"M&M/Mars Company owners are contributing to child slave labor practices today in Africa"

[Bluebear]

1/30/07

Steffanie Rivers, an EUR contributing columnist and the catalyst of the boycott, also is organizing a protest in front of M&M/Mars Company headquarters near Washington, DC. M&M/Mars is the largest chocolate company in the world with annual sales of $16 billion.

“M&M/Mars Company owners are contributing to child slave labor practices today in Africa because they refuse to pay cocoa farmers fair prices for their product,” Rivers said.

She said their act of omission has a ripple effect.

“When farmers make little to no profit on their cocoa, they pay farm workers – mostly school-age children – no money for their year round labor.”

Much like in the U.S. tobacco industry, fair trade cooperatives guarantee a minimum price paid for products. Coffee beans and bananas are products successfully sold through international cooperatives.

“When children are forced to work for little to no pay and they’re kept from getting a quality education, everyone involved is contributing to the creation of a permanent underclass. That’s mental and physical abuse no matter how you look at it.”

Not only does M&M/Mars hold the distinction as the largest chocolate company in the world, it’s the fourth largest, privately owned company in the United States. The company’s three owners (members of the Mars family) are worth more than $10 billion each. With money like that, Rivers says they can afford to pay Ivory Coast farmers fair prices on the front end for their cocoa without raising consumer prices for their chocolate on the back end. Americans spend more than $13 million every year on chocolate products. Most of that money is spent during Valentine’s Day, Easter and Halloween.

Rivers is calling for a 28-day chocolate fast starting Feb. 1st. Valentine’s Day, the biggest moneymaker in the chocolate industry, is two weeks away.

http://www.eurweb.com/story/eur31156.cfm

(Snickers makes a bad ad choice, uppity gays look into it, you never know what you will uncover.)

[JackBeck]

1. Should be interesting to see if DUers will support these labor practices.

[Ian David]

8. And why would you think we'd approve of this? n/t

[JackBeck]

12. Bluebear knows what I'm talking about.

But there are people here today who feel it's OK for Mars to produce a homophobic campaign for their Snickers bar. Hence, the "uppity gay" comment in the OP.

[Ian David]

15. A bunch of the posts in that thread are from a person or people on my ignore list.

That makes me blissfully unaware of how heinous some of my fellow DUers can be.

If there's a post that uses the word "uppity," then it's from someone who is already dead to me (and that looks like it was a good call on my part to put them on ignore).

Let me know what I need to do to get your back on this.

[JackBeck]

38. I think many of us have a sneaky suspicion who you are talking about. n/t

[Bluebear]

13. See ad apologists at:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=128937&mesg_id=128937

[spoony]

14. I didn't see anyone there supporting

slave labour.

[Bluebear]

16. Is that a joke?

[spoony]

17. You were asked about people supporting such

labour practices. You provided a link to people talking about a television ad, not the ad's company's labour forces. What is the connexion? That people who don't think the ad is homophobic automatically excuse them of bad labour conditions?

[Bluebear]

18. I was answering a question that IanDB1 posted, thanks. nt

[spoony]

19. No, you answered a question IanDB1 didn't ask, instead.

[Bluebear]

23. Oh OK, thank you for pointing that out.

:crazy:

[goclark]

2. If that Snickers, I won't bite nt

[verdalaven]

3. This one is going to hurt

UGH!

[femmedem]

9. It doesn't have to hurt.

If you live in or near an urban area, that is. Fair Trade stores almost always sell chocolate.

[Bucky]

47. Not with caramel and nuts and whipped nougat they don't. I just loves me that whipped nougat

I don't even know what the heck nougat is. Hell, I don't even know if I'm spelling it right. For all I know if I ever found out what it is, I wouldn't wanna eat it. As it stands now that's all academic. I'm off Snicker's. Thanks a friggin' LOT, third world child laborers!

Seriously, tho' I need to find a couple of articles to post this up at school. Some of my kids care about this stuff too.

[Bluebear]

52. 'I don't even know what the heck nougat is.'

