tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72655454201271194332024-02-18T19:14:51.891-08:0016 Weeks to Save The WorldRecognizing that human rights, including civil, political, economic, and social, are inextricably entwined with concerns regarding consumerism, sustainability, and environmental rights, we decided to challenge our perceptions by changing the way we think about buying. Follow us for the next 16 weeks as we share with you, in our humble opinions, how to save the world.Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-78192716067164759532010-12-01T19:24:00.000-08:002010-12-01T20:12:46.905-08:00Water, Water, Everywhere.It's not often that something a large corporation does gets me excited, at least not in a good way. But in the last three days I've had two experiences that make me think that there's hope for us to save the world, after all. <div><br /></div><div>I had previously read an article in <a href="http://chronicle.com/article/Thinking-Outside-the-Bottle/124601/">The Chronicle</a> about how some universities were finding it challenging to implement certain green practices -- chiefly, trying to reduce the number of plastic water bottles thrown away on campuses everyday. Some schools were installing water bottle refilling stations, and decreasing the places where bottled water could be purchased on campus. One institution went so far as to distribute portable, reusable water bottles to all of their plant operations and facilities staff (eliminating the need for the $20k spent annually on bottled water for those employees alone!) Far out!!! I had little hope of seeing such stations on KSU's campus, however, because despite participating in a nationwide study of sustainability in higher education, KSU is a benchmark institution. (Read: KSU is signed up to participate, but doesn't actually have to take any initiatives, so that those schools who do can have their progress measured against our stagnancy.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Being aware of this, I was so thrilled when I came across the following in the Social Sciences building earlier this week, that I had to snap a picture as proof that it was real!</div><div><br /></div><div>One particularly nifty feature of this filling station is that it </div><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-A_P32SxGAEMANiBDi0r25_IS2Iwh3tUn2185wgVxLCu6aWEeHqftdjJzwxKjKEYroxPOCof2Lx2XvKI6zv7XMxXcDETWpnegcVmvXuin6d0Zrf0mfXOZXe48j05T04aNXHIDR9_HPqs/s320/100_3303.JPG" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5545925771266885954" /><div>has a counter to track the number of bottles it is keeping </div><div>from being thrown away. Clearly, it had only been recently installed, as the number was only at 9 when I took this picture. However, passing by a mere 1.5 hours later, that number was already up to 16. It had nearly doubled! Now, this is the only filling station I've seen on campus so far, but I really hope it's the beginning of a trend. I personally tend to refill my own water bottle about twice a day, on average. Just imagine, on a campus with nearly 25,000 students, faculty and staff, if only half of those people used this once a day instead of purchasing a bottle of water, how many hundreds of thousands of bottles we can eliminate from landfills, and even from the need for expensive and energy-draining recycling!!! (Ok, maybe I'm getting a little <i>too</i> excited about this, but is anybody with me??)</div><div><br /></div><div>An interesting fact about that Chronicle article, though. Some of the schools who were trying to initiate measures such as these were coming up against some harsh obstacles -- in the name of corporations such as Coca-Cola who have very lucrative vending machine contracts with such institutions, and who do not want to see their profits diminish for the sake of a measly little thing like the environment. (*Ahem* Coca-Cola Crimes, part II, anyone?)</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The second thing that happened this week that made me think there's hope for America is that I had the opportunity to participate in a survey for a large company (though I can't say who) that runs a major U.S. attraction and is trying to prioritize their environmental initiatives based on the feedback from their audience. Given the questions these guys were asking, they're not just talking about greenwashing, either. They're looking at some truly significant ways to make their operation more energy efficient, environmentally friendly and responsible, and to support sustainable sources and practices at every level of their operations. Some of the things they were inquiring about are really exciting. I only hope that other survey participants share my enthusiasm for what they are trying to do, and will express their support of these efforts. It just goes to show that companies will listen, if we the consumers will <b>just speak up!</b></div><div><br /></div>M-Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00540752183806400651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-88975872478249316442010-11-21T08:04:00.000-08:002010-11-21T08:17:50.371-08:00coca-cola crimes: part 1<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39323000/jpg/_39323993_cocaplant.jpg"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> 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Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> </a><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Since this blog has already tainted my enjoyment of coffee, chocolate, chicken, toys, technology, and clothing, I was wondering what I could add to the list of things we love to consume as United Statesians, but destroy our planet and the lives of other people around the world. What could be dearer to the hearts of Atlantans than Coca-Cola? </p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>I most definitely limit my consumption of Coke for nutritional reasons, but have for years sung the praises of its tastiness and unquestionable superiority to Pepsi. What I’m saying is: I drink Coke. But should I? Should you? Does the Coca-Cola company have any skeletons in their closet? </p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p style="text-align: left;" class="MsoNormal"> <span style=""> </span>As usual, I shared my desire to ruin Coke for my readers with my husband. As usual, he had something interesting and helpful to share with me: killercoke.org. He often works at the Georgia World Congress Center, which is very close to the World of Coke museum in downtown Atlanta. He told me that he has seen an advertising truck driving around Centennial Olympic park promoting the web site and playing music and messages over loudspeakers to raise awareness about “killer coke.” Hmmm . . . Is this a health issue? Nope. To my incredible surprise, killercoke.org is trying to raise awareness of Coca-Cola bottling plant abuses in Guatemala and Colombia. Further research showed that coke has also created quite a few enemies in India as well. 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</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 12pt; text-align: left;"> Coke opened a bottling plant in the Plachimada community in India in 2000. Since then, the companies practices have contributed (greatly) to a lack of water for the community (because Coke’s wells are sucking up all of the water) and pollution (because Coke’s waste and product are toxic). Local farmers have been affected the most. Aside from their water supply being depleted, they are being pandered to by the company by having Coke’s “toxic sludge” marketed to them as fertilizer. This “fertilizer” has been shown to contain high levels of cadmium, a carcinogen that can build up in the kidneys causing serious illness. The cadmium has now spread to the ground water as well. (More here: <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3096893.stm">http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3096893.stm</a>) </p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; text-align: left;"> The high levels of pesticides (yes, pesticides) that have been found IN the actual Coca-Cola products in this region have led many farmers to simply spray Coke on their fields rather than purchase the actual pesticides themselves! Other farmers who cannot take watching the destruction of their crops and land have simply resorted to suicide—over 20,000 farmers in Western and Southern India have commit suicide in the last ten years. Not all of these can be blamed directly or only on Coca-Cola, but the company is definitely playing a role in the devastation of this region of our planet. And while the people suffered, Coke’s profits soared since it was withdrawing the water for free and paying very little for waste disposal. (This situation is further detailed here: <span class="z3988">AIYER, A. (2007). THE ALLURE OF THE TRANSNATIONAL: Notes on Some Aspects of the Political Economy of Water in India <i>Cultural Anthropology, 22</i>, no. 4. And here: <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2010/03/coca-cola_in_india_good_till_t.php">http://scienceblogs.com/primatediaries/2010/03/coca-cola_in_india_good_till_t.php</a>)</span></p><div style="text-align: left;"> </div><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; text-align: left;"><span class="z3988"> </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; text-align: left;"><span class="z3988">Stay tuned for the story of violence against union organizers in Latin American bottling plants . . . </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="z3988"> </span></p> </div>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-53219513373209012822010-11-17T20:03:00.000-08:002010-11-17T20:07:45.705-08:00everything kind of sucks right now<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Another old blog entry from July of 2008 that I feel fits in well here. Considering no one ever read anything I wrote back then, I am happy to repost here for your reading pleasure.