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.
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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