Slavery and Coco... --Help with an assignment--

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#1 Yes, and that's why I only buy fair trade (dark) chocolate, even though it costs 3 or 4 times as much.

#2 Absolutely, but WTO and UN involvement are both likely to be needed. As evidenced by the fact that pretty much every nation in the world knowingly imports this stuff as it is, it stands to reason that none of these nations will act without first being forced.

#3 Economic disincentives make the most sense. Companies that are known to export such products shouldn't be allowed to export. Nations that allow such companies to export should face economic sanctions. Nations that knowingly import such products should face the same sanctions. Companies that knowingly purchase those products anyway should be fined. Severely. Country of origin labeling should be mandated for all food products. While one of the most egregious offenders, slavery and other highly exploitative practices are not isolated solely to the Cocao industry. Coffee and (ironically) bananas are two other food products that often involve more than their fair share of exploitation, and addressing one problem without the rest is a lot like shining your shoes after sleeping in your suit.

#4 It has been more than a decade since I have bought such products..

#5 I am and I do. Sadly, I doubt that most others would.

#6 Like most companies, they will only do the right thing if forced by government intervention. I find it incredibly ironic that consumers were willing to boycott to get dolphin-free tuna, but they aren't willing to do a damn thing about child labor, sweatshops, or the outright slavery often found in the cacao industry.

#7 Green.

#8 To secure employment in talk radio.

#9 A hell of a lot faster than a snail.

 

1. No
2. No
3. The last thing the Ivory Coast and Africa needs is the rest world butting in. They need to learn to solve their own problems.
4. Yes, Halloween wouldn't be the same
5. If not given an option, I guess I would have to pay the higher price.
6. Positive
7. Blue
8. To wrest control of SP and the BOM from Tal and turn it into a conservative paradise
9. You only have to know these types of things if you are a king and I am not a king. Therefore I do not know.

 

Chandos, I think you're reading what you want to read. I have found many social science professors latch onto a research result and keep a tight grip even when presented with contrary evidence. Some people choose to believe what they want to believe and the method of evaluating research in the social sciences tends to allow those people to hold a perception much longer than reasonable. I think we could both site several examples (particulary in anthropology) where this is the case. Perhaps this is just a science versus social science bias I have (most of the science majors I knew felt the same way).

I would not recommend to Kitrax to present a contrary view in his assignment -- that rarely goes over well in a university. In spite of professors constantly stating they want to "open the minds of their students" they really just want to fill those minds with the professor's own opinions (which goes for nearly all disciplines).

 

#1 - I was aware they weren't exactly fair trade
#2 - Of course, freedom should be a basic right to everyone.
#3 - Trade embargo and sanctions upon the offending corporations.
#4 - I have never bought from Hershey's, they are not that big in the UK, Nestlé and Mars I have brought from, Nestlé tends to taste cheap and is overpriced, Mars I like Bounty. Generally I buy flavoured dark chocolate from other brands however.
#5 - I don't have any dollars I generally wouldn't spend that much on chocolate, I can get two large bars for £2 of another brand, so I would probably just revert to another, better, company.
#6 - I have no opinion on the companies in particular. I do consider a company rich enough to consider options other than outright exploitation should have done so by now.
#7 - Purple
#8 - To develop better AI neural networks and software.
#9 - From stationary or projected mechanically?

 

I only found that to be the case occasionally. Most every prof I had, and my minor was in history, did NOT keep a "tight grip" on conclusions drawn from research, particularly in history. I only had the basics in sociology, psychology and political science but the one thing I found in particular is that most of these profs almost always spoke of the different points of view and areas of study that often had contrary opinions, (that makes sense in survey classes), especially political science and psychology.

They hardly ever presented their own personal views on each area or point of view, and often would not answer on direct questioning by students regarding their own personal opnions on different schools of thought, except for those who were willing to carefully read between the lines, which most students didn't bother with, since a lot of them viewed the social sciences as a complete waste of time and only wanted to put their time in to get the credit.

Again, I have no idea why you keep presenting comments like this as "rarely goes over well in a universtiy," when others who have attended them, just as you have, know full well what "goes over" well and what doesn't. It sounds like a personal agenda to me. Really, some of us have had a different experience than you, obviously, in the university, and while your opinion is always welcome, it is hardly universal.

To be honest, I know I can be opinionated and argumentative. And in college I was WORSE than I am now, and I still managed to graduate with the highest honors. In fact, in some the classes that I argued with profs the most, I still got my 4.00 and still managed to get good compliments from them on my work, despite our disagreements. Most of them were willing to be challenged and were often real gentlemen and gentlewomen in the process, particularly in history and often invited me to discuss the points of history in private, which is how I managed to become personal friends with some of them. In those situations, they did explain their own personal viewpoints and beliefs on the area of study.

I will go even further: One of the few places I miss the most is college, and it is because it was one of the few places where I could be contrary and not be criticized for being so. I found most everyone there to be far more open-minded than most anywhere else, particularly in the corporate world, where conformity rules. All I can say is that I feel sorry for you that your experience was very different than mine, T2.

 

Of course it's a personal agenda Chandos -- all scientists are against the social sciences.

 

I thought this topic was meant to be about helping Kit with his coursework, not slating the potential flaws of his lecturers. We don't know the teaching plan, we just have a questionnaire and a specific example, it may not be the most appropriate example - but it's one that covers a lot of bases - pretty much everyone has experience with chocolate and it's easier to do general surveys on them.

