Action for Corporate Accountability.

Action for Corporate Accountability (ACA) was incorporated by members of the organization Infant Formula Action (INFACT) who remained dedicated to INFACT's infant formula work. When INFACT chose to change direction away from the infant formula issue and to tackle other causes, these core members created ACA in order to continue the infant formula work. The situations which motivated the creation of INFACT and ACA are as follows.

The uncontrolled promotion of infant formula in the Third World contributed to widespread misuse of infant formulas, which resulted in thousands of infant deaths. In February 1974, War on Want (United Kingdom) published The Baby Killer, a report on infant malnutrition and its link to the promotion of artificial feeding in the Third World. The report shocked citizens in the U. K. and United States. In May 1974 the report was translated and published in Switzerland under the title Nestlé T_tet Babies (Nestlé Kills Babies). This translation and release so angered Nestlé that it brought a libel suit against the Arbeitsgruppe Dritte Welt (AgDW), which had generated the report.

The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) put shareholder pressure on infant formula companies to induce them to change their marketing practices. It also developed an Infant Formula Program (IFP), headed by Leah Margulies, to keep pressuring the companies and promote awareness of infant formula abuse. During April 1976 the Sisters of the Precious Blood filed a lawsuit against Bristol-Meyers for their role in infant formula promotion, which brought the issue to public attention in the United States.

In July 1977 the Third World Institute at the University of Minnesota's Newman Center launched a boycott of Nestlé products in protest of Nestlé's infant formula promotion tactics. They chose to target Nestlé because it was the largest producer of infant formulas and held 60% of the formula market in the Third World. INFACT was established to coordinate the spreading grassroots boycott of Nestlé products. The Third World Institute served as INFACT's national boycott headquarters. Local U.S. chapters of INFACT held a national conference in November 1977 calling for an international boycott of Nestlé products in July of that year. Canada, New Zealand, and Australia joined the boycott in 1978 and the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Germany joined in 1980.

INFACT, ICCR, and other groups urged the United States government to investigate the infant formula companies and infant feeding practices. During 1978 and 1981 the U.S. Senate and House held hearings concerning Nestlé and other formula manufacturers.

The National Council of Churches (NCC) and INFACT sponsored an international meeting, held during September 1979, for organizations supporting and promoting the boycott. In order to coordinate worldwide boycott efforts the International Nestlé Boycott Committee (INBC) was created at this meeting. The INBC acted as a steering committee for boycott efforts, however, its primary responsibility was as the negotiating body and voice for the forty-nine member organizations.

The International Organization of Consumers Unions (Penang, Malaysia) began lobbying UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1972. ICCR and INFACT joined their efforts in 1977. This lobbying resulted in the WHO/UNICEF Joint Meeting on Infant and Young Child Feeding, held in Geneva, Switzerland on October 9-12, 1979. The meeting called for the development and establishment of international guidelines for marketing breast milk substitutes. The "International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes" was adopted at the World Health Assembly in 1981.

In November 1979 the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) was formed by INFACT to be the hub of an international network of interested groups. IBFAN described itself "as a facade of unity; a 'paper tiger'." It acted as an international pressure group which monitored and reported on industry promotion and marketing, and distributed such information to member groups. IBFAN had three central offices administered by member organizations: in Switzerland under the Geneva Infant Feeding Association (GIFA); in the U.S.A. under INFACT headquartered in Minneapolis (Minnesota); and in Malaysia under the International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU).

Nestlé responded to the WHO Code and allegations of code violations by creating the Nestlé Infant Formula Audit Commission (NIFAC) (1982), a purportedly independent commission chaired by former U.S. Senator Edmund S. Muskie. NIFAC was to investigate and make determinations on the validity of the accusations submitted by INFACT and INBC and to recommend action by Nestlé. Nestlé's other defense was the Nestlé Coordination Center on Nutrition (NCCN). This corporate office, headed by Rafael Pagan, was devoted to diffusing the infant formula issue and bolstering Nestlé's public relations image in the United States.

By October 1984, INBC and Nestlé had negotiated an agreement in which Nestlé would abide by the WHO code and the boycott would be terminated. INFACT called a halt to the Nestlé boycott in the United States and urged other international groups to cease the boycott as well. Unconvinced that Nestlé would comply without continued pressure, INFACT and IBFAN made strong moves to monitor Nestlé activities in foreign countries to ensure that Nestlé upheld the agreement. INFACT developed and funded a monitoring program, directed by Carol-Linnea Salmon. Between 1984 and 1988 INBC referred to itself as the International Negotiators for Babyfood Code Compliance and participated in monitoring Nestlé and other companies.

Buoyed by their success against Nestlé, the governing body of INFACT decided in 1985 to tackle General Electric (GE) and nuclear arms production issues. The INFACT headquarters moved to Boston (Massachusetts). INFACT staff devoted to the infant formula issue disagreed with this change in direction and felt that there were insufficient funds for tackling a fresh grassroots campaign and boycott. In January of 1986, staff dedicated to the infant formula work split from INFACT and became IBFAN U.S.A. In April 1986 IBFAN U.S.A. changed its name to Action for Corporate Accountability (ACA).

Mediation between INFACT and ACA took place to determine funding, particularly the Thelma Smith bequest which was given to INFACT, but designated for infant formula work. Mediation also addressed name use and recognition rights, and other details of the separation of the groups. ACA continued monitoring Nestlé and other formula manufacturers. Because of continued violations of the WHO code, ACA reinstated the boycott of Nestlé in 1989 and included American Home Products as well. They also addressed infant feeding issues in the United States.

From the guide to the Organization records., 1966-1995 (bulk 1977-1984)., (Minnesota Historical Society)