On March 21, the Facebook page Salte published the program “Politics Hour with Tamta Karchava,” featuring political scientist Irakli Gogava as a guest. During the show, Gogava made the following claims:
- A supposed example of anti-family propaganda is the evolution of Nestlé’s logo. In the 1950s-60s, the logo depicted a bird’s nest with a mother, father, and three chicks. However, in the 1970s, two chicks were removed;
- Ultrasonography emits microwaves toward the fetus, which is actually radiation;
- The food industry adds “birth rate-regulating substances” – such as preservatives and fluoride – to food and beverages, and fluoride reduces fertility. In the 1990s, chlorine was added to Tbilisi’s drinking water, but in 2007, then-President Mikheil Saakashvili allegedly instructed the Minister of Environmental Protection to approve the addition of fluoride.
The claims made by Irakli Gogava on the air of “Salte” are not true:
- The Nestlé logo never featured a father bird, but only a mother bird and three chicks. In 1988, one chick was removed as part of a simplification effort. There is an interpretation that this change reflected the reduction of the standard family size too. Additionally, the claim that Nestlé promotes anti-family propaganda is disinformation. In reality, the company actively supports employees who have children or wish to start a family;
- Ultrasound, or ultrasonography, is one of the primary diagnostic tools in medicine. It is a completely safe procedure for pregnant women and all individuals, and it does not emit radiation;
- In some countries, fluoride is added to drinking water to protect the population from dental cavities, and studies have not confirmed any negative impact on fertility. As for Georgia, the water supply company, Georgian Water and Power, states that fluoride has never been added to Tbilisi’s drinking water and only chlorine is used.
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Only One Chick Was Removed from Nestlé’s Logo to Simplify It and Reflect Standard Family Size
The claim that Nestlé’s original logo featured a mother and father bird with three chicks, and that two chicks were later removed, is disinformation. The logo never depicted a father bird, and in 1968, only one chick was removed from it. As for the claim that the logo change is part of anti-family propaganda, that is a personal interpretation with no real evidence.
The company Nestlé was founded by Henri Nestlé in 1866, and its original logo was based on the Nestlé family’s coat of arms. The coat of arms depicted a single bird sitting in a nest. The design is a reference to the family name, which translates from German as “nest.”
Throughout the trademark’s history, Nestlé’s logo underwent two major changes. The first significant change occurred in 1968, which resulted in a completely new logo featuring a mother bird feeding (with a worm) three chicks in a nest. The new design emphasized the company’s production of artificial baby food.
Before 1988, Nestlé’s subsidiaries operated on the market under their own brand names, but after that period, they were standardized under the Nestlé brand name. That same year, 1988, the logo underwent its second major redesign, becoming significantly simplified. The worm in the mother bird’s beak was removed, and instead of three chicks, only two were left in the nest.
Nestlé has never provided an official explanation regarding the symbolic meaning of its logo redesign. However, some interpretations suggest that the change reflected the average family size at the time – before the 1980s, families with three children were more common. As regards the removal of the worm from the mother bird’s beak, it illustrates the expansion of activities of the company, no longer focused only on baby food production.
Source: Population Connection
The claim that Nestlé engages in anti-family propaganda is manipulative and unsupported by real evidence. The company’s website provides details on its parental support policy, which offers various forms of assistance to both biological and adoptive parents. As part of its parental support policy, Nestlé provides 18 weeks of paid and 8 weeks of unpaid parental leave, reimbursement for fertility treatment medications, breast pumps and additional materials for nursing mothers upon request, and a support program for new mothers, including consultations with lactation specialists and other advisors.
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Ultrasound Is a Safe Procedure and Does Not Emit Radiation
Ultrasound scan, or ultrasonography, is one of the most essential diagnostic tools in modern medicine for detecting various diseases. It is a painless and non-invasive (external, without penetration into the body) method. Additionally, the procedure does not use ionizing radiation/X-rays, making it completely safe for pregnant women. One of the most important purposes of ultrasound diagnostics is monitoring pregnancy; it is through this method that fetal health is assessed and biological sex is determined.
Ultrasound imaging technology has been widely used for over 20 years and is characterized by the highest safety standards. This technique captures images of the body’s internal structures using high-frequency sound waves. Unlike X-rays or other diagnostic methods, ultrasound imaging does not rely on radiation. Instead, sound waves penetrate the body, and the echoes are processed by a computer to generate visual images.
Source: Omar S. Al-Kadi
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), although ultrasound is a safe procedure, improper use has the potential to produce certain biological effects; for example, it may cause a slight heating of body tissues. To prevent such occurrences, the FDA advises both patients and doctors to avoid unnecessary ultrasound examinations.
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Water Fluoridation Does Not Occur in Georgia. In general, the purpose of adding fluoride to drinking water is to protect the population from dental cavities, and studies have not confirmed its negative impact on fertility.
The claim that during Mikheil Saakashvili’s presidency in 2007, the Ministry of Environment allowed the addition of fluoride to water cannot be found on the website of the Legislative Herald of Georgia. A 2006 decree issued by the Minister of Labor, Health, and Social Affairs of Georgia only mentions disinfection of centralized and local drinking water supplies using chlorine and the sanitation of water supply facilities.
To verify whether fluoride is added to Tbilisi’s drinking water, Myth Detector contacted the Georgian Water and Power (GWP) company, which supplies drinking water not only to the capital but also to the cities of Rustavi and Mtskheta. In its written response, GWP stated that the disinfection of drinking water in these cities is carried out solely through chlorination and that the company has never conducted water fluoridation in the past or at present.
Fluoride is a naturally occurring substance found in rocks, and it is commonly present in water. Small amounts of fluoride are naturally found in various foods as well, but fluoride is not typically added to processed foods, and people receive fluoride mostly through fluoridated water and toothpaste.
However, certain processed foods and beverages may contain higher fluoride levels if they are made with fluoridated water or contain fluoride-rich ingredients. For example, black tea and coffee naturally contain fluoride, as plants absorb minerals from the soil. Additionally, mollusks may accumulate fluoride in their shells from water sources.
In some countries, water fluoridation is indeed practiced to reduce the risk of dental cavities and strengthen teeth and bones. A study conducted in Pakistan in the early 2000s revealed that people who consumed fluoridated water had significantly lower rates of cavities compared to those who drank non-fluoridated water.
Water fluoridation has been practiced in the United States since the 1960s. For more details on U.S. water fluoridation, see the article by Myth Detector:
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the recommended daily fluoride intake for adult men is 4 mg, while for adult women (including pregnant and breastfeeding mothers), it is 3 mg. The upper limit is 10 mg.
As regards fluoride’s impact on fertility, there is research in this area, but it is limited and does not provide conclusive evidence that fluoride directly affects fertility levels.
For example, a study on pregnant women living in Canadian cities where water fluoridation is systematically implemented found no impact on fertility. According to the study results, systematic water fluoridation (0.7 mg/L) does not negatively affect fertility, birth weight, newborn size and sex, pregnancy duration, or preterm birth.
On the other hand, a 2003 study conducted in Mexico on men with varying levels of fluoride exposure showed different outcomes. In men with high fluoride (3-27 mg/L) exposure (those working in fluoride-related industries), fluoride had a toxic effect on Sertoli cells (which support sperm development). The authors of the study concluded that further research is necessary to determine fluoride’s impact on fertility, especially in populations exposed to high fluoride concentrations.
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