ’ s too late to switch back to breast feeding because their supply o f nature’ s milk has dried up. Infant form ula companies say if codes like the one proposed at Geneva go through, it could en courage the possibility o f other government restrictions on free en terprise. Evidently the massive lobbying ogle e ffort by the infant form ula com panies o f Congress and the Reagan A d m in is tra tio n paid o ff. Former Senator Sam Ervin Jr. even testified in Congress that the code was a totalitarian document which could undermine the Am erican con s titu tio n a l values o f free speech, free press and free competition. The botton line is that the code would urge governments to prohibit both the prom otion o f breast m ilk substitutes to the general public and the d is trib u tio n o f free form ula samples to pregnant women. However, the code does recognize the need for formula to be available in case a mother is unable to breast feed. The most cynical o f the critics o f the United State's position say that with the increase of breast feeding in the countries o f the industrialized West, the form ula companies are looking for new markets. And those markets in the developing countries are estimated to be $ I billion. That’s lucrative especially since the big majority o f new babies will be born in those countries. Q u ic k N o te ...T h e best enter tainment bargain for jazz lovers has to beat Geneva’s on North Williams on Sundays. The good news is altoist Lawson has returned and so has the jam session format. 1 was there last Sun day and heard George in front o f a rhythm section o f Howard Young on piano, Omar Yoweman on bass and drum m er B illy Joe Newman. Guests included A l Copeland on g uitar, an unamed pretty fa ir baritone player, vocalist M arian Mayfied, tenor men Vern Johnson and W.C. Cage, trumpeter Bobby B radford and o f all people, Sir Malcom Key on drums. Malcom left P ortland 16 years ago and now resides in New York. This was his first return to Portland and he is headed to Hawii to play an engagement with the Ink Spots. The music was superb, the crowd appreciative and responsive. It’s so good to hear a horn again in a club filled with congenial folks. I am the only member o f the Oregon delegation in a position to play a m ajor role in the reauthorization debate - and I intend to do so. It would take pages to explain all o f the many im portant issues that will be debated during consideration o f the Act. Two o f the issues 1 am most concerned with, however, are maintaining the current air quality standards w hile at the same time giving states and our key industries more fle x ib ility and freedom in meeting the objectives o f the Act. Reauthorization o f the Clean A ir Act w ill be a long and complicated process. But that does mean that citizens cannot jo in with experts to take part in that process. Oregon has long been a source o f wise ideas and approaches. 1 see no reason why the Clean A ir Act cannot benefit from some o f that wisdom. B en’s B a n k . Meet a coin collector. Save Your pennies and put them in Ben's Bank. 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More than 50 offices throughout Oregon FSÜC Need telephone volunteers The Portland Police Bureau's crime prevention division is looking for volunteers to staff its telephone reassurance service (TRS). TRS is a free community program designed to serve isolated elderly and handi capped persons. Trained volunteers make daily telephone calls to those living alone who may be suffering from a fear o f crime or just plain loneliness. Many o f the recipients have been recent victims o f crime. Volunteers will be traiped in basic elderly crime prevention and will learn about the essential social ser vice agencies for referral purposes. Each caller will be assigned from one to three people and will be re sponsible for making approximately 10-minute calls to each individual, five days a week, at a pre-arranged time. •One free gift per account Offer good while supplies last ’ Substantial interest penalty for early withdrawal of certificate savings Interest compounded constantly from day o f deposit to day o f withdrawal In cases where someone fails to answer, a pre-appointed neighbor w ill be notified and asked to check out the situation. Where the neigh bor cannot resolve the problem, a police officer w ill be dispatched to investigate. Interested volunteers may contact James Nelson at 248-4126 or may drop by the Central Police Station at 222 S. W. Pine Street. The crime prevention offices are located on the fourth floor. I