:)

[hlthe2b]

4. We need to inform everyone of ALL their products...

I didn't realize they (Mars, Inc., distributed by Master Foods) made M&Ms, for instance...

Here's a list I just found:

Masterfoods USA
Following are web sites for brands sold by this company (Mars, Inc):

Category Brand Web site
Drinks FLAVIA www.myflavia.com
Main meals MASTERFOODSERVICES www.masterfoodservices.com
Main meals UNCLE BEN'S www.unclebens.com
Petcare CESAR www.cesar.com
Petcare PEDIGREE www.pedigree.com
Petcare SHEBA www.sheba.com
Petcare WALTHAM www.waltham.com
Petcare WHISKAS www.whiskas.com
Petcare BUCKEYE www.buckeyenutrition.com
Snackfoods 3 MUSKETEERS www.3musketeers.com
Snackfoods CELEBRATIONS www.celebrations365.com
Snackfoods COMBOS www.combos.com
Snackfoods COOKIES& www.cookiesand.com
Snackfoods DOVE www.dovechocolate.com
Snackfoods ETHEL-M www.ethelm.com
Snackfoods KUDOS www.kudosbar.com
Snackfoods M&M'S www.colorworks.com
Snackfoods M&M'S www.marsbrightideas.com
Snackfoods M&M'S www.mms.com
Snackfoods MILKY WAY www.milkywaybar.com
Snackfoods SKITTLES www.skittles.com
Snackfoods SNICKERS www.snickers.com
Snackfoods STARBURST www.starburst.com
Snackfoods TWIX

[Kurovski]

24. Dove, M&M's and Three Musketeers are the things I'll be omitting

from any future shopping lists.

I never touch the other stuff.

[hlthe2b]

27. M& Ms and snickers-- used to be among my occasional

temptations...

Good excuse to kick the habit, I suppose.

[Kurovski]

30. Dove dark is the only thing I've purchased recently, but I USED to buy

Three Musketeers every Halloween.

[femmedem]

5. My local Fair Trade store sells great chocolate.

I can have my chocolate and eat it too. :)

[Kire]

6. I can smell the chocolate from my house

here in Hackettstown (NJ)

I got pretty upset about child slave labor practices last year, so I contacted Freetheslaves.net about what I can do from here:

This is an email I wrote to some of my DFA friends on 6/27/05:

free the slaves called me about m&m's

apparently, m&m's is already working closely with them. the CEO's really agree that this is a big problem, but the industry is so complicated that they can't snap their fingers and stop slavery, but they are working closely with free the slaves, which does rescue operations and research, and just about anything to fight this problem. they are the leaders in this very new type of activism.

they don't want anyone to boycott chocolate for the slaves' sake because if chocolate is not in demand, those slaves will be moved to another industry, like horsing, that is a lot more difficult to monitor. I bought a milky way, today. should have bought a hershey's bar just cuz it tastes better, to me, but I bought a milky way

You can read all about what Free the Slaves.net is doing for the world here:

http://www.freetheslaves.net

[Pathwalker]

7. How many of these ads were there? I only saw one,

where they pulled out their own chest hairs. Who did the one where all the men kept slapping each other?
Can we boycott them, too?

[Bluebear]

10. I am so sorry, you keep asking about the ad where all the men slap each other

I understand it was memorable for you, but I really have no idea who did it.

[sakabatou]

11. Well, more reason to buy other chocolate

[Kurovski]

20. No more M&M's. Fuck 'em.

I can do without.

I really hate those creepy-assed talking M&M's on the commercials, and now they look even CREEPIER.

I hope they get a clue or go out of business.

[Kurovski]

22. ...and a RECOMMEND for the uppity gay boy, Bluebear.

:-)

[Mend]

34. have you ever seen the M & M commercial with the slave ship?

these starved men in diapers are chained up and rowing while the bosses whip them. Then two M & Ms are up front laughing. Has anyone else seen this or are we hallucinating, it is such a bad, disgusting ad.

[Connie_Corleone]

21. No more M&Ms and Snickers for me. tn

[Kurovski]

25. Kick,(nt)

[terrya]

26. Thank you.

One would hope that people around here would find THIS indefensible.

