Tanaqui Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) I remember some posters here were surprised and upset to hear that much chocolate is produced by child slaves, so I thought I'd give you all a head's up - nearly all the shrimp in the US (and other places) is caught and processed by slaves. So now you know. (Man, it's always something I like to eat, isn't it? We never hear that cabbage is grown under forced labor or that mushrooms are destroying the environment. It's all the good stuff.) Organic and fair trade chocolate is ostensibly slavery-free. If you want slavery-free shrimp, and live near a coast, you might try finding a CSF. I don't know what else you can do. Edited December 20, 2015 by Tanaqui 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 (edited) Wow, I had no idea. Drat. Why not brussel sprouts? I would LOVE to boycott brussel sprouts. Edited December 20, 2015 by Carol in Cal. 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VeganCupcake Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Tomatoes (aside from heirloom varieties) generally are produced by slave labor as well. That sounds like a joke, but it's not. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Damn it. Tomatoes? But not zucchini? Why couldn't it have been zucchini? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frogger Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 You can always buy Alaskan shrimp. Also you can shell it yourself. Chocolate is harder. Though I'm typically more of a free trade person I know that children are trafficked to farms on the Ivory Coast. No free will involved. So my children and I have been looking for options. Of course, chocolate is really an optional food so we don't really need it anyway. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carol in Cal. Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Speak for yourself. I have long considered chocolate a food group. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Closeacademy Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Another reason to start a backyard garden. And we only have seafood on vacation and it's usually stuff my hubby goes out into the surf and catches himself or buys from one of those little local seafood shacks where the locals sell their catches. It's sad that slavery still exists today. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Minerva Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 ...And if slave labor isn't enough to stop you from eating shrimp, the horrible amount of bycatch that is brought up while the shrimpers drag their nets through the ocean might stop you. I have seen the shrimpers where we live sew the turtle excluders shut so that they catch more shrimp (and also more turtles and other fish). Perhaps there are cleaner, more ethical fisheries somewhere in the world, but where I live it is a dirty, ocean killing business. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Since shrimp is out of my budget I can say I have been boycotting it for years. I am saddened that slave labor is involved. It is increasingly difficult to be ethical about foods eaten. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umsami Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Yes, I live in Florida and when I used to live in Jacksonville, we used to get local "Mayport" shrimp for only a few dollars more per pound. The other choice was farmed shrimp from China, Vietnam, whatever. If you have the option for Gulf shrimp (Gulf of Mexico), I'm going to assume it's not processed that way (but I have no idea, really). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Thanks for making me feel good about not liking shrimp! More seriously, ugh. Slavery and exploitation are awful. What can we do in practical terms to make a difference? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachel Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 This is terrible. I rarely eat shrimp, but I do enjoy it. It kind of surprised me the shrimp made it to Whole Foods, I was under the impression WF worked hard to make sure their foods came from reputable sources. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garga Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 I'm under the impression that all the clothes we buy and all the food we buy has some sort of slavery attached to it. Blah. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted December 20, 2015 Share Posted December 20, 2015 Let me preface this by stating that where I live "shrimp", "oyster" and "clam" are nouns as well as verbs. My advice is to get to know your fishmonger so that you can know your sources. I eat Carolina shrimp regularly. It helps keep the economy going. :cool: There also used to be a popular bumper sticker in these parts that read "Friends don't let friends buy imported shrimp." 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TianXiaXueXiao Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 We only buy USA for all seafood and fish for this reason. Thanks for posting this topic. It's important to know where your food is from, what's in it, and how the wokers in the supply chain are treated. Another insidious ingredient is palm oil. 👎 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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