Friday, December 07, 2007

Thankful or Absurdly Offended?

The Parents TV Council is celebrating the great moral principle of the Campbell Soup company by awarding them their "prestigious" PTC seal of approval. This seal encourages Christian consumers to purchase products by this company because of their commitment to the moral fabric of our society.

Should we be thankful for Campbell's hypocrisy? I for one am not. With a history of Child Labor suits here in the U.S. and their continued refusal to submit to public query about the Cocoa buying practices in their Godiva subsidiary; I for one am offended by an organization that would honor them as being pro-family.

Is the slave labor of 4 year old children in New Mexico they settled for $200,000 in 1997 an example of their Pro-Family agenda? Is their current ownership and silence about the purchasing of one the largest chocolate confectioneries pro-family?

Where was the pro-family organization to speak on behalf of the child slaves used to perpetuate the corporate greed of CEO Douglas Conant and Chairman Harvey Golub?

Yes, my conclusion is clear. I am absurdly offended.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I think you're right to hold Campbell accountable for, among other things, the callous lack of action on the ongoing child labor problem with West African cocoa. Similarly, through their huge soup business are they supporting the exploited workers on Florida tomato farms - or not? A real supporter of families would.

At our worker co-op, Equal Exchange, we work work 8 faith-based groups (see: http://www.equalexchange.coop/interfaith-program) to promote more responsible alternatives and to educate both the members of these groups, and the wider public, about this kind of persistent problem with "business as usual", whether it is the cocoa trade, coffee trade or what have you.

To read more about this specific issue of cocoa, child labor, and the lack of action by the large corporate players (like Godiva) read:

http://www.equalexchange.coop/child-labor-in-the-cocoa-industry