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TBF

(31,922 posts)
Tue Jun 10, 2014, 12:58 PM Jun 2014

Asian slave labour producing prawns (global shrimp trade)

A six-month investigation has established that large numbers of men bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand are integral to the production of prawns (commonly called shrimp in the US) sold in leading supermarkets around the world, including the top four global retailers: Walmart, Carrefour, Costco and Tesco.

Asian slave labour producing prawns for supermarkets in US, UK
Thai 'ghost ships' that enslave, brutalise and even kill workers are linked to global shrimp supply chain, Guardian investigation discovers

Kate Hodal, Chris Kelly in Songkhla and Felicity Lawrence
theguardian.com, Tuesday 10 June 2014 07.05 EDT

Slaves forced to work for no pay for years at a time under threat of extreme violence are being used in Asia in the production of seafood sold by major US, British and other European retailers, the Guardian can reveal.

A six-month investigation has established that large numbers of men bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats off Thailand are integral to the production of prawns (commonly called shrimp in the US) sold in leading supermarkets around the world, including the top four global retailers: Walmart, Carrefour, Costco and Tesco.

The investigation found that the world's largest prawn farmer, the Thailand-based Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods, buys fishmeal, which it feeds to its farmed prawns, from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves.

Men who have managed to escape from boats supplying CP Foods and other companies like it told the Guardian of horrific conditions, including 20-hour shifts, regular beatings, torture and execution-style killings. Some were at sea for years; some were regularly offered methamphetamines to keep them going. Some had seen fellow slaves murdered in front of them ...

More here: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/jun/10/supermarket-prawns-thailand-produced-slave-labour

http://static.guim.co.uk/ni/1402416727149/shrimp_slavery_done_web2.svg

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Asian slave labour producing prawns (global shrimp trade) (Original Post) TBF Jun 2014 OP
The shrimp "industry" is one of the nastiest operations on the planet infidel dog Jun 2014 #1
I don't tend to eat shellfish TBF Jun 2014 #2

infidel dog

(273 posts)
1. The shrimp "industry" is one of the nastiest operations on the planet
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 12:27 PM
Jun 2014

Be very careful of the origin of the shrimp you purchase and honestly, avoid ordering it in restaurants if you can.

TBF

(31,922 posts)
2. I don't tend to eat shellfish
Wed Jun 11, 2014, 01:09 PM
Jun 2014

but this story of course caught my eye with the labor issues. I'm sure it's not restricted to the shrimp industry either ... probably many other areas where this type of thing is taking place. It's not just the billionaires in the US that like free labor. Which is why it's so important that the fight against capital be a global fight.

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