| Sunday, July 10, 2005 |  |
| National Fair Trade Protests Coincides Charlie and The Chocolate Factory Release | 0 comments |
| 10 Jul 2005 @ 15:42 National Fair Trade Protests to Coincide with Premier of "Charlieand the Chocolate Factory There is Nothing Magical About Child Labor! Help Promote Fair Trade at Screenings of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory In Your Town Starting July 15, 2005 When Tim Burton's summer blockbuster "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" opens July 15th, all eyes will be on the real chocolate industry and their response to continuing child labor abuses on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast. A peak behind the sourcing practices of companies like Mars, Hershey and Nestle -- maker of the Wonka Whipple Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight -- reveals not a magical candy forest, but a real human tragedy as children as young as nine continue to toil under unimaginable conditions on West African cocoa farms. The films release comes at a pivotal moment in the discussion about the real chocolate industry's response to child slavery on cocoa farms. July 1st 2005 marks the final deadline for the industry's voluntary protocol on child slavery. After four years of foot dragging, it is clear the chocolate industry has failed to live up to its commitments under the protocol and once again the possibility of binding legislation is on the table. Join Global Exchange, International Labor Rights Fund, United Students for Fair Trade, the Canadian Fair Trade Network and Peace Diviners International in making the most of the occasion by organizing a creative action to promote fair trade in your town, July 15th! Hand Out "Make My Wonka Bar Fair Trade" Leaflets Work with area theaters to set up regular tabling events or leaflet screenings of the films with our fabulous full color "Make My Wonka Bar Fair Trade" leaflets. The leaflets call upon Nestle USA -- maker of the fabled Wonka Bar and one of the largest importers of cocoa from the Ivory Coast, to do right by the characters in the film and go fair trade. To order leaflets please send your name, address and phone number to jamie@globalexchange.org or call 415-575-5538 or download and reproduce your own online at: [link] Stage a Creative Action to Get Media Attention for Your Event Dress up like the characters from the film or create giant Wonka Bar visuals to add color and energy to your action. The film and book provide myriad hooks for your group to formulate its own songs and chants the virtues of fair trade and why Willy Wonka and our hero Charlie might suggest that the major chocolate companies be thrown down the shoot for not living up To their responsibility to end child labor on cocoa farms. You can use our Oompa Loompa songs and chants or write your own! For more creative ideas and to share yours with us and others visit: [link] Talk About Fair Trade at Your Summer Camp or Youth Group Teachers, counselers and youth group leaders! This is a terrific Opportunity to introduce your kids to activism and an easy and fun way to talk about where their chocolate comes from. Global Exchange has myriad resources for teachers and other educators to talk to their children about fair trade and empower them to help their peers on cocoa farms around the world. Whether you are reading Charlie and the Chocolate Factory in your classroom, Taking a group of kids to see the film or just looking for a way to get out of the sun and into the cool theater this summer, our fair trade materials for kids can help you make the most of the experience. Fair trade lesson plans, teaching materials and action guides for children of all ages are available online at: [link] Can't Make it to the Film? Write, Call and Email Nestle from Home! Global Exchange has set up a fax action for folks who can't make the actions to send a message to Nestle CEO, Joe Waller from the comfort of their own homes. Have a wireless laptop? Then you can do it from your lawn chair! Take a second to send a fax to Mr. Waller right now and let him know that we aren't satisfied with Nestles efforts to end child labor to date and insist they take the problem seriously by switching to fair trade. You can use our sample letter or write your own! [link] For more information on how to get involved or to order "Make My Wonka Bar Fair Trade" postcards please contact Jamie Guzzi at Global Exchange, 415-575-5538 or email Jamie@globalexchange.org. For more information on the dates and times of screenings of "Charlie andthe Chocolate Factory" in your town please visit: [link] --- Jamie Guzzi Fair Trade Cocoa Campaigner Global Exchange jamie@globalexchange.org 415-575-5538 www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade 2017 Mission Street #303, San Francisco, CA 94110 Support Fair Trade today by visiting Global Exchange's Fair Trade stores. On-line and retail in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Portland www.globalexchange.org/store Global Exchange is a non-profit research, education, and action center working for political, economic, environmental, and social justice on a global scale. We work to increase international awareness among the U.S. public emphasizing struggles for peace, justice, and equality while building meaningful international partnerships. |
| Big Food Buys Politicians to Exempt Itself from Damages | 0 comments |
| 10 Jul 2005 @ 15:39 America's Obesity Epidemic: Big Food Buys Politicians to Exempt Itself from Damages From: The New York Times July 7, 2005 The Food Industry Empire Strikes Back By MELANIE WARNER Late-night comedians had a field day in the summer of 2002 when a lawsuit accusing McDonald's of making two teenage customers in New York fat and unhealthy was filed. But thousands of restaurant owners were not amused: Pelman v. McDonald's was the second time in a month that lawyers had tried to hold food companies responsible for America's obesity crisis. Food and restaurant companies, fearing they would be hammered with enormous judgments, as the tobacco industry was, immediately began fighting back, waging an aggressive campaign to make it impossible for anyone to sue them successfully for causing obesity or obesity-related health problems. Almost three years later, they have had astounding success. Twenty states have enacted versions of a "commonsense consumption" law. They vary slightly in substance, but all prevent lawsuits seeking personal injury damages related to obesity from ever being tried in their courts. Another 11 states have similar legislation pending. Although plaintiffs' lawyers are confident there are ways around the new state laws, the measures, along with a class-action overhaul bill President Bush signed into law this year, will probably make it harder for lawyers in obesity cases to win the kind of large awards seen in tobacco cases. The National Restaurant Association, based in Washington, and its 50 state organizations, which represent large chains like McDonald's and small independent businesses, led the campaign. In most states, lobbyists for food companies and restaurants helped write the legislation and did much of the legwork in state capitols. Restaurant owners and food company executives personally visited state lawmakers, testified at hearings and steered campaign contributions to pivotal lawmakers. Executives from Kraft and Coca-Cola showed up in Texas, for instance, to lobby for that state's commonsense consumption bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry last month. According to data from the Institute on Money in State Politics, a nonpartisan research group based in Helena, Mont., in the 2002 and 2004 election cycles, the food and restaurant industry gave a total of $5.5 million to politicians in the 20 states that have passed laws shielding companies from obesity liability. Adoption of commonsense consumption laws by almost half the states reveals how an organized and impassioned lobbying effort, combined with a receptive legislative climate, can quickly alter the legal framework on a major public health issue like obesity. Consumer advocates, who knew about the state efforts but were preoccupied trying to prevent similar measures from being enacted on a national level, are not pleased. Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, calls it "shameful" that food companies are trying to get special exemptions from lawsuits. "If someone is saying that a 64-ounce soda at 7-Eleven contributed to obesity, that person should have his day in court," Mr. Jacobson said. "If it's frivolous, the courts are accustomed to throwing those out." CLICK TO READ More > |
| The Quest for Individuation | 1 comment |
 10 Jul 2005 @ 15:17 Though at times it may feel like we simply blend in and are lost in the machinations of modern culture, we are all Divine sparks of illumination, individuated seeds of potential yearning to be realized. Our innate gifts, our passionate expressions, are a creative force constantly manifesting the world we live in and the future we willl behold. More > |