The Nestlé Boycott - Second Article

In the issue of November, readers learnt about Nestlé’ s baby formula scandal. However, that certain scandal is just one of the many reasons why Nestlé should be avoided and boycotted. Deforestation, food poisoning and plastic pollution are just a few of their controversial practises. In this issue, you are going to read about the company ’ s link to child labor. Nestlé is a well-known, major chocolate manufacturer. What people do not usually know, however, is that the production of cocoa beans usually comes with bad labour conditions. Nestlé buys cocoa beans from the Ivory Coast, a country at a high risk for child and slave labor. On a typical cocoa farm in Ivory Coast, workers are usually 12 to 15 years old, worked without payment, fed inadequate amounts of food, abused physically and, in some cases, trafficked from nearby countries. The reason why many chocolate companies buy cocoa from farms that use child labor is that certified ethical cocoa beans, such as Rainforest Alliance or FairTrade beans, are, on average, 10% more expensive than non-certified ones and more difficult to get. Due to the low prices of cocoa, cocoa farmers have no choice but to employ children for little to no wages. Nestlé and other leading chocolate companies might not be the ones recruiting and working the children, but they are responsible for developing the entire cocoa production system of Ivory Coast. These unsustainable companies keep the ‘ child labor epidemic ’ going on. Although Nestlé knows about the human right violations that are going on on most cocoa farms, the company can only trace 49% of their purchased cocoa beans and they don ’t investigate the conditions on the farms of their cocoa suppliers. The conglomerate states that they do not tolerate child labor, but says that ethical cocoa production is something ‘ no company can guarantee. ’ Former chocolat c e hild ma workers, wh nufacturers o in were cludin tr g afficked Nestlé, and Mon used delēz as an sl d ave Ma lab rs. or N in estl Iv é, ory Coas among t, sued other major similar manufacturers, pledged to phase child labor 20 years ago but they keep extending the deadline. The original plan of the company was to phase out 100% of child labor - now, they are planning to phase out around 70% of the illegal activity. Apart from chocolate companies, recruiters and farmers, lawmakers are also to blame as they let down children and African countries with their lack of action. However, consumers can also contribute to the management and abolisment of child slavery by making sure their cocoa products are ethical by actively looking for international certificates, such as FairTrade, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ. We should also keep in mind that chocolate and other derived products of the cocoa industry are not a necessity and it is easy to ditch such products. 'Nobody needs chocolate. It’ s a gift to yourself or someone else. We think it’ s absolute madness that for a gift that no one really needs, so many people suffer. '

Veganuary (and vegan athletes to inspire you)

Veganuary is an annual campaign challenging people to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January. In 2021, around 500,000 people participated in the challenge. This year, the organization behind the campaign expects even more people to take the pledge. With all the misinformation about veganism online, you might not be sure as to why veganism is beneficial. Are vegans really saving the planet? First, let’ s make sure we all understand what veganism means. Veganism is a philosophy and a way of living that minimizes the use of animals and animal products as far as practically possible. This means that vegans do not use, eat or wear animals, they do not use animals as a sort of entertainment (for example visiting zoos or riding horses) and they do not exploit animals in any other way. Vegans also avoid buying cosmetics and medication that have been tested on animals. There are many reasons why people avoid the use of animals. Most vegans follow the lifestyle for ethical reasons. They believe that animals are friends and companions and not here to be exploited by humans. They are also aware of the atrocities that go on in animal agriculture. Animals in the meat, dairy, egg and honey industries, as well as in the leather, fur and wool industries, apart from being murdered, are also caged, separated from their families, abused physically, mutilited without anaesthetics and forcefully impregnated. Most people are not aware of what is happening to the animals they eat, but it is important to reflect on the act of eating animals. As Paul Mccartney famously said, 'If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. ' Vegans save and spare the suffering of nearly 200 animals every year compared to ‘ omnivores.

There are many environmental reasons to go vegan, too. Animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to man-made greenhouse gas emissions after fossil fuels, responsible for 18% of all GHG emissions. That means animal agriculture is more polluting than the entire transport section in the US. Vegans have a much lower carbon and ecological footprint than meat-eaters.

Besides, animal agriculture is a leading cause of deforestation, habitat destruction, species extinction, water and air pollution, sea acidification, ocean dead zones, desertification and biodiversity loss. Raising cattle and other animals, whether for food or clothing, requires huge amounts of water and land. To make room for plants that are fed to animals, forests and rainforests are cleared. As Chris Smalling, footballer at Manchester United, pointed out, the Amazon rainforest was deliberately set on fire to support animal agriculture in 2019. The defender went vegan to lower his impact on the planet and animals. 'I realised how brutal [animal agriculture] is to animals, how unnecessary it is to us, and how damaging it is to the environment.