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigN7B4izxaDGgYw_tLrl7CXPAaQiQQJ_8peXKiobd7t1Ja0r4A3Asr5DGs918moryCtQaLaEvu1OMGxGdjj9gkz1Y4EdUm1nnX4E6e7zi4ty41undiRWGJxZxWLnKRh05K_5JFbeoXJj7x/s1600-h/fat+person+eatign+cake.jpg"><br /></a> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal">As an American who celebrated the birthday of her country the other day, I must say I am disappointed. I am disappointed in myself and in the rest of this country. I read this article: </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p><a style="font-family: verdana;">America's Bad Mood</a><p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal">and at first I agreed with it. Yeah, everything kind of sucks right now. Yeah, the rest of the world despises us. Yeah, we have more than anyone else has ever had. Yeah, people are still depressed. Yup, yup, yup. But why? I can give an answer--it probably won’t be very popular. I’m giving it anyway:</p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal">We are all lazy, greedy escapists who don’t want to admit that our lush lifestyle is destroying the rest of the world. We all know it in the back of our heads, though, and so we feel empty, sad, and scared and we try to claim that we don’t know why. </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal">Are you feeling depressed? Have you lost all joy in life?</p><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigN7B4izxaDGgYw_tLrl7CXPAaQiQQJ_8peXKiobd7t1Ja0r4A3Asr5DGs918moryCtQaLaEvu1OMGxGdjj9gkz1Y4EdUm1nnX4E6e7zi4ty41undiRWGJxZxWLnKRh05K_5JFbeoXJj7x/s1600-h/fat+person+eatign+cake.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigN7B4izxaDGgYw_tLrl7CXPAaQiQQJ_8peXKiobd7t1Ja0r4A3Asr5DGs918moryCtQaLaEvu1OMGxGdjj9gkz1Y4EdUm1nnX4E6e7zi4ty41undiRWGJxZxWLnKRh05K_5JFbeoXJj7x/s320/fat+person+eatign+cake.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5219948966461777730" border="0" /></a><p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal">Well maybe that is because your subconscious mind understands that while you sit in bed feeling sorry for yourself and worrying about the price of gas there are children in Africa who are starving to death or dying of AIDS. There are funerals for innocent victims of terrorism all over the world. Our own young men and women are sacrificing their lives in Iraq for you. How does that make you feel? They are there for you. So you can put gas in your car and drive to the mall and buy shit you don’t need. Aren’t you proud of them? They volunteer to go to war so they can pay for college or support their families or become citizens. Can we not offer our young people a better option? Do you think they really support the war or even understand why they are fighting it? Maybe they do, maybe they don’t--I can’t speak for them. But I can speak for myself and I say I am willing to sacrifice my lifestyle so we can end this thing. And when I say “this thing” I don’t just mean the war in Iraq. I mean the famine around the world because we are taking their corn to make ethanol, the fighting in Darfur, the AIDS epidemic, the energy crisis, pollution, global warming, poverty in our own country, the worlds’ low opinion of Americans in general. Are you willing to do that? I sincerely feel this way, which is why I label myself as a Socialist. I just don’t understand how people who live in million dollar homes that sit half empty and use thousands of dollars in energy can sleep at night. If you have more than you can use why don’t you share it with others? Now I understand saving for retirement, education, etc., but who really needs millions of dollars in boats, vehicles, electronics, property, etc.? It is ridiculous and it is destroying this country and the rest of the Earth. The decadence is disgusting. We sit in our homes and watch the horrors of the world on TV and tuck ourselves in tight and sleep soundly hoping that someone else will take care of it. Well, guess what: that ain’t gonna happen. If we don’t change our ways we are doomed. We might be doomed anyway, but we can at least try to make things better. And please don’t think I am pointing the finger at others, because I am guilty of these things myself. I don’t own a million dollar home, but I do play video games, watch satellite TV, drive my van, and buy things I don’t need. It’s my fault, too. I just wish it wasn’t.<br /></p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-9858009851326328292010-11-17T19:57:00.000-08:002010-11-17T20:02:32.847-08:00carbon footprints were all the rage<span style="font-family: arial;"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span></span> <div class="post-header"> </div> <div class="post-body entry-content"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycfWE093z1ifeD-EPxAoP0RSF1Mzp-qa34IDjG5Rqz4XxbOymKdTVGGG1slcIq02jiSyGN31-ysiW3FgcXlxOswtj6RM2dnARkk1Pv9CKKnqiAIor47tnmQDCEq7lSoagJyePU_9rAryA/s1600-h/reduce_carbon_footprint.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhycfWE093z1ifeD-EPxAoP0RSF1Mzp-qa34IDjG5Rqz4XxbOymKdTVGGG1slcIq02jiSyGN31-ysiW3FgcXlxOswtj6RM2dnARkk1Pv9CKKnqiAIor47tnmQDCEq7lSoagJyePU_9rAryA/s320/reduce_carbon_footprint.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230750231014699858" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);"><span style="font-size:100%;">I wrote this back in 2008 and came across it tonight. It is a diatribe on what I called "pop environmentalism." Not exactly a human rights entry, but I do think it is an interesting commentary on what we are willing to sacrifice to feed our consumerist tendencies. Enjoy:<br /><br /><br /></span></span><p class="MsoNormal">Many people are suddenly talking and thinking about their “carbon footprints.” If you don’t’ know what that is referring to, I will paraphrase: it is the impact that your actions have on the Earth’s environment. I think it is great that people are finally thinking about their actions rather than polluting, wasting, and consuming without a second thought, but has it become just another trend? A fad? Will this conscious effort to conserve pass out of fashion with last season’s shoes? I hope not, but I already see how even the good intentions of being “green” are not so great for the planet. A few examples of pop environmentalism are telecommuting to reduce pollution and using alternative fuels in vehicles. Are these really solutions to the problems of our planet or just sound bytes that make people feel “greener?”</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Living in the Atlanta area, I know what it is like to drive in traffic. And not just slight congestion and small backups at a traffic light—I’m talking stop and go traffic for 20 miles on I-75 North for hours trying to get home from the city. And that is not an anomaly, but rather the expected and everyday occurrence. Because of this and for other “environmental” reasons many people are being encouraged and are telecommuting: working from their homes, rather than driving into the city to an office. This saves fuel, time, and reduces the emissions from vehicles on the road. It also lessens the amount of repairs and maintenance needed on our roads because they are not being used by as many cars. Not driving your car to work does save you gas, but what about the energy being used to power your computer at home and at your office? What about the energy being used to cool your home and your office? What about the energy being used to power and cool the servers in the enormous building where all of your data is being stored out there in cyberspace? Because it is a real place and it is using real fuel, too. Now I do believe that working from home is a HUGE improvement to commuting to an office every day, but I am challenging you all to see that even a “green” solution is not completely without adverse effect. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">And if you do need to drive your car to work every day, why not try using an alternative fuel to petroleum? How about a renewable resource—corn, for instance! Sounds great. Let’s power our cars with corn (ethanol) and we can grow more when we run out. [Cheers heard from the entire country]. <i style="">CORN: solving our fuel problems, one kernel at a time.</i> Only it isn’t. Ethanol has created a huge demand for corn, putting extreme pressure on farmers and reducing the amount available for consumption as food. This is a major problem because many people in the world rely on corn as a staple that they cannot live without. And now that we are processing it to use in our vehicles, famine is springing up all over. We are burning food in our cars. Does this sound right? I am not willing to sacrifice the lives of innocent people so I can drive back and forth to Target three times a week. Are you?</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal">In the holy trinity of environmentalism you have: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Reduce is first! REDUCE, REDUCE, REDUCE!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFfP-HVl9StC7yuet2wSIGoHva5Wchws3y63s-GxmhCae7i0QoN2Kh1PXZSprYoffxGcw9o59T4m6_GJnCf6FLMyTuEAD-cNtBdoBV2KBmH7mSGeNjIO6VnUd8QgCFw45JoiEHO67zsGw/s1600-h/reduce_reuse_recycle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinFfP-HVl9StC7yuet2wSIGoHva5Wchws3y63s-GxmhCae7i0QoN2Kh1PXZSprYoffxGcw9o59T4m6_GJnCf6FLMyTuEAD-cNtBdoBV2KBmH7mSGeNjIO6VnUd8QgCFw45JoiEHO67zsGw/s320/reduce_reuse_recycle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5230751156508516562" border="0" /></a></p> </div><br /><div class="date-outer"><div class="date-posts"><div class="post-outer"><div class="post hentry uncustomized-post-template"><div class="post-body entry-content"><p style="font-family: verdana;" class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></div> </div> </div></div>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-33952680377140778872010-11-14T18:44:00.000-08:002010-11-14T20:23:18.516-08:00Going UncheckedThis is a video published by Human Rights Watch showing how Philip Morris International benefits from forced child labor. The company has been buying tobacco from farmers that abuse migrant workers and utilize child labor. It is amazing how a corporations as big as Philip Morris can go unchecked for so long without being exposed of their irresponsible behaviors. Hopefully, the company will follow through with the recommendations. <br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.hrw.org/en/video/2010/07/08/hellish-work-tobacco-workers-kazakhstan">www.hrw.org/en/video/2010/07/08/hellish-work-tobacco-workers-kazakhstan<br /><br /></a><object id="BLOG_video-FAILED" class="BLOG_video_class" width="320" height="266" contentid="FAILED"></object>Vida Abundantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174036608566209743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-78558875194548577522010-11-06T08:21:00.000-07:002010-11-06T17:08:18.647-07:002 Birds With One Stone (Humanely)I have struggled, as you might have been able to tell in earlier posts, with the coffee part of this whole idea. Originally, I thought this would be the easier part. I even wondered, with my focus on more ecological human rights, that if I didn't finish the coffee I already had would prove me to be wasteful and so on. And I really thought: ya know, if I throw this coffee out that I have, I would be wasting something and would be throwing away something that someone worked incredibly hard to have in my cupboard. So, for mainly environmental reasons I finished what I had at home, coffee that wasn't fair trade. <br /><br />BUT then I found out that I already had another bag of coffee that was, in fact, fair trade. A friend of mine informed of that, and said that the company absolutely refused to buy anything that wasn't a few years before and it was all over the news in the UK. So...I finished that coffee too and felt better about it than the first batch. When I ran out is when the rubber truly hit the road for me. <br /><br />I usually shop at Publix despite their anti-union this or that, and they are the closest to where I live. I was convinced I didn't have to drive 30 mins away to a farmers market or a whole foods just to find fair trade coffee. I was right! <br /><br />It wasn't easy though. A few employees looked at me like I was nuts when I asked them if they had fair trade coffee. I even had one tell me, "Sorry, we don't carry that 'brand.'" I had to explain... I was told by multiple people that they didn't carry it, whether it was a "brand" or not. I scanned and scanned the coffee aisle looking for, trying to distinguish by color or design of the bag which one would be fair trade or organic or something--anything other than the usual. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kSX_92mP8bk0x5C48DKn9E9EH0spggBL9wWw3bbNZMKFOqacYio2JuZJOspe6Jo1fS-ARJCnbMhV5SoQAMSBAsjcXB2_9fxteY17vZbBFzkKpVpg_eVwD8b-BeozsmbeHv1xPSMpen4/s1600/FairtradeLogo.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5kSX_92mP8bk0x5C48DKn9E9EH0spggBL9wWw3bbNZMKFOqacYio2JuZJOspe6Jo1fS-ARJCnbMhV5SoQAMSBAsjcXB2_9fxteY17vZbBFzkKpVpg_eVwD8b-BeozsmbeHv1xPSMpen4/s200/FairtradeLogo.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536462686848376098" /></a><br /><br />Hilariously enough, I found that Publix's Greenwise coffee is both organic AND fair trade! My roommate was ready to kill me and sneak a can of Maxwell house in my cart just to get me out of there. I realized that I was "killing 2 birds with one stone" to use a (less humane) colloquialism. I realized that I am able to ensure that I satisfy both of my goals: of supporting the environment and supporting the labor of those who produce the products we buy in a fair and reasonable way! <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy73IHVVEbzDGSHwkzD5wxjt902Tzu2cWugTktjMAqpuQ7vp-7loWzOhn8DRv6hNgTSmKihyphenhyphenPl0yfq1Ju4_9oux2NtpxTGBcK-SzQlF_nI3CiKCCdAcJQF1sN2Svy3ENGjMq9SJtZKB5E/s1600/Greenwise06.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 143px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy73IHVVEbzDGSHwkzD5wxjt902Tzu2cWugTktjMAqpuQ7vp-7loWzOhn8DRv6hNgTSmKihyphenhyphenPl0yfq1Ju4_9oux2NtpxTGBcK-SzQlF_nI3CiKCCdAcJQF1sN2Svy3ENGjMq9SJtZKB5E/s200/Greenwise06.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536463663850711346" /></a><br /><br />Also, the whole idea that buying organic and fair trade is impracticable and expensive is, frankly, a whole bunch of BS. The coffee was on sale too! The only disappointing part was that the Publix employees had no idea that they carried it and that it was their own brand that was the only one that was fair trade certified. <br /><br />I must say that the first cup of my organic and fair trade coffee was incredible. I bought it whole bean and ground it up at home. It smelled great and really was quite exciting. It was good to know that I was enjoying a product of someone else's labor in which they were getting adequately compensated--the living conditions acceptable, possibly making education a reality, and being able to put food on someone's table. At least, I hope that if I have to have my coffee, it shouldn't come at the cost of someone else's poverty. Still, I feel myself and others still have a long way to go. <br /><br />I hope that by sharing this more personal story, that others can realize it as a reality and that inaction is only a perpetuation of the conditions as they are.Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-67801933835663530752010-11-04T11:31:00.001-07:002010-11-04T11:48:19.817-07:00the cost of appleMy friend, Alex’s response to my last blog post (via Facebook) led me to read about Foxconn—an electronics company owned by the Taiwanese group Hon Hai—and working conditions at their Shenzen, China “plant.” I put “plant” in quotations marks because this place is more like a city than a factory. About 300,000 people work in this location and live on the campus or very close by. <p class="MsoNormal">There are several interesting aspects of this situation. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">First, Foxconn is a major provider of Apple products. They also supply Dell and HP and many others. But they are Apple’s primary source of products and Apple is their largest client. The company has had complaints against it in the past, resulting in an audit of the company by Apple: <a href="http://www.foxconn.com/SER_PubilcRelease_02.html">http://www.foxconn.com/SER_PubilcRelease_02.html</a> All in all, the audit was pretty positive and it sounded as if all the problems that were occurring at the time would be rectified shortly. That was in 2006.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/500x_foxconn_cyberfoxcafe.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/500x_foxconn_cyberfoxcafe.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">On the surface, the Foxconn campus looks like a super-cool college dorm, except instead of going to class, you work incredibly long hours (more on that in a minute).<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/500x_foxconn_fruitmarket.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 333px;" src="http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/11/500x_foxconn_fruitmarket.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Click on the link below to view more pictures of the Foxconn “plant.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://m.gizmodo.com/5679706/exclusive-look-living-at-foxconn">http://m.gizmodo.com/5679706/exclusive-look-living-at-foxconn</a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The line workers at Foxconn were, until recently, paid China’s minimum wage: $140 per month. Most of the workers make over double that, though, through CONSTANT OVERTIME. This is not “forced” overtime, but without it, these people are only bringing in $140/month! So, for what it costs an American to buy one iPhone, a Chinese worker has to put in crazy overtime for one month. And according to that Apple audit in 2006: “The single largest complaint (approximately 20% of interviewed workers) was the lack of overtime during non-peak periods.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Foxconn’s employees are working incredibly hard. Unfortunately, some of them have not been able to handle the stress and since the beginning of 2010, ten workers have commit suicide. Following is an excellent look at the current situation by the Financial Times:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span><a href="http://video.ft.com/v/87426190001/May-Foxconn-grapples-with-wave-of-worker-suicides">http://video.ft.com/v/87426190001/May-Foxconn-grapples-with-wave-of-worker-suicides</a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">It is obvious that even with the amenities, free housing, and opportunities for overtime and advancement, the repetitive work is not satisfactory to many employees. What can Foxconn do to make its workers happier? The company has decided to increase wages by about 20% for most employees. And as a result of this, Foxconn is raising its prices to Apple, etc. (All the boring business details here: <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE69C02P20101013">http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE69C02P20101013</a> ) </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">So, what do you all think? Is raising salaries going to stop people from committing suicide? Do you think people were killing themselves because they didn’t think they were making enough money? What else could/should Foxconn do to increase worker satisfaction? Is Foxconn’s treatment of their workers a human rights concern? Is it a violation of Chinese human rights that their labor is worth so much less than American’s? Is this communism’s fault? Is this capitalism’s fault? What say you? </p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-4893077315343938462010-11-01T10:49:00.000-07:002010-11-01T11:22:00.431-07:00sweatshops and slave labor<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/fashion/images/Nike-Sweatshops-05.jpg&sa=X&ei=3f3OTLucGsL-8AbAmciKAQ&ved=0CAQQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGc4ldMnIHtU01EBE6KKelxqf_5Eg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 600px; height: 387px;" src="http://www.google.com/url?source=imgres&ct=img&q=http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/fashion/images/Nike-Sweatshops-05.jpg&sa=X&ei=3f3OTLucGsL-8AbAmciKAQ&ved=0CAQQ8wc&usg=AFQjCNGc4ldMnIHtU01EBE6KKelxqf_5Eg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style=""><br /> </span>For weeks now, I have been trying to find information on sweatshops, companies that sell products that were manufactured in sweatshops, and how I can avoid supporting these businesses. The problem is that there is not really any way to trace many products back to their particular point of origin. There is not a great way to avoid supporting sweatshops. And even if you know a particular company uses sweatshop labor, the ways to protest this fact are not clear-cut either. <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span>Many of the things that we see on the shelves in stores are made from an array of previously manufactured items and raw materials. The varied places where these things originate from make it practically impossible to determine their exact point of origin. This fact makes it very difficult to avoid products that were made in sweatshops or similar, where humans suffer modern day slavery or severe exploitation. Sweatshops and slavery are so pervasive within the supply chain, it is almost impossible to avoid. