Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15

More documents

Recommendations

Info

10.Seafood Industry Seafood is an increasingly important source of protein for the world’s population. In 2010, it accounted for almost 17 percent of global consumption of animal proteins. 376 Global sales of fresh and canned seafood, moreover, reach almost $370 billion annually. 377 Besides providing a common source of protein, the seafood industry also creates many jobs. An estimated 10-12 percent of the world’s population depends on fisheries and aquaculture for their livelihoods. 378 Unfortunately, high consumption of fish has endangered some of these jobs. As consumption has increased, so has global fish production. For the past five decades, fishing has increased steadily at an average annual rate of 3.2 percent, which is quite a high rate when compared to the average annual population growth of 1.6 percent. 379 One negative result of this increase in fish production and consumption is overfishing. In 2011, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that almost 29% of fish stocks around the world were overfished. 380 This over-harvesting can damage ecosystems and the environment as well as create job losses. Photo courtesy of International Labor Rights Forum Another alarming consequence of overfishing is an increasing reliance on forced labor. As fish stocks become scarcer due to overfishing, ships travel farther distances for longer periods of time. This added cost increases the incentive to cheat employees or outright purchase slaves. Fishing ships increasingly spend years at a time at sea, and workers have no access to land or authorities if their Page !73
labor rights are violated. The added time at sea also keeps horrific working conditions – wage theft, inhumane working hours, squalid conditions and even murders – out of sight, while workers have Dorms for workers in Thailand’s shrimp industry (Photo courtesy of the International Labor Rights Forum) almost no possibility of escape. The U.S. State Department has found that 51 countries have forced labor on fishing vessels in their waters. 381 As demand for seafood has increased worldwide, national chains have rushed to capitalize on the opportunity for greater sales. Walmart in particular has become one of the fastest growing seafood retailers in the United States. 382 This growth, nevertheless, has made it difficult for Walmart to keep its suppliers accountable to labor and environmental standards. Walmart receives much of its seafood from various suppliers in Asia, where wages are dramatically lower and fishery management is less developed. Numerous non-governmental organizations, media organizations, and even U.S. government officials have reported that “human trafficking, forced and child labour and human rights abuses are widespread in Asia and Africa’s marine fisheries.” 383 Several recent in-depth media investigations into Thailand’s seafood industry have put a spotlight on forced labor, human trafficking, and child labor in both seafood harvesting and processing. Valued at over $7 billion, the seafood industry in Thailand produces an estimated 4.2 million tons of seafood every year. 384 90 percent of this product is for international trading, with the United States buying half of all Thailand exports. 385 Despite this apparent success, according to Mark Lagon, former U.S. State Department ambassador for trafficking in persons, “the Thai fishing industry is rife with forced labor, both on the high seas and within seafood processing and packing plants." 386 Walmart has appeared in two of these investigations. In June 2014, after a six-month investigation, The Guardian found that Thailand-based seafood exporter Charoen Pokphand (CP) Page !74
Page 1 and 2:
Walmart at the Crossroads The Envir
Page 3 and 4:
Table of Contents I. Introduction:
Page 5 and 6:
B. Supplier 2: Pilgrim’s Pride/JB
Page 7 and 8:
supply chain practices have been re
Page 9 and 10:
Labor II. Walmart’s Labor and Env
Page 11 and 12:
• Handle, store and transport haz
Page 13 and 14:
III. Overview of Walmart’s Record
Page 15 and 16:
pay their workers unfair wages and
Page 17 and 18:
energy consumption derived from ren
Page 19 and 20:
V. Industry Reports Along with the
Page 21 and 22:
A. Supplier 1: Monterey Mushrooms,
Page 23 and 24:
C. Supplier 2: Giorgio Foods, Inc.
Page 25 and 26:
2. Blueberry Industry Blueberries a
Page 27 and 28: Table 2: Naturipe Facilities in the
Page 29 and 30: B. Profile: Wage Theft in the Blueb
Page 31 and 32: known for its devastating environme
Page 33 and 34: prominent supplier to Walmart, yet
Page 35 and 36: A. Supplier 1: Chiquita The United
Page 37 and 38: B. Supplier 2: Del Monte In additio
Page 39 and 40: iii. Environment In addition to hav
Page 41 and 42: 5. Packaged Salad Industry Packaged
Page 43 and 44: days even though he attributed this
Page 45 and 46: parts of their wages go to the empl
Page 47 and 48: Fred Penny is first vice chairman o
Page 49 and 50: product cost from wages if a distri
Page 51 and 52: A. Supplier 1: Cal-Maine Foods Cal-
Page 53 and 54: to roughly 10,000 cages in each bar
Page 55 and 56: no authority under the federal wate
Page 57 and 58: 8. Dairy Industry The dairy industr
Page 59 and 60: In 2010, the Obama administration d
Page 61 and 62: Nestlé’s issues with labor do no
Page 63 and 64: Walmart, including its subsidiaries
Page 65 and 66: United States. In fact, Joel was on
Page 67 and 68: cooperative joined the fluid milk b
Page 69 and 70: Another significant problem in the
Page 71 and 72: sectors. Common violations at poult
Page 73 and 74: during incidents at facilities in K
Page 75 and 76: the company in any of these cases.
Page 77: in getting the “Humanely Raised
Page 81 and 82: chain. “Walmart has still failed
Page 83 and 84: B. Environment Besides troubling la
Page 85 and 86: dollars in yearly revenue, 407 Schn
Page 87 and 88: i. Labor In December 2012, UNFI was
Page 89 and 90: money to non-profits “committed t
Page 91 and 92: Former Walmart President and CEO Mi
Page 93 and 94: 4. Does the price they receive, aft
Page 95 and 96: VII. Conclusion and Recommendations
Page 97 and 98: fact, Walmart’s business model ha
Page 99 and 100: 4. Establish a 40-hour minimum for
Page 101 and 102: Endnotes and Citations 1 “Our Loc
Page 103 and 104: 46 Stacy Mitchell, “Walmart’s A
Page 105 and 106: 89 “Memoria Anual Hortifrut S.A.
Page 107 and 108: 135 “Fresh Del Monte Produce, Cor
Page 109 and 110: 182 “Flowers Foods Investor Fact
Page 111 and 112: 232 Ibid. 233 Ibid. 234 Ibid. 235
Page 113 and 114: 282 Ibid. 283 Dale Heberlig, “Off
Page 115 and 116: 332 “Tyson Fact Book,” Tyson Fo
Page 117 and 118: 377 “Seafood Statistics,”Statis
Page 119 and 120: 428 Ibid. 429 “United Natural Foo
show all

Walmart-at-the-Crossroads-FINAL-06.04.15

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?