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The awful truth behind 5 items probably in your grocery list

gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
edited March 2008 in A Moving Train
http://www.cracked.com/article_15967_awful-truth-behind-5-items-probably-on-your-grocery-list.html


I'd heard about the United Fruit Company but not the others. Gotta love capitalism!
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  • DriftingByTheStormDriftingByTheStorm Posts: 8,684
    gabers wrote:
    http://www.cracked.com/article_15967_awful-truth-behind-5-items-probably-on-your-grocery-list.html


    I'd heard about the United Fruit Company but not the others. Gotta love capitalism!

    Yuhp.
    Sounds about right.
    As far as corporate chicanery goes though, these are pretty tame. Lets start talking about some of the oil company murders during protests and the cess pools they leave in the amazon. ;)

    I LOVE this image though: http://www.cracked.com/articleimages/wong/brutal/iams3.jpg

    that was fucking classic.

    :(
    If I was to smile and I held out my hand
    If I opened it now would you not understand?
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    i strive to be as anti corporate with my $ as possible...

    i think i am doing a damn good job too...

    scary shit when you do a little digging..
  • lalalalaaaaaaaalalalalaaaaaaaa Posts: 2,445
    Obviously part of some sort of anti-banana campaign.. :p
  • polarispolaris Posts: 3,527
    not generally on my grocery list ... although i need to look at who is supplying my organic bananas ...
  • KosmicJelliKosmicJelli Posts: 1,855
    Saturnal wrote:
    Obviously part of some sort of anti-banana campaign.. :p

    OMG... thats it... no bananas... gonna shoot myself
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    The big thing missing on the list is.....coffee, if it's not fair trade, somebody in the 3rd world is working their ass off for pennies so that Starbucks (or whomever) can charge you an arm and part of your leg for a cup of the Joe. Picking coffee is still completely manual...no fancy machines.

    BTW, the harvesting of bananas is still manual labor. Toured a Dole plantation in Costa Rica back in January.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • my2handsmy2hands Posts: 17,117
    tybird wrote:
    The big thing missing on the list is.....coffee, if it's not fair trade, somebody in the 3rd world is working their ass off for pennies so that Starbucks (or whomever) can charge you an arm and part of your leg for a cup of the Joe. Picking coffee is still completely manual...no fancy machines.

    BTW, the harvesting of bananas is still manual labor. Toured a Dole plantation in Costa Rica back in January.


    do you have a list of fair trade coffee?
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    my2hands wrote:
    do you have a list of fair trade coffee?
    No....not a big coffee drinker....but I will see if I can find the e-mail for the importers of Monte Verde, Costa Rica fair-trade coffee.....some damn smooth coffee. My class trip included a tour by the leader of the local co-op to his uncle's coffee farm/homestead.
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    my2hands wrote:
    do you have a list of fair trade coffee?


    I get some really good fair trade coffee at a place called Garner's Market but they aren't on the net. But here's the brand I buy:


    http://www.larrysbeans.com/


    Also, I couldn't find any fair trade coffee at Whole Foods last time I was in there. Kinda disappointing.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    I get some really good fair trade coffee at a place called Garner's Market but they aren't on the net. But here's the brand I buy:


    http://www.larrysbeans.com/


    Also, I couldn't find any fair trade coffee at Whole Foods last time I was in there. Kinda disappointing.
    I found Newman's (as in Paul) at Target....and it is "Fair Trade".
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    For some reason finding Fair Trade and Organic together can be difficult. You'd think that would be an obvious pairing. I was at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and found one type of coffee that included both criteria. And it wasn't particularly great tasting.
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    tybird wrote:
    I found Newman's (as in Paul) at Target....and it is "Fair Trade".

    Yeah, I've bought Newman's before but didn't really care for it. It should be easy to find in any grocery store, though.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • AbookamongstthemanyAbookamongstthemany Posts: 8,209
    gabers wrote:
    For some reason finding Fair Trade and Organic together can be difficult. You'd think that would be an obvious pairing. I was at Whole Foods a few weeks ago and found one type of coffee that included both criteria. And it wasn't particularly great tasting.