The subject is useful for utilising vital skills and encompassing an area of knowledge of the local population, you can tell from the responses so far are pretty much "no" to "yes but..." demonstrating well enough that those who are aware of it have looked deeper into it, in essence it answers two questions over one, "are you aware of it? Did you care?"

 

#1 - Where you *aware* that those 3 companies buy their coco beans from plantations that use forced labor/slavery?
Slavery itself no, though I would have known their practices were far from good.

#2 - Do you think the world (not just the US) should act to stop slavery in the Ivory Coast?
I think we should try and strenghten the Ivorian Coast government generally. I wouldn't act against slavery in the Ivory Coast specifically.

#3 - What do you think should be done...if, say the WTO, US, EU, or NATO took action?
As above.

#4 - Will you continue to buy & eat Snickers, Butterfinger, Hershey Kisses, and other chocolate candies, knowing that the 3 companies buy coco from plantations that use slavery?
Yes. Most stuff we but comes from practices we wouldn't consider acceptable here.

#5 - Would you be willing to pay upwards for $3+ for the same exact candies if the 3 companies move exclusively to Fair Trade practices? (No slavery = higher price)
If every company did then yes, I wouldn't have a choice. If only some of them did I'd get the lower price one probably.

#6 - What are your general thoughts of the 3 companies (not how candy 'X' tastes better than candy 'Y')
I think they're fairly standard global multinationals. I'm aware that Nestle has had some awful practices in the past in some divisions (I'm particularly thinking of the baby milk).

#7 - What is your favorite color?
Purple.

#8 - What is your quest?
World domination. It seems I have competition .

#9 - What is the air speed velocity of an unladen swallow?
I cheat and shoot it. It's now accelerating at 9.8m/s/s towards the ground.

This reminds me of my management lecturer in my final year who was obsessed with child labour. My opening line to my exam answer was 'A child in such an area is more likely to be found in a brothel than a school' .

 

8people you should have realized by now everything in the alleys turns into either a religious or political argument.

 

1: No, I was not fully aware of this fact, but it does not surprise me in the slightest.

2: The world should try to stop the slavery in the Ivory Coast.

3: The best course of action is limited sanctions.

4: I have neither the time nor inclination to vet every single item I buy to ensure that every supplier, transporter, and vendor around the world is adhering to moral practices. Such a policy would be exhausting.

5: If I were assured by a credible source that that was the only reason for the price hike, yes. Sadly, I would have a tough time finding a sourse that I consider credible on an issue of this nature.

6: I don't think that they are any different than companies in other fields. The majority of companies hold the bottom line to be profit. If they didn't, they would soon be pushed out of the market by their less scrupulous employees. So I'm not willing to villify them in particular when most of their corporate peers are doing the same damn thing.

7: Black.
8: To make through the day.
9: All the clever jokes are taken, and I can't bring myself to make a vile joke in the Alleys.

 

Oh FFS... I go to sleep for 12 hours, and you kids highjack my thread.

Well, we'll have to blame the curriculum that was given to him by the corporately owned and publically traded ITT Tech.

I guess I should have mentioned that these 3 companies don't use 100% "slave coco". Coco is grown pretty much everywhere in the 'Bean Belt' (The area is between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn). He didn't print out his PPT that had all the 'facts', numbers, and other data relating to the matter. Perhaps I could get him to email me a copy of it so I can post it here.

On a side note, the video we had to watch was a documentary made by a Brit couple...it's kind of hard to deny when you see the faces of rescued men.

LMFAO! Best answer by far! You Win!

 

Sorry, Kit. I'll have to blame it on all those beers I drank yesterday.

I'm a little surprised that this story has not been better covered in the mainstream media. Well, sort of....

 

That's what we're here for. At least we didn't start talking about some sexual conquest or comparing size of ... whatever.

 

... What are you doing to that swallow, 8?

That's acceleration, not velocity. To calculate instantaneous velocity, you'd need to know the time it had been falling, the originating velocity (magnitude and vector), and the drag it's experiencing. I'm sorry, but as an engineer, I'm a stickler for this stuff.

As to Chandos and T2, from my experience in College, I can say both positions have merrit, though I did notice that the social sciences professors were more likely to stick to a position than others.

Kitrax, I'd say you probably know more about your teacher than any of us, so use your best judgement.

 

Well it could be catapulted

 

As for the derailing, I am somewhere between the two poles represented by Chandos and T2. I've had open minded profs who were just happy when we the students researched and engaged a topic. I also had classic psycho feminazis whose primary warcry was "all men are pigs, but white men are more oinkie than others", and every single thing that followed was on that theme, regardless of evidence, logic, or even the application of common sense. Their classes were not fun.

All in all, when someone holds your grade in his/her hand, it's best not to take chances. Wait until later when you have some clout to challenge the positions of others. That's my humble advice.

We now return this thread to its previous purpose.

 

#1 – No
#2 – Yes, by diplomatic means
#3 – same as #2
#4 – I don’t buy their products anyway, so no.
#5 – no (see #4)
#6 – mild displeasure, but not really surprised.
#7 – 42
#8 – to find a pail
#9 – I swallow with my throat, and my throat doesn’t fly (at least, not by itself)

 

I know, that's why I said it was accelerating. It no longer has a constant velocity. Well, until it hits the ground anyway.

Besides, I said I was cheating .

 

I will have to rethink my position on this.