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style=""> </span>But say we know for sure that a company is using slave or sweatshop labor; what is the best way to show that company that we do not support their business practices? The answer usually lies in the boycott, but that may not be the best solution. If an individual person (or even a small group of people) boycotts a particular producer, store, or product, it does not make much of an impact and, according to some, can actually hurt the legitimate employers and producers in the same supply chain. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <span style=""> </span>So what can we do? How can we send a message to a company that we do not approve of unscrupulous means of production? More so perhaps, how do we tell businesses we frequent that we support and encourage ethical business practices and honest means of production? Until businesses understand that it is important to consumers that their goods not be tainted by slavery and exploitation, companies may continue to emphasize lowering prices rather than behaving morally. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> </span></p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-21083454400484541922010-10-11T10:41:00.001-07:002010-10-11T10:41:19.491-07:00Fashion with a Purpose?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3YyBeod0S4flVqos6wSk9MyOsW1X_gEoCvImhbdqwiWEwhq0dPuNqPjc1mz6qC-P6mlkpHtiafUNzGoBFcAYpQFFExV2wVSYpTqopVok0Z7GfFJCRmXaygsfaroQLStJtqOD3-tEHGc/s1600/guatemalan-baby-papoose1.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF3YyBeod0S4flVqos6wSk9MyOsW1X_gEoCvImhbdqwiWEwhq0dPuNqPjc1mz6qC-P6mlkpHtiafUNzGoBFcAYpQFFExV2wVSYpTqopVok0Z7GfFJCRmXaygsfaroQLStJtqOD3-tEHGc/s320/guatemalan-baby-papoose1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526836452990985954" style="display: block; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: auto; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px; " /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3P04YD9lgGwEmc_Fmcq6cY92Hp_r-3uD-t5CTJIh3qzyf3ZoMmGgkNgjnW9bIAIP83zXYx-yREZFHcAPsAh3zTdhTW1OmeR5CWBpa4Q-Ib8NXI7Zi0ksjqegjY3MM8pA-1QJxFFoRoQ/s1600/abc_poshpapoose1.jpg"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEje3P04YD9lgGwEmc_Fmcq6cY92Hp_r-3uD-t5CTJIh3qzyf3ZoMmGgkNgjnW9bIAIP83zXYx-yREZFHcAPsAh3zTdhTW1OmeR5CWBpa4Q-Ib8NXI7Zi0ksjqegjY3MM8pA-1QJxFFoRoQ/s320/abc_poshpapoose1.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5526647080691273250" style="float: left; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 204px; " /></a><br />A friend of mine who is a first-time mother has become a huge fan of the trend of <a href="http://www.babywearing.com/">baby-wearing</a>. She has several different styles of the fashionable wraps. I was really intrigued when I first saw them, until I saw the price tags. Some higher end slings are well over $100! While I know that the premise of carrying your baby with you in such a way that you may continue to go about your daily tasks hands-free is by no means a new idea, one website touts their line of slings as "an essential, chic accessory in any contemporary parent's toolkit." While watching the film <i>When the Mountains Tremble </i>recently, I repeatedly noticed the peasants working in the fields with their babies sashed securely to them. I'm sure those women felt very chic slaving away in amidst the cane fields in the hot sun with their children on their backs. This wasn't 100 years ago, either. This was twenty years ago. And there are many cultures in which women are still working while carrying their babies this way. And I'm certain they aren't paying anybody any money for the pleasure of doing so.<div><br /><div>Now, I'm not trying to stereotype, but I'm pretty confident that indigenous Guatemalan women going about their daily chores do not have a great deal of concern for whether carrying their babies strapped to their backs is particularly "on trend" or not. But it makes me think, what other utilitarian ideas have we commercialized in the name of fashion?</div><div><br /></div><div>One of the first and most obvious things that comes to mind is camouflage. I don't think I need to lay out for you here the original purpose for camouflage, but nowadays the patterns have been applied to just about every type of clothing and accessory item you can imagine. I've even known some people who are extremely offended by the casual wear of camouflage by "civilians" outside of for hunting or military purposes. (While I may not wholly understand that, I can see how camo's purpose has been....ahem... subverted. Something tells me that blending in is not exactly what this <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Long-sleeve-cami-skirt-camouflage/dp/B0030C9TVQ">chick</a> has in mind.) </div><div><br /></div><div>Ponchos are another item. Originated in the Andes to protect people from wind and rain, this ancient garment has fallen in and out of fashion numerous times over the last century. At least one designer version now sells for over $1100. (I know, right!?!)</div><div><br /></div><div>Keep in mind, I'm not bashing any of these items. I am a huge fan of fashion and function intersecting. What I do want is to draw attention to how there are many items that are (or were at one time) necessary for enabling people to go about their daily tasks, that have been reinterpreted in the name of fashion or otherwise. It is often because of their very practicality that these things were noticed by designers and incorporated into clothing lines in the first place. I just want to point out another way in which we take things as simple as our clothing and accessories for granted, without the least bit of consideration for the fact that what has become fashionable for us, was once or may be still be a part of the daily lives of people for whom they have, in some cases, become luxury items selling for far beyond what many of them could ever afford. In particular, the way in which certain items that are essentials to poorer people in third world countries, become "must haves" for entirely different reasons to wealthier ones. </div><div><br /></div><div></div></div>M-Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00540752183806400651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-83715822415533104382010-10-05T22:02:00.000-07:002010-10-05T22:38:44.645-07:00Who does not Like Butterfinger?I want to give you an update of what is going on with my decision to boycotting products or companies that benefit from using forced child labor (slavery). As I shared with my wife the decision to stop purchasing Nestle cocoa three weeks ago, she asked me if we would boycott only the cocoa/chocolate product or the company. I commented to her that we should not buy any product made by Nestle. That way we would be boycotting the whole company. Well, I am so glad I had that conversation with her because I spent most of last week in a conference/training. In one of the team competitions, I was part of the team that won. As the winning prize, we were given a bag that included…<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hNzGlsorn9k/TKwDAcUSmuI/AAAAAAAAABc/zi4JaIef7FI/s1600/bf-detail.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 141px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_hNzGlsorn9k/TKwDAcUSmuI/AAAAAAAAABc/zi4JaIef7FI/s320/bf-detail.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524794149012937442" /></a><br /><br />Do you see who makes this delicious butterfinger bar? Nestle makes it and as I found out, they also make a long line of other products. Well, that was the first thing I grabbed from the prize bag. The guys sitting with me at the table went crazy eating their butterfinger, while I stared at it. I immediately saw the Nestle brand at the top. Those guys looked at me like I was from another planet when I did not eat it. They asked, "Who does not like butterfinger bar?" I must admit that it tasted good before I knew that forced child labor was part of the work force that made Nestle profitable. I understood right away that I had to be on the lookout for products made by those types of companies. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hNzGlsorn9k/TKwHYxoHWKI/AAAAAAAAABk/UkaIbyykaK4/s1600/nestle+cand.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 300px; height: 300px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_hNzGlsorn9k/TKwHYxoHWKI/AAAAAAAAABk/UkaIbyykaK4/s320/nestle+cand.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524798965096601762" /></a>Vida Abundantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174036608566209743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-53058866990057404232010-10-03T19:41:00.001-07:002010-10-03T20:15:23.084-07:00On FishI realize that ecological regard is not usually or popularly placed in the framework of human rights, but I must insist that what we eat or even if we can eat in the future, really, is directly tied to human rights. As Mandy has suggested already, the treatment of animals and the quality of the food consumed is a major concern. As stated in earlier posts, fishing practices are largely on a unsustainable track. If these practices continue, we could see not only a dramatic change in fish populations and the environment overall but an incredible effect on the availability of food...food for human beings all over the world. <br /><br />The environment is, of course, important but I've found in several conversations that you must humanize certain things for fellow humans to become interested. Moreover, we (humans) are not separate from the environment; we may live in a metropolis or in the modern trappings of the digital age, but we still breathe the air, eat what can be harvested, and so on. Therefore, the two subjects should not be looked at so separately, but as one having an effect on the other. And it's a two way street. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkywdVBq_mia7BDbmyTikP_uJjQOa8t8_KZdW_w25T2nuS0XDICo-m37ky9MRpQlL0mLWy1rARHuFYPNTxIdH8w0mOzZ2ugEA9azcryZK2y-h7R7MH59RNytMk9mlX_8eQP0lOjjyaO7M/s1600/1077_14_7---Fish-Farm--Loch-Ainort--Isle-of-Skye--Scotland_web.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkywdVBq_mia7BDbmyTikP_uJjQOa8t8_KZdW_w25T2nuS0XDICo-m37ky9MRpQlL0mLWy1rARHuFYPNTxIdH8w0mOzZ2ugEA9azcryZK2y-h7R7MH59RNytMk9mlX_8eQP0lOjjyaO7M/s200/1077_14_7---Fish-Farm--Loch-Ainort--Isle-of-Skye--Scotland_web.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5524023942337176034" /></a><br /><br /><br />Aside from the probably better known issue of overfishing, "aquaculture" can and is proving to be just as problematic. Paul Greenberg, author of Four Fish, looks into this matter extensively. More recently, he published an article in The New York Times about tuna (a fish I have mentioned in particular earlier on). Citing salmon as one of the earliest victims of aquaculture exploitation, he asks some pertinent questions about the fate of tuna and recognizes the sushi eater probably wouldn't enjoy Alaskan char as much. (True statement.) <br /><br />The problem with raising fish on a farm is usually that the fish being raised must be fed with something. More often than not, it requires an exponential amount of more "forage fish", relative to the weight of the fish being raised, to produce the end result. So, while it may seem a better idea to raise some fish on a farm, thereby not fishing them out from the wild, it becomes just as problematic (if not more, as Greenberg suggests). This obviously has much to do with the environment and the other organisims that inhabit it, but if we are to continue as a human species and if we want to be gauranteed an adequate amount and a respectable quality of food, this issue should be considered. <br /><br />As Greenberg suggests, "Perhaps, in the end, this is what the Atlantic bluefin tuna might really need. Not human intervention to make them spawn in captivity. But rather human restraint, to allow them to spawn in the wild, in peace."Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-32976965132906975062010-10-03T09:02:00.000-07:002010-10-03T09:58:50.013-07:00chicken trouble<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9hc319GNU1qar86bo1_500.jpg"><br /></a><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> 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{mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal">After seeing this photo on a Facebook post, I knew that I had to investigate where chicken comes from and the human and animal rights involved in the processing of chicken products. This is "mechanically separated chicken"--a main ingredient in chicken nuggets, hot dogs, etc.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <a href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9hc319GNU1qar86bo1_500.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 445px; height: 334px;" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_l9hc319GNU1qar86bo1_500.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">So what is “mechanically separated chicken”? Is this <i style="">really</i> what it looks like? <i style="">Really? </i><span style=""> </span>I went to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Safety and Inspections web site to find out how our government defines “mechanically separated chicken.” Here is what they have to say:</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> “Mechanically separated poultry (MSP) is a poultry food product produced by high pressure machinery that separates bone from poultry skeletal muscle tissue and other edible tissue by first crushing the bone and then forcing bone and tissue through a sieve or a similar screening device. The result is a blend of soft tissue with a paste-like consistency and a cake-batter form. The final paste-like material, has a physical form and texture that differs materially from other boneless chicken and turkey products that are deboned by hand.<br /><br />In November 1995, USDA's FSIS issued a rule requiring labels to list mechanically separated poultry as an ingredient in processed products such as hot dogs and bologna as "mechanically separated chicken or turkey" instead of simply "chicken" or "turkey." This requirement went into effect on the labels of products that include MSP as an ingredient in November 1996. MSP is a safe and wholesome food product with nutritional characteristics similar to ground poultry. Because of its cake-batter texture, it is ideally suited for use in hot dogs, bologna, nuggets, patties, sausages and luncheon meat-type products.” Copied and pasted from the USDA web site: <a href="http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/ground_poultry_and_food_safety/index.asp">http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets/ground_poultry_and_food_safety/index.asp</a> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">“Wholesome”!? That sounds pretty disgusting to me and confirms my staunch position against nuggets and hot dogs. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> As revolted as I was by this knowledge, I needed to learn more about how chickens go from live creatures with feathers to food. I found this undercover video of a Tyson plant: </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zPaxE9ouHpI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zPaxE9ouHpI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">The chickens in this video are destined to be butchered and kept on the bone—I wonder if that means they are being treated even better than the ones who will be pressurized into paste. Searching YouTube, I found video after video showing that these practices are the norm in the chicken industry. That means there is no buying Perdue instead of Tyson to ease your mind. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/mlrdr2jHV1A?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/mlrdr2jHV1A?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object></p> <p class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Yes, some of these videos are filmed by animal rights activist groups that have a very strong agenda to show the worst of the worst, but the extent of the evidence presented, regardless of its source, shows that these are normal, routine practices in poultry processing. However, as awful as this situation is—is this a human rights violation? </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> I will argue that yes, it is. And here is why: first of all—regardless of whether you believe that animals have rights, I, as a consumer, have the right to know that the food I am purchasing in the store has been handled appropriately and respectfully during processing. Obviously, this is not happening at every poultry processing plant. Secondly, the people who are working at these plants have the right to a decent work environment and I would not describe what I saw in these videos as such. Poor working conditions, low pay, and the emotional stress of pressure to perform horrific acts may directly contribute to animal cruelty and abuse occurring—not to mention the passive aggressive act of urinating in a supposedly clean environment (or perhaps not being given adequate breaks to use the restroom). It is easy to blame the employees for their abuse, but many are forced to work as quickly as possible to meet quotas, get paid, and keep their jobs. It is also very common for poultry processing plants in the South to employ undocumented immigrants to lower their costs. It is easy for these plants to find cheap labor, allow ICE raids to remove up to a third of their employees for deportation, and then rehire new undocumented immigrants to fill the positions of those deported. One such incident can be read about here: <a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27091738/">http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27091738/</a> Finally, it is personally disturbing to me that such a lack of respect for life occurs in this industry. Animal cruelty and abuse abound unchecked—even encouraged—in the slaughterhouses. Are you willing to ignore this fact when you sit down to eat a bucket of KFC or some Tyson “Any-tizers”? Not me, but to each his own, I guess . . . </p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-80058007965945222842010-09-27T04:44:00.000-07:002010-09-27T05:45:11.578-07:00So many toys . . .<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3593146074_8c2e99c394.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 333px; height: 500px;" src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3568/3593146074_8c2e99c394.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> 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name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style=""> </span>Remember in 2007 when millions of toys were recalled because they had elevated levels of lead in their paint? I do, probably because my daughter was one-year-old at the time and putting <i style="">everything </i>in her mouth. It was at this point that I began to think more critically about the toys that I bought, however, that mindset did not last long. Kids want toys, and when you are a sleep-deprived mom, you will do just about anything to keep your children happy so they will give you a few minutes of peace. Hence, my son, obsessed with <i style="">Star Wars</i> since he was two years old (“Boba Fett” and “Pit of Carkoon” were among his first words), has over a hundred Star Wars action figures. Yes, some of these belonged to my husband before Den was born, but most were purchased specifically for him. Now that he has learned to read and moved into the age of Pokemon and video games, the Star Wars figures have been relegated to their drawer and rarely see the light of day. My daughter’s room is likewise filled with pink plastic playthings like Polly Pockets and My Little Ponies. She does still play with these things, but there is so much! </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">I stopped buying Annika toys. For her birthday two weeks ago, we bought her one My Little Pony. The rest of her presents were useful things like clothing. However, we did throw her a birthday party at the gym where she takes gymnastics and 17 children attended—all bringing presents. Add the presents of her aunts and uncles and grandparents and our house looked like Christmas morning (the Christmas mornings I grew up with, anyway). It was quite ridiculous, but I have to admit, she was very happy. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">I, on the other hand, felt incredibly guilty. I have a major issue with abundance. I feel uncomfortable when I have too much. Be it because I grew up in a house where we did not have as much as those around us or be it because I am a socialist at heart—I don’t know. I stood in my living room looking at all those toys and I wanted to cry because there are so many children who go to sleep hungry. It makes me feel sick. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">Where do these toys come from? They do not cost much in Target, but what is the human cost of production? Using only the internet to search for the answer to this question, I discovered that 80% of the United States’ toys come from China (surprised?). Most of these from the Guangdong province in the south. The Chinese system of production is all-inclusive and the labor is cheap so they are able to produce these things at a fraction of the cost of other countries. <a href="http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9896/17dq6.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 567px; height: 418px;" src="http://img216.imageshack.us/img216/9896/17dq6.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>For example, to produce a toy in Europe that would cost $30 an hour, the same toy could be made in China for $1.50 an hour. For a capitalist, the choice of production location is simple. The factory workers, though, work long hours, are punished for the slightest offenses by having their wages withheld, and experience a very poor standard of living with the money they earn and what is available in their area.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">A few companies have decided to continue producing toys in their home countries: Lego and Playmobil, to name two. Their decision to maintain their European factories hinge mainly on their desire to oversee quality—something it is very difficult to do in a Chinese factory. Knowing that the toys are being made under close watch and that workers are being paid fairly makes me feel a whole lot better about paying $100 for that Lego Millenium Falcon that Den has been asking for. I feel like I can justify the high price now.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">I am still wondering, though, what does it mean to not buy Chinese toys? Am I standing up for the Chinese workers by saying, “I will not support your exploitation!” Or am I harming them by reducing their employers demand and thus contributing to someone losing his or her job? Regardless, my kids don’t need any more toys. I am trying to convince other parents of this, too. I am so tired of receiving throwaway trinkets in goody bags from parties and the school “Treasure Box.” By rewarding our children with material items constantly, we are indoctrinating them with consumerism. I think it is this that makes me feel ill. I, for one, have started rewarding my son with more video game time and candy—two of my favorite things. I guess now I just need to be wary of childhood obesity. </p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-82212825941404981712010-09-25T20:29:00.000-07:002010-09-25T20:30:29.141-07:00My ProjectWhen I embarked into the project of researching and boycotting companies that use or benefit from forced child labor (slavery), I did not consider how often we, as consumers, ignore the type of labor used in making products available to the market. It has been clear to me that our ignorance encourages more companies to continue to employ that type of labor. For example, my purchase of Nestle products (the company I researched in my last post) contributed to enslaving more children to work in the cocoa field of the Ivory Coast. So I now wonder how many children Nestle was able to enslave with the money I spent in buying their products. <br /><br /> My goal with this project is, first of all, to take a more active approach in searching and boycotting companies that use or benefit from forced child labor. Secondly, I would like to encourage you to consider joining me in researching the type labor employed in bringing to the market the products you consume. I believe that progress will be made in stopping and discouraging companies from using forced child labor if you just do the research. I would like to leave you with a quote,<br />“We discovered that the simplest daily purchases Americans make can contribute to keeping people in bondage. It turns out that all of us are responsible for perpetuating slavery by buying, wearing, eating, and using products of slave labor, from cell phones and laptops, to the fruit and vegetables on our tables, to the clothes we wear.” (Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, The Slave Next Door. p16-17.)Vida Abundantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174036608566209743noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-76462814540122809752010-09-25T12:46:00.000-07:002010-09-25T13:28:45.445-07:00We are the World... we are the ChildrenThis week's entry is going to stray a bit from my explorations of consumerism, but I just found this story to be very inspiring, and worthy of receiving this week's "Saving the World" badge of honor (which I've just made up, but I'm sticking with). <div><br /></div><div>In researching for the Human Rights exhibition I am planning, I came across the anti-hate violence organization <a href="http://www.niot.org/front">Not in Our Town</a>. A video featured on the site shows how, through the transformative power of art, a group of middle school students are responding to the murder by seven local high school students of an Ecuadorean immigrant. While the situation bringing about their discussion is truly reprehensible, the wisdom of these kids could be a lesson to us all. </div><div><br /></div><div><object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vFOd-rIv63s&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vFOd-rIv63s&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(On a slightly separate note, but relevant to the situations studied within our class readings about human rights: I find it noteworthy that in discussions of inclusion and tolerance, and in calls for understanding and acceptance of all races, sexes, ethnicities, religions, etc., what is often excluded is acceptance/tolerance for people of different politics. Now there are some groups that just can't seem to play nicely together.) </div>M-Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00540752183806400651noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-70107146752766021332010-09-22T07:27:00.000-07:002010-09-22T07:44:39.058-07:00Sushi: Ok. Coffee: EverywhereSo far I've been abstaining from sushi just fine. It seems much easier to stay away from establishments that serve sushi than ones that serve coffee, of course, but I've been thinking more about over-fishing in general. It doesn't make much sense to me to cut out fish altogether. But there are a few fish that are especially popular in the U.S. that have resulted in incredible demand and thus overfishing. <br /><br />Two kinds of fish in particular make the list: grouper and tuna. While there are several varieties of each, tuna is usually found more often in sushi. Grouper, on the other hand, can be found on just about every menu of a restaurant that serves fish. More often than not though, it is usually not grouper. This proves its popularity. Still, I have decided to cut grouper out as well though I'll have to do some more research about better alternatives. Tuna, whether on or off a bed of rice, is now on the same list for me. <br /><br />Coffee is another story. It is everywhere! It is on the way to school, in about 3 different places at school, and the smell seems to follow me everywhere! I've been staying strong though (It's okay, you can laugh). <br /><br />But this has also proved to be positive in other ways. Not buying coffee out has kept some more money in my wallet and it's probably better that I'm not all jacked up from morning to night. Still, its taking some adjustment.Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-71643370622690183262010-09-15T12:43:00.000-07:002010-09-15T12:47:58.369-07:00Sweetgrass Baskets: A Gullah Tradition<span style="font-size:100%;"> <span style="font-family: georgia;">Last weekend my husband and I celebrated our 10</span><sup style="font-family: georgia;">th</sup><span style="font-family: georgia;"> wedding anniversary (yes, I am that old) by travelling to Charleston, South Carolina, for the first time in our lives. Charleston impressed me with its incredible food and pervasive focus on sustainable, local seafood and produce in its restaurants (the ones we ate at, anyway). I consider myself an informed eater and “home chef” so this was very important to me and I thought I would make it the subject of my blog entry this week. However, a much more interesting topic presented itself as I was perusing the Charleston City Market. City Market is pretty much a flea market where you can find cheap imported trinkets right next to incredible handmade works of art. And that was most obvious in the case of the sweetgrass baskets.</span> </span> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Sweetgrass baskets, originally woven by slaves for use in rice production, show the legacy of African influence on Southern culture. The local Gullah people hand down the art of sweetgrass weaving from generation to generation and use local materials gathered from undeveloped beaches near Charleston to create these beautiful works of art. They weave the spiral baskets in elaborate and unique patterns and the finished products are useful, beautiful, and last lifetimes. I had heard about these baskets before and was hoping to bring one home as a souvenir from our trip—an anniversary present.