    What brand was it? I couldn't find any there and was really surprised.
    If you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh, otherwise they'll kill you.

    Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.
    -Oscar Wilde
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    "Cafe' Monteverde (Costa Rica) Natural Sun Dried Fair Trade Coffee...Grown in Harmony with the Cloud Forest"

    To order in the United States:
    Fax: 406-862-7680

    e-mail: traders@cyberport.net
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    Abookamongstthemany wrote:
    What brand was it? I couldn't find any there and was really surprised.

    Next time I go there I'll let you know. They had a pot brewed to taste. It was okay but was kind of lacking in flavor. There are a handful of just organic or just fair trade coffees available there. Then you have the dilemna of which is better, having a coffee with traces of pesticides grown by farmers that get a fair price or coffees grown on plantations by peasants that was grown organically. This stuff never ends. Sometimes it sucks to have a conscience. :)
  • 12345AGNST112345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    i dont get the whole IAMS thing. i saw the video about the cruelty iams does, but i dont get it. There was a room filled with dogs and some cats and they were feeding them. it looked like a regular animal shelter.
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    i dont get the whole IAMS thing. i saw the video about the cruelty iams does, but i dont get it. There was a room filled with dogs and some cats and they were feeding them. it looked like a regular animal shelter.

    What Our Investigator Found: Iams’ Den of Horrors

    Iams dogs dumped on cold concrete flooring after having huge chunks of muscle cut out of their thighs

    dogs and cats gone stir-crazy from confinement; dogs and cats in windowless, dungeon-like buildings

    a coworker who instructed her to hit the dogs on the chest if they quit breathing; another coworker who talked about an Iams dog found dead in his cage, bleeding from his mouth

    a dog who limped in pain from Lyme disease

    cruel studies done by Iams involving sticking tubes down dogs’ throats to force them to ingest vegetable oil

    Iams dogs with such severe tartar buildup on their teeth that it was painful for them to eat

    vet technicians with inadequate training and experience performing invasive procedures

    coworkers who talked about a live kitten who was washed down a drain

    coworkers who talked about how they had to go home because the ammonia fumes in the animal trailers were so overpowering that it made their eyes burn (try being one of the animals in those cages!)

    cats kept in a cinderblock room with crude wooden “resting” boards that had nails sticking out of them; one of the boards fell on a cat, crushing her to death, while our investigator was there yet the lab director did not remove the boards when the cat was crushed—he removed them when he was told that the lab was going to be inspected because he knew they were illegal
  • acutejamacutejam Posts: 1,433
    DriftingByTheStorm wrote:
    Lets start talking about some of the oil company murders during protests and the cess pools they leave in the amazon.

    I'm so for that -- let's stick to some 20-year old stereotypes and then let's tax and regulate our US and Brit companies outta existance so we just have to answer to:

    Saudi Aramco
    NIOC (Iran)
    Qatar Petroleum
    Gazprom (Russia)
    PDVSA (Venezuela)

    I'm sure THEY have the best interests of humanity and our planet in mind! But honestly, sorry if it was indeed this above list you were referring to (and all western companies don't even add up to ONE of these five) for these "national" oil companies (i.e. owned by the state) surely ARE still murdering and leaving cess pools in their wake -- but western companies are quite awake and aware these days, and slandering them with claims of murder and cess pools doesn't quite add to the debate.

    Just wanna say, the Exxon, Shell, BP et al employees are all on your side.

