Comments on: An example of corporate social responsibility? NOT. http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/ A green and more just food system starts with small farmers. Thu, 17 May 2012 02:33:31 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: euandus http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1582 Sat, 17 Oct 2009 20:48:10 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1582 JPMorgan and Goldman bonuses and risk-taking (i.e., ignoring the society’s criticism regarding the financial crisis) may be a counterexample to the importance of CSR in business. I just posted on this example, in case you are interested.

Nice post!

]]> By: Paula http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1420 Wed, 19 Aug 2009 18:38:17 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1420 I’m really impressed by your website, and wanted to let you know about some books I’ve written for Rosen Publishing.
As a freelance writer, I was glad to receive a dream assignment last year from my editor at Rosen. They commissioned books from me for marketing to high school libraries across North America. The books were on green topics: Making Good Choices About Fair Trade, Making Good Choices About Nonrenewable Resources, Jobs in Sustainable Agriculture, and Biofuels.
Get this — I didn’t have to suggest these titles — a senior editor approached me about writing them! At a time when another educational publisher I know is facing the “recession” by cutting back titles and cancelling new series of books, Rosen instead is concentrating on making their new titles more topical and timely.
You can learn more about them at http://www.rosenpublishing.com

]]> By: Brian O'Connell http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1406 Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:44:30 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1406 Chiquita is not the only corporation that is up to no good in Colombia. Check out this website:

http://www.killercoke.org/

]]> By: Jim http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1403 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:59:22 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1403 Thank you for keeping a spotlight on this situation. The lack of awareness around corporate “morality” is, in my opinion, a big part of the reason business is able to continue “as usual” in spite of public disgust with this behavior.

Please keep the light shining.

]]> By: Phyllis Robinson http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1399 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:27:13 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1399 Hey Brian,

Thanks for pointing out some of the background information that you wish 60 Minutes had provided its viewers. While it is true, that there was much more they could say, about Colombia and about Chiquita’s history (as Keith so succinctly points out above), personally, I commend them for airing this story. Not once, as they did last year, but for keeping it alive, and airing it again as they did this week.

Who else is talking about Chiquita and Dole? Why isn’t anyone suggesting boycotts? The justifications and excuses that Aguirre makes in the interview are outrageous – and offensive – to me. History has been through this over and over again; where is the public outcry in this country?

As for your last comment – maybe people in the US should eat more apples. Actually, I disagree. I have no problem with people in the US eating bananas (or drinking coffee, tea or chocolate for that matter.) I have a problem with corporations putting their profits above all other considerations and I have a problem that we’ve created economic systems which make it difficult to fully understand who is benefitting and who is losing. I have a problem that consumers don’t know or don’t care, or feel they have no choice, and so continue buying products from companies whose behavior we find unethical at best.

Ultimately, I’m trying to understand how to stay better informed myself, how to help educate others, and most importantly, how to build alternative supply chains and alternative ways of doing business.

Rather than not eat bananas, I’d ask folks to buy bananas from companies that are trying to behave in positive, ethical, environmentally responsible ways. Having just returned from a trip to Ecuador to visit the co-operative, El Guabo, where Equal Exchange is buying our organic, Fair Trade bananas…. well, I’d hope that folks will support us and buy these bananas and other products we can actually feel good about…..

]]> By: Brian O'Connell http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1396 Tue, 11 Aug 2009 14:39:03 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1396 One thing that the 60 Minutes piece did not focus on was the historical background of the situation in Colombia. The producers seem to assume that the viewer knows this already. What is the history of Chiquita Bannana in Colombia? How has it played into the formation of the social/political framework of the country?

The 60 Mintues piece also points to the Marxist uprising of the FARC as seemingly coming out of no where and as being the origen of the conflict. Why was there a revolution? What were their demands? What was their motivation?

We don’t have to champion the FARC but it’s important to look at the root causes of the problems. These questions could easily fill volumes of books (and they have) but 60 Minutes could at least have spent 30-40 seconds of their piece providing more background in order for the viewer to be better informed. In the end, they end up leaving an incomplete picture of the scenario. I’ll dare say it’s even misleading, intentionally or not.

As Rep. Delehunt points out in the piece, there are many corporations that are paying paramilitary groups in Colombia. Chiquita now has the advantage of being able to say, “hey, at least we came clean”. Chiquita makes a compelling case that they were only trying to protect their own workers. But this is misleading. Did the paramilitaries ever kill any of the workers at Chiquita? If so, why?

The right thing for Chiquita to do would have been to engage in some sort of corporate civil disobedience and directly address the human rights abuses. Human Rights comes before business.

Maybe the bannana plantations in Colombia should be run by Colombians. Maybe people in the US should eat more apples.

]]> By: Keith http://smallfarmersbigchange.coop/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1391 Mon, 10 Aug 2009 20:13:39 +0000 http://eecampaign.wordpress.com/2009/08/10/an-example-of-corporate-social-responsibility-not/#comment-1391 From the people who brought you thirty years of civil war in Guatemala…

Check out Chiquita on Wikipedia; much to be ashamed of.

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