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Walking through the market, I was examining some baskets and w</span><span style="font-size:100%;">as put off by the loose weave and plastic bindings. But the price was great—only $50 for a large basket. Incredible! Too good to be true? Yup. On closer inspection of the basket selection, I found one with a sticker on it: “Made in Bangladesh.” My suspicions confirmed, I walked on.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">At the other end of the market, a woman sat weaving a basket behind a table full of pieces of art. Neat, tight spirals in various configurations and sizes were all around her. And she had made them herself. A basket comparable to the $50 one I had seen before was $250. A reasonable price for something that took this woman weeks to create, but not within my budget. After complimenting her handiwork and giving several pieces longing </span><a href="https://cityofcharleston.info/media/com/oblong_4loopTray.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 390px; height: 325px;" src="https://cityofcharleston.info/media/com/oblong_4loopTray.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;">looks, I had to walk away empty-handed. But it struck me that many people would purchase the cheaper product because they could afford it and ignore or overlook the difference in quality.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">So how do knock-off sweetgrass baskets infringe on human rights? Firstly, the Gullah people have created and developed this tradition over hundreds of years. The craft is an heirloom itself and different materials or methods of production are contrary to the art form. Replicating the craft in a subpar way strips traditional “sewers” of their heritage and can corrupt outside opinions of the baskets. This craft is part of the Gullah heritage and manufacturing imitations strips the people of their identity in a way. Secondly, conditions in Bangladesh, China, etc. where sweetgrass copies are being made show that inexpensive versions cost less because their creators are paid less and lower quality materials are being used to produce them. Some would see the successes of companies selling these copies show that the economic incentive is there to produce a lower quality, lower cost alternative to the real thing. Others (the sewers) see it as their local traditions being thwarted by international business practices. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;">This topic has made me think of <span style=""> </span>how many of the things we use every day that are now manufactured in large factories staffed by underpaid workers, but used to be created by hand by someone in the local community or a member of one’s family. As local artisanship becomes obsolete, we lose part of the culture that cannot be regained. The craftspeople themselves will lose their livelihood, and perhaps their identity, as economic forces drive down prices due to outside competition. Gullah “sewers” can only weave their baskets as fast as they can and patience and love do not accomplish this task very quickly—but patience and love do contribute to the beauty of these functional works of art. </span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></p>mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-84629911028899466362010-09-14T20:35:00.000-07:002010-09-14T21:30:34.557-07:00Sushi and CoffeeIn thinking of this title I realized how terrible sushi and coffee would be if consumed together. But I do love each separately! <br /><br />As ridiculous as it may sound, these two things are virtually essential parts of my diet. So, I decided that if I was going to consume or not consume certain products on behalf of human rights agency, I should choose something that would really mean something to me. I think some kind of personal sacrifice is necessary.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgD3aAE3jH3DiHYaCQRK9oM2a3tbbMmJI337Zan2DI1mfCRjTfYv8hQNjXHi8_BMtrslSGYhUCN3j-uGS2uJhLEzEN-BlAJXXZE83nf_Hgzp2wMjDGbP5D0OLhyjurQ5M-0nEy6s9v94/s1600/coffee2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUgD3aAE3jH3DiHYaCQRK9oM2a3tbbMmJI337Zan2DI1mfCRjTfYv8hQNjXHi8_BMtrslSGYhUCN3j-uGS2uJhLEzEN-BlAJXXZE83nf_Hgzp2wMjDGbP5D0OLhyjurQ5M-0nEy6s9v94/s200/coffee2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516992880222569138" /></a><br /><br /><br />But: I do not believe it would be possible or even good for my health to start graduate school and cut out coffee cold turkey. As an alternative, and as a way to make more of a statement, I've decided that I will only consume fair trade coffee. This means Starbucks is mostly out. PJ's, as far as I know is out. Jazzman's in the Social Science building is out. Thankfully, my crucial time for coffee is in the morning and it is often easier to find fair trade coffee in a grocery store or farmers market.<br /><br />As for sushi, I will have to cut it out completely. I do not know of any sushi place that only serves fish that are raised or caught in the wild sustainably. A book "Four Fish" is just one work that outlines the dangers and negative effects of unsustainable fishing. How does this have anything to do with human rights? <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5v2YvM2mCvaf-81eMhWpC2Zud02y-VoaV-NHfq7bAd8FGIdrCVC6m_8h_6ASmG1bNrj9vzd_Fcv79zylnkpzwKfFxEEZGOGWEths-9WTxSc2XBm1C9yXAZDZWwkoW6dmvpe5ucCzI7TU/s1600/yellowfin_tuna.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 101px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5v2YvM2mCvaf-81eMhWpC2Zud02y-VoaV-NHfq7bAd8FGIdrCVC6m_8h_6ASmG1bNrj9vzd_Fcv79zylnkpzwKfFxEEZGOGWEths-9WTxSc2XBm1C9yXAZDZWwkoW6dmvpe5ucCzI7TU/s200/yellowfin_tuna.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516992361948470082" /></a><br /><br />Well, perhaps much more than you may think. The problem is the future. Every human has the right to an adequate amount of food. And if the world continues to over-fish the ocean, we will be in big trouble. This is not "save the whales" though that is a commendable cause. This is about the amount of people in the world who are hungry growing at an exponential rate in the near future. <br /><br />The sushi craze in the U.S.--something I have, admittedly, participated in--has added to the overfishing of tons of different kinds of fish. Tuna and grouper are among the most popular and most over-fished.<br /><br />I ate my last bite of sushi a few weeks ago and I am headed to the grocery in the morning in search of fair trade coffee. I intend on enjoying one without the other, as before, but in a much different way. I hope these actions influence further actions of my own and possibly of others. If anything, they will serve as a testament and a trial run of changing my consumer habits as a way to affect human rights...maybe even help save the world a little.Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-39829577162419024592010-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:002010-09-09T21:47:10.260-07:00Nestlé Products Would not Taste the Same!I always enjoyed a cup of hot Nestle cocoa in winter nights. But after discovering that Nestle has been accused of using illegal child labor to produce their chocolate, I would not enjoy a cup of Nestlé hot cocoa again. The cocoa beans used by Nestlé come from Cote d’Ivoir (the Ivory Coast) in West Africa. The International Labour Organization, part of the UN, estimates that there are 284,000 child laborers working on cocoa farms in that country. And because of the high demand for forced child labor there, other children from Mali are being sold into slavery for thirty dollars to work in the fields (see <a href="http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm">Chocolate Slaves</a>).<br /><br /> It is also known that Nestlé, one of the top five buyers of cocoa from the Ivory Coast, promised to put a stop to using forced child labor in 2005, but it has not come through yet. It is obvious that the company prefers to get the benefits of cheap cocoa beans harvested by forced child labor rather than doing the right thing. <br /><br /> After learning of this practice, Nestlé products would not taste the same for me. Therefore, I will not buy or support a company that uses forced child labor to make its products. And Nestlé falls into that category.Vida Abundantehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08174036608566209743noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-87039819095547946962010-09-09T15:30:00.000-07:002010-09-09T16:08:57.770-07:00CountdownRound 1 of cleansing took place last night. In my sweep of one closet, I identified 20 items to give away (in addition to several items of an old boyfriend's, and 1 mysterious shirt that has been passed around in our family for the last 3 or 4 years, that nobody will claim.... But I'm not counting those). <div><br /></div><div>As I was purging, I couldn't help but think of the countless articles I have read in fashion, home, and general interest magazines that advise getting rid of the old to make room for the new. This really began to bother me as I couldn't help but notice my thoughts evolving from "let it go, M-E. If you haven't worn it for the last three years, you're not going to start wearing it now," to "I know you love this color, but this top only looks okay on you, and if you give it away then you'll have room to find something similar that looks great!" (notice the hopeful lilt at the end there. I know; some of you think I'm nuts. But some of you know exactly what I'm talking about.) Anyway, about making room for the new: why, exactly, do we need the new? What's wrong with just making room for space itself? Space to breathe, to get out from under the clutter of our possessions, from the weight of what we buy. </div><div><br /></div><div>Perhaps the students in this program, by nature, are a little less near-sighted, but I think that in general our society tends to overlook, or flat-out forget, how consumer-driven we are. Where we put our dollars says a lot about what our values are, and what we will and will not support. We tend to forget the power that comes with that (or we misuse it). Even with an understanding of that power, however, there are still conflicts. As an example: my sister is fiercely protective of animal rights, and refuses to buy any products from companies that, at any stage in the development or manufacture of any of their products, or by any parent/subsidiary companies, tests on animals. She protests their practices by withholding all support from any ventures. I am also against animal testing, and do my best to buy products that do not test on animals. However, if a company has one line of products that tests on animals, and another that doesn't, I don't boycott the company entirely. Instead, I buy only those products made in a way I support, and won't buy the others. I choose to show that I support what they are doing right, with the hope of encouraging that to spread to the rest of their line. </div><div><br /></div><div>While my sister and I argue over this repeatedly, I don't believe that either of us is wrong. We each have a choice in how we will use our consumer power to drive manufacturer's decisions. The point is that we are aware of that power and choose to exercise it in deliberate and thoughtful ways. If every person in every shopping decision were taking the time to do the same, imagine the change we could affect in our world. I guess I'll just have to start here. </div>M-Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00540752183806400651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-40342451901907771252010-09-07T16:42:00.000-07:002010-09-07T18:17:01.002-07:00what's the plan, man?