Nutella
- Details
- Published on Sunday, 29 November -0001 16:00
- Written by editor
Ferrero is buying palm oil laced with child abuse, deforestation and land-theft.
We need your help to force this chocolate giant to clean up its act and protect children, communities and our planet from destructive palm oil.
Trigger warning: this email contains descriptions of child abuse.
A,
Kids as young as ten are forced to work grueling 12-hour shifts to harvest palm oil in Indonesia and Malaysia. Exhaustion, injuries, heavy loads, and worst of all: rape and trafficking. These palm oil plantations are a nightmare for these kids.
To add insult to injury, huge swathes of magnificent rainforest are destroyed to make way for these hellish palm oil plantations. And Ferrero is happily buying this palm oil to make chocolate spread, cookies, and candies.
These plantations are a far cry from the joy of Nutella, Kinder and Ferrero Rochers, and Ferrero knows... it. But here’s the thing: Ferrero cares deeply about its family-friendly image. It’s even published a fancy policy in an attempt to fool its customers.
We know this is a lie -- and if we expose it, we could force Ferrero to ensure the palm oil it buys doesn’t cost children and our planet.
The horrific treatment of children on plantations is just one example of the many horrors surrounding the production of conflict palm oil.
Palm oil companies bulldoze and burn swathes of rainforest to make way for plantations, stealing land from the Indigenous communities who have nurtured it for thousands of years.
Orangutans -- who call these pristine forests their last home -- are shot dead if they dare explore plantations in search of food. Villagers often find dead orangutans -- in 2018, one unlucky orangutan was shot 130 times in Borneo.
This endless misery seems inevitable, but companies like Ferrero have the power to end it all. If we force an industry laggard like Ferrero to make good on its promises and clean up its supply chain, it’ll have a domino effect on peers and competitors like Mondelez.
We know that Ferrero is paying attention and all we need is a massive public outcry to force the maker of Nutella into action. So A, can we count on your name?
Thanks for all that you do,
Fatah, Anna, and the team at SumOfUs
More information:
Child labor in palm oil industry tied to Girl Scout cookies, AP News, December 30, 2020
Major Brands and Banks Failing to Stop Deforestation and Human Rights Abuses, New Scorecard Finds, Rainforest Action Network, April 26, 2021
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