Sickening for a company to engage in supporting child slave labor.

Thank you for posting this. I hope it opened some eyes.

[Maven]

28. Kick.

[entanglement]

29. Must read for DUers who believe megacorps are benign entities that 'give away' billions

to poor people around the world at the expense of Americans. :eyes:

[IndyOp]

31. Endangered Species Chocolate Bars...

You will *never* taste better chocolate and you can enjoy it knowing that you are helping cocoa farmers, children, and the planet... Endangered Species Bestsellers :loveya:

Our cocoa is 100% ethically traded. Philosophically, ethical trade and fair trade are one in the very same. We buy our cocoa from small family-owned properties, helping sustain the habitats and communities they are in. This cocoa is grown in the natural shade of rich, diverse forests. Choosing our chocolate is one way you can help support sustainable forest farmland and the species that flourish there. Since our cocoa is ethically traded, farmers are ensured humane working conditions and a fair price for their cocoa or a fair wage.

Our all-natural cocoa grows in Nigeria, where farmers determine a fair price for their own crops. In February 2006, four Endangered Species Chocolate team members traveled to the Ikom region of Nigeria where this all-natural cacao is harvested. While observing ethical trade in action, Endangered Species Chocolate sponsored the provision of school supplies for children and the installation of water pumps for two local villages.

Up and through summer 2006, our organic products have been Fair Trade Certified TM through Trans Fair and our organic cocoa has been sourced at Conacado Co-op in the Dominican Republic. Effective this summer, Endangered Species Chocolate will dedicate the dollars previously earmarked for Trans Fair certification to directly support the farmers in the Conacado Co-op, where we will continue to source our cocoa. Our sourcing program will continue to ensure the cocoa farmers in the Conacado Co-op a fair wage.

[Bluebear]

32. Organic Milk Chocolate with Key Lime

mmmmmmmmmmmm

[bear425]

33. Good stuff! This is my favorite:

IMO it pays to buy the real deal when it comes to chocolate.

[IndyOp]

35. My favorite is the Panda Bar - dark on white choc! :-) (n/t)

[bear425]

36. Yummy! And what could be bad about this company's credo

Ethically Traded
Our cocoa is 100% ethically traded. Philosophically, ethical trade and fair trade are one in the very same. We buy our cocoa from small family-owned properties, helping sustain the habitats and communities they are in. This cocoa is grown in the natural shade of rich, diverse forests. Choosing our chocolate is one way you can help support sustainable forest farmland and the species that flourish there. Since our cocoa is ethically traded, farmers are ensured humane working conditions and a fair price for their cocoa or a fair wage.

http://www.chocolatebar.com/story.htm

Good source for Valentine's Day chocolate as far as I can see!

edit: oops I see you already posted this info. The thoughts of chocolate must have made me woozy.

[Bluebear]

48. Just placed an order, thank you for making us aware! nt

[Pithlet]

49. Those are really good.

The gift shop at the local zoo sells them. Expensive, so it's a rare treat.

[JackBeck]

37. K&R

[Duncan Grant]

39. K&R

:kick:

[nam78_two]

40. K&R.nt

[JackRiddler]

41. kick

[Name removed]

42. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Reterr]

43. K&R/NT

[Bucky]

44. *Sigh* I guess my Snickers boycott is back on

I didn't even get a chance to run to the store and buy a new one before I found this out. Thanks a LOT, Bluebear.

[Kurovski]

45. Aren't "Turtles" basically the same as a Snickers?

High thee to the nearest Fannie-May, or whatever it's called in your neck of the woods.:-)

[AspenRose]

50. Turtles don't have nougat.

Snickers bars have nougat. Also Turtles are usually made with pecans; Snickers bars are made with peanuts.

[Kurovski]

51. And you are correct!

Oh, well. it's not the last time I'll make a worthless suggestion.:-)

[Bluebear]

46. We aim to please LOL nt

[dennisnyc]

53. and they own Seeds of Change (organic seed provider)

www.seedsofchange.com

owned by Mars

[Kurovski]

54. Sure enough, they are owned by Mars. (nt)