<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cmandy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cmandy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cmandy%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> 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11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in; mso-header-margin:.5in; mso-footer-margin:.5in; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">I have been considering a variety of human rights issues in my shopping habits for a long time now. Due to questionable treatment of employees and pressuring of suppliers to provide goods at prices that undercut all competition (to the delight of most consumers), I have refused to set foot in a Wal-Mart store for over a year now. Friends and acquaintances of mine have also expressed how much they despise Wal-Mart, but many feel they <i style="">have </i>to shop there because they cannot afford the things they <i style="">need </i>anywhere else. This claim poses many questions, but entire web sites are dedicated to how much <a href="http://www.walmartsucks.com/">Wal-Mart sucks</a>, so it would be redundant for me to go into this project only ranting about <a href="http://www.walmartwatch.com/">what a terrible company it is</a>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">So what will be my personal commitment in this project? This has been a difficult thing for me to determine because I am a member of a household where two people earn income (mine may not be much, but I do contribute a little bit) and two people make purchases. I cannot dictate what comes into this house and I have to consider the wishes and needs of my family. I have also found that it is difficult to consider the ramifications of each individual purchase when children are whining that they want to go home while I ponder the <i style="">need</i> for Oreos or Cheez-its. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%; font-family: georgia;">Unfortunately, I do not live in a bubble. My home and yard are small and could not possibly sustain my family even if I was a master gardener (oh—and in my county, it is illegal to own farm animals on the amount of land that I have). My time is also extremely limited because I am a graduate student, research assistant, wife, mother of two, room parent for the 1<sup>st</sup> grade, singer, and caregiver for my father. Moreover, I don’t know <i style="">how</i> to make toilet paper, toothpaste, American cheese, socks, SD cards, video games, Barbie dolls, etc. I am very glad that there are people who know how to make these things and do so for me. However, it is very bothersome to me that many of these items are made by people who could never afford to purchase them for themselves. My “simple pleasures” seem preposterous when I consider the poverty, repression, and destruction that might go into creating them for me.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 150%;"><span style="font-family: georgia;">So who makes the goods that we purchase? Where do they come from? Why are they available for so cheap? My contribution to this project will be to choose an item each week that my family uses and “cannot live without” and determine (as best I am able) its journey from raw materials to my home. Authors (i.e. </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://michaelpollan.com/books/the-omnivores-dilemma/">Michael Pollan</a><span style="font-family: georgia;">) have written entire books with similar themes, so this will not be an in-depth analysis, but I hope it will raise awareness about where our goods come from and how our </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">need</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> for </span><i style="font-family: georgia;">things</i><span style="font-family: georgia;"> affects people around the globe. </span><span style=""> </span></p> mandymcgrewhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00455760063472215497noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-29801725675717880122010-09-07T08:13:00.000-07:002010-09-07T16:48:27.345-07:00Have and have-nots... and have too muchesFor this project, each of us has spent some time deliberating on sacrifices we can make as individuals, in addition to what we can do as a group. So here's a little bit about one of the sacrifices I'm making, and why. <div><br /></div><div>First, a little background. I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a shopaholic, but I <i>am</i> a serious bargain hunter. And a pack rat. These two things combined mean that I have a propensity towards bringing home some <i>really </i>great deals... that sit around in my closets or on my shelves for eons, taking up a great deal of space but not really doing much good. Recognizing this and trying to rein things in a bit, I have become more and more aware of (and subsequently repulsed by) the materialism so heavily pushed and reinforced in our society. (Really? I "must have" an all new wardrobe each and every season? I have to have the latest, most up-to-date version of every gadget? Whatever happened to using something until it was no longer useable before replacing it?) Despite my weakness for a bargain, however, I also believe in paying for quality. And I have been extremely frustrated in recent years by the lack of quality I get for my money. </div><div><br /></div><div>From one clothing retailer in particular, and not an inexpensive one, I have been increasingly frustrated by the declining quality of their merchandise. Checking labels, I see that these clothes are being made in places like Vietnam, Pakistan, India and Israel. I am by no means saying that quality products don't come out of these countries. Nonetheless, it does make me wonder under what conditions are my clothes being made? If quality control has clearly fallen by the wayside for the sake of profit, what else may be being overlooked? Under what conditions, including worker conditions, are these items being made and shipped overseas to our consumer hungry nation?</div><div><br /></div><div>While I intend to investigate these questions over the next several weeks, in the meantime, I have undertaken the personal challenge of eliminating a minimum of 100 articles of clothing from my wardrobe. There are far too many people, in this community and worldwide, who lack even basic items, for my closets to be overflowing with clothes I've only worn once or twice (or never, in some cases). Aside from some of the more obvious ones like Goodwill or The Salvation Army, there are some really great organizations out there that help to distribute specific types of clothing to those in need. I hope to share some information here soon. Additionally (and here's the hard part!) I will not be buying any non-essential clothing items for the remainder of the year. No matter how great the deal, if I don't need it, I won't buy it. Trust me, this was already tested over Labor Day weekend while shopping with my sister!</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll keep you updated on my progress as I start sifting through and letting go. Support group recommendations, anyone? </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>(*For those wondering what I mean by non-essential, that's pretty much everything. However, my big feet tend to wear through socks pretty quickly; being without a car, I'm in need of some good walking shoes; and costume items for my dance troupe, as necessary.) </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div> </div>M-Ehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00540752183806400651noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7265545420127119433.post-18425136280886236572010-09-01T10:18:00.000-07:002010-09-01T10:20:54.729-07:00An Introduction...In August 2010, concerned about how human rights violations are occurring all around us in many, often surprising, ways, four graduate students set out to change the world by thinking globally while acting locally. Recognizing that human rights, including civil, political, economic, and social, are inextricably entwined with concerns regarding consumerism, sustainability, and environmental rights, we decided to challenge our perceptions by changing the way we think about buying. <br /><br />By being a little more conscientious of our everyday spending habits, what can we learn and, more importantly, share with others, about materialism and choice in a free society, and how will that impact our views of the rest of the world? We'll share with you here our insights, struggles, and revelations as we each tackle the problem of how to effect change in our world by changing our lives... and earning an "A" in the process. Follow us for the next 16 weeks as we share with you, in our humble opinions, how to save the world.<br /><br />Though we are still working out some of the details and some of our own personal commitments, we'll have some updates as to how we are, more comprehensively, saving the world soon!Richiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04429984032365834452noreply@blogger.com0