Got (Wet Nurse) Milk?
September 26th, 2008
Just read this Wall Street Journal [subscription required] article, Got Milk: Chinese Crisis Creates a Market for Human Alternatives. Fascinating stuff. What do you think? Is it ethical for said Chinese moms to sell their breast milk? Is it ethical for the other moms to use and buy it? Is it ethical for the husbands of both to support or not support?
If so/not, what ethical theory or model are you relying on to get to your result and conclusion — utilitarianism, legal positivism, other? Are you consistent in the ethical model you apply in your life, or, do you pick and choose and apply the one that best suits you to get to the result you wish to obtain?
And is one way to totally screw up this new market that has developed and seems to be working reasonably well for all sides for the Chinese government to step in and regulate it (i.e., “I am from the government and I am here to help you” - to which I say … “RUN!! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!!).
And why do you think wet nurses disappeared from the West?
Thanks to my colleague Bradford Anderson, for the article heads up.
Entry Filed under: China
3 Comments Add your own
1. Morgan O'Hara | October 2nd, 2008 at 10:26 pm
What struck me was the comment by Mr. Xiao, who would not allow his baby’s wet nurse to breast feed her own child - “If she feeds my son while her own son is crying, I cannot stand that.” Therein lies one distinct difference between our cultures – a sense of compassion for one’s fellow man, or wet nurse. Not saying that Chinese aren’t compassionate – but their consideration is mostly reserved to their family, friends and associates. In China there is a huge difference between insiders and outsiders. An excerpt from Mary Erbaug’s China blog:
“Chinese adults traditionally avoid even superficial greetings to strangers. This preserves a distinction between insiders and outsiders (nei wai you bie) which honors insiders but deflects con artists and unwelcome requests. People remain wary until they know someone’s title, surname, and background through networks of connections (guanxi) with kin, classmates, and colleagues. People do not say “hello” even to neighbors on the street.”
The recent Dujiangyan earthquake was a great tragedy – it was also considered by some to be a transformative event for the country. Chinese were so moved by images of survivors searching for children in the rubble that they traveled to the disaster zone to help. Initially the government issued a media warning, but many journalists sensed that the story was too big. They reported on the earthquake, and their countrymen were transfixed; China mourned, but also seemed to collectively rise.
Now with the tainted milk scandal, the government again tried to put a lid on things – successfully, for a while. I don’t think most Chinese would favor government intervention into the wet nurse market. At the moment, they’re not too trusting of the authorities. But that brings up another interesting issue: how the Chinese view their government. While they’re well aware of corruption, a common belief is that it only takes place at the municipal level. Their top leaders are beyond reproach. The president is viewed as benevolent and wise, always working to counter the unscrupulous local politicians intent on getting rich. Were their President to get involved and tell people that it was time to go back to the formula milk and stop this wet nurse craze, I think most parents would follow suit. He is the ultimate insider in a world of outsiders.
2. Simeon Trieu | October 5th, 2008 at 10:49 am
[quote]“Why not,” says his 24-year-old wife, Tina Huang, a mother in the southern Chinese boomtown of Shenzhen who says she produces more milk than her own 2-month-old baby can use. “It’s a pity that I waste my breast milk when I see on TV so many kids with no milk to drink because of the contaminated powder.”[/quote]
That’s the main reason why Chinese do this. Ethics, unfortunately, are limited in China, and utilitarianism is the predominant way of thinking. That’s why milk vendors are willing to cut costs by putting melamine in milk, because if you can cut the costs, then that’s all the people care about, until they find out (if they ever do). As I have discovered in China, they are incredibly price elastic and many businesses cannot make it either because of incumbents or simply because of the sheer number of market entrants. So, it is the fault of the people, for not looking into products just because they are recommended, and for the industry, for not adhering to quality standards that will keep them at the top of their markets.
3. Simeon Trieu | October 5th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Sorry, went a little off topic.
But I wanted to show just how easy it is start a new business and not care about either quality or ethics. The economy is driven mostly by utilitarianism that will be drive new markets, not just breast milk. And hey, as Tina Huang said, it helps others who must use formula instead of breast milk.
Leave a Comment
Some HTML allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>
Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed