Commissar SFLUFAN Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 The AP published this extensive report about what amounts to modern-day slavery several days ago, but it's gotten buried among...well...y'know. http://apnews.com//branding/apple-touch/ap-news-apple-touch-167.png Palm oil labor abuses linked to world’s top brands, banks APNEWS.COM PENINSULAR MALAYSIA (AP) — Jum’s words tumble out over the phone, his voice growing ever more frantic. Between sobs, he says he’s trapped on a Malaysian plantation run by government-owned... Quote An Associated Press investigation found many like Jum in Malaysia and neighboring Indonesia – an invisible workforce consisting of millions of laborers from some of the poorest corners of Asia, many of them enduring various forms of exploitation, with the most serious abuses including child labor, outright slavery and allegations of rape. Together, the two countries produce about 85 percent of the world’s estimated $65 billion palm oil supply. Palm oil is virtually impossible to avoid. Often disguised on labels as an ingredient listed by more than 200 names, it can be found in roughly half the products on supermarket shelves and in most cosmetic brands. It’s in paints, plywood, pesticides and pills. It’s also present in animal feed, biofuels and even hand sanitizer. The AP interviewed more than 130 current and former workers from two dozen palm oil companies who came from eight countries and labored on plantations across wide swaths of Malaysia and Indonesia. Almost all had complaints about their treatment, with some saying they were cheated, threatened, held against their will or forced to work off unsurmountable debts. Others said they were regularly harassed by authorities, swept up in raids and detained in government facilities. They included members of Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya minority, who fled ethnic cleansing in their homeland only to be sold into the palm oil industry. Fishermen who escaped years of slavery on boats also described coming ashore in search of help, but instead ending up being trafficked onto plantations -- sometimes with police involvement. The AP used the most recently published data from producers, traders and buyers of the world’s most-consumed vegetable oil, as well as U.S. Customs records, to link the laborers’ palm oil and its derivatives from the mills that process it to the supply chains of top Western companies like the makers of Oreo cookies, Lysol cleaners and Hershey’s chocolate treats. Reporters witnessed some abuses firsthand and reviewed police reports, complaints made to labor unions, videos and photos smuggled out of plantations and local media stories to corroborate accounts wherever possible. In some cases, reporters tracked down people who helped enslaved workers escape. More than a hundred rights advocates, academics, clergy members, activists and government officials also were interviewed. In response, the US has blocked importation of palm oil from one of the Malaysian producers featured in the report. US restricts palm oil imports from Malaysia over alleged forced labor abuses WWW.CNN.COM US Customs and Border Protection will block imports of palm oil and palm oil products from Malaysia in the latest move by the agency targeting overseas forced labor practices. Quote US Customs and Border Protection will block imports of palm oil and palm oil products from Malaysia in the latest move by the agency targeting overseas forced labor practices. The restrictions, which went into effect on Wednesday, take aim at all palm oil produced by FGV Holdings Berhad, a Malaysian-based agricultural company, and come after a yearlong CBP investigation into labor abuses. CBP uncovered indicators of forced labor including physical and sexual violence, debt bondage, retention of identification documents and withholding of wages, said Brenda Smith, executive assistant commissioner of CBP's Office of Trade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 Palm oil should be straight up banned. Full stop. This is the icing on the shit cake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 8 minutes ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said: Palm oil should be straight up banned. Full stop. This is the icing on the shit cake Not possible. Unfortunately, palm oil is easily the most sustainable oil on the planet. These countries need to be put on stiff sanctions with international supervision of their farms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b_m_b_m_b_m Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 11 minutes ago, Ghost_MH said: Not possible. Unfortunately, palm oil is easily the most sustainable oil on the planet. These countries need to be put on stiff sanctions with international supervision of their farms. Palm oil production is destroying indonesian and Malay rainforests causing massive releases of carbon http://www.ucsusa.org//themes/custom/ucstheme/assets/favicon.ico Palm Oil WWW.UCSUSA.ORG Found in everything from shampoo to donuts, palm oil is now the most common vegetable oil in the world—and also one of the world's leading deforestation drivers. Palm oil is great for it's shelf life for packaged foods Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bacon Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 My hands are so dry. Please, stop taking my palm oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghost_MH Posted October 3, 2020 Share Posted October 3, 2020 8 hours ago, b_m_b_m_b_m said: Palm oil production is destroying indonesian and Malay rainforests causing massive releases of carbon http://www.ucsusa.org//themes/custom/ucstheme/assets/favicon.ico Palm Oil WWW.UCSUSA.ORG Found in everything from shampoo to donuts, palm oil is now the most common vegetable oil in the world—and also one of the world's leading deforestation drivers. Palm oil is great for it's shelf life for packaged foods Like I said, it would be great if the countries producing it could be reigned in. Like I get it, right. The US and China got to where they are through slave labor and wanton pollution/destruction. However we're at a point in history where we can maybe reflect on that and help other nations skip that step toward modernization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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