    Ok, sorry, back on topic -- ewww, bananas!
    [sic] happens
  • 12345AGNST112345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    gabers wrote:
    What Our Investigator Found: Iams’ Den of Horrors

    Iams dogs dumped on cold concrete flooring after having huge chunks of muscle cut out of their thighs

    dogs and cats gone stir-crazy from confinement; dogs and cats in windowless, dungeon-like buildings

    a coworker who instructed her to hit the dogs on the chest if they quit breathing; another coworker who talked about an Iams dog found dead in his cage, bleeding from his mouth

    a dog who limped in pain from Lyme disease

    cruel studies done by Iams involving sticking tubes down dogs’ throats to force them to ingest vegetable oil

    Iams dogs with such severe tartar buildup on their teeth that it was painful for them to eat

    vet technicians with inadequate training and experience performing invasive procedures

    coworkers who talked about a live kitten who was washed down a drain

    coworkers who talked about how they had to go home because the ammonia fumes in the animal trailers were so overpowering that it made their eyes burn (try being one of the animals in those cages!)

    cats kept in a cinderblock room with crude wooden “resting” boards that had nails sticking out of them; one of the boards fell on a cat, crushing her to death, while our investigator was there yet the lab director did not remove the boards when the cat was crushed—he removed them when he was told that the lab was going to be inspected because he knew they were illegal

    well that video really showed none of that except maybe a dog with electrical tape on it. i dunno how much i believe of that. its probably a big exxageration. it did look a little cruel but i don't belive anything like that until i see proof.
    5/28/06, 6/27/08, 10/28/09, 5/18/10, 5/21/10
    8/7/08, 6/9/09
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    12345AGNST1 wrote:
    well that video really showed none of that except maybe a dog with electrical tape on it. i dunno how much i believe of that. its probably a big exxageration. it did look a little cruel but i don't belive anything like that until i see proof.

    I know what you mean, but you've gotta think this person probably didn't have a lot of opportunities to videotape these things, being undercover and all.
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    What I'm looking for is the trifecta of organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee. All in one coffee. I think if I drank such a coffee, on my death bed, I'd receive total consiousness.
  • polarispolaris Posts: 3,527
    acutejam wrote:
    I'm so for that -- let's stick to some 20-year old stereotypes and then let's tax and regulate our US and Brit companies outta existance so we just have to answer to:

    Saudi Aramco
    NIOC (Iran)
    Qatar Petroleum
    Gazprom (Russia)
    PDVSA (Venezuela)

    I'm sure THEY have the best interests of humanity and our planet in mind! But honestly, sorry if it was indeed this above list you were referring to (and all western companies don't even add up to ONE of these five) for these "national" oil companies (i.e. owned by the state) surely ARE still murdering and leaving cess pools in their wake -- but western companies are quite awake and aware these days, and slandering them with claims of murder and cess pools doesn't quite add to the debate.

    Just wanna say, the Exxon, Shell, BP et al employees are all on your side.

    Ok, sorry, back on topic -- ewww, bananas!

    all oil companies have done in the last 20 years is hired better pr firms and learned to leave no trace of their doings ... but you can be sure their role in crimes around the world are no less evil ...
  • tybirdtybird Posts: 17,388
    gabers wrote:
    What I'm looking for is the trifecta of organic, shade grown, fair trade coffee. All in one coffee. I think if I drank such a coffee, on my death bed, I'd receive total consiousness.
    The coffee that I listed, Cafe Monteverde, does offer an organic, shade grown and fair trade coffee. :D
    All the world will be your enemy, Prince with a thousand enemies, and whenever they catch you, they will kill you. But first they must catch you, digger, listener, runner, prince with the swift warning. Be cunning and full of tricks and your people shall never be destroyed.
  • polarispolaris Posts: 3,527
    fair trade organic shade grown coffee is very easy to find here in toronto ... a lot of coffee shops sell it but if you have your own grinder - you can buy the beans at most health food/natural food stores ...
  • gabersgabers Posts: 2,787
    polaris wrote:
    fair trade organic shade grown coffee is very easy to find here in toronto ... a lot of coffee shops sell it but if you have your own grinder - you can buy the beans at most health food/natural food stores ...

    If I did a little digging I'd probably find it here in Houston. We're a big city but there aren't an abundance of good coffee houses here. At least in the burbs. It's all chain stores, as far as the eye can see. And health food stores? No way. Okay, they did just build a Whole Foods Market in Sugar Land, which is the burb next to me.
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