Oxford's homeless take a break
THE FAVOURED STUDENT boycott target Nestle is coming under review throughout Oxford. Nescafe, a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestle UK, joined forces with the Oxford-active charity Shelter earlier this month to launch "Nescafe Street Solutions." Nescafe has donated £250,000 to the Street Solutions campaign in a new initiative focusing on young people in the fight against homelessness.
Nestle is not a company renowned for its social work. It has previously attracted international controversy over its promotion of powdered baby milk in the Third World. The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) claim that over 1.5 million infants die each year in areas of unsafe water because they are not breast-fed. According to the IBFAN "A marketing code was introduced in 1981 to regulate the marketing of breast-milk substitutes. Comp-anies continue to violate its provisions." But Nestle maintains "We endeavour to sell infant milk according to the WHO Code." They added "we are strongly committed to the protection and promotion of breast-feeding."
Several Oxford JCRs including Balliol, Wadham, LMH and St Peter's, have joined forces with 80 Student Unions in boycotting Nestle products. OUSU's convention of avoiding Nestle dates back some years.
But the shelves of JCR butteries
could be seeing a return of KitKats and their sister-products as Nestle cleans up its public image. Wadham's Student Union President, Simon Wood, described his college's policy as being "under review." He added "if the company can put forward a clean presentation of it's policy, I don't see why we should keep our policy going." His sentiment is echoed at Balliol whose JCR President commented "we would certainly be willing to reconsider our policy if theirs has changed." But a prominent anonymous figure in the world of Oxford politics was less convinced: "there are certain things you don't do. It's not the done thing. Student Unions wouldn't touch it."
The word on the street is that it might be time for the Nestle Campaigners to have a break. Catou Mason, Project worker at the Gatehouse Drop-in centre agreed. "You can't say no to that sort of money. It is hypocritical, but turning it down wouldn't make any difference." One man, sleeping rough on the streets of Oxford, said "I think the fact that they're helping anybody's a good thing."
A spokesperson for Shelter defended Nestle's "ethical fundraising policy", though confirmed that extensive research had been carried out by campaign fund-raisers before Nestle's contribution was accepted. Shelter went on to explain "it's a substantial amount of money that will make a big difference to homeless people's lives."
27th Apr 2000