{"id":53507,"date":"2022-06-07T00:24:59","date_gmt":"2022-06-06T22:24:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/?p=53507"},"modified":"2025-04-03T10:35:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T08:35:31","slug":"il-lavoro-minorile-nellindustria-dellolio-di-palma-a-proposito-di-nestle-unilever-kellogs-pepsi-co-e-ferrero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/il-lavoro-minorile-nellindustria-dellolio-di-palma-a-proposito-di-nestle-unilever-kellogs-pepsi-co-e-ferrero\/","title":{"rendered":"Il lavoro minorile nell&#8217;industria dell&#8217;olio di palma. A proposito di Nestl\u00e8, Unilever, Kellog\u2019s, Pepsi co e Ferrero"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<em>\u00a0Redatto il 13 giugno 2021, aggiornato il 7 giugno\u00a0 2022.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Questo articolo, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/la-guerra-in-ucraina-toglie-le-patatine-fritte-dal-menu-in-germania\/\">in un momento quanto mai difficile (<strong>guerra in Ucraina, mancanza di olio di girasole<\/strong>),<\/a> mi sembra <strong>di grande attualit\u00e0: come faranno le aziende che usano l&#8217;olio di palma, alternativo a quello di girasole,\u00a0 a risolvere il problema del lavoro minorile? <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Anche perch\u00e8 il problema \u00e8 tornato a galla il 15 aprile 2022 : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/lavoro-forzato-nelle-piantagioni-in-malesia-ferrero-blocca-gli-acquisti-di-olio-di-palma-dalla-sime-darby-plantation\/\">\u201cLavoro forzato nelle piantagioni in Malesia\u201d: Ferrero blocca gli acquisti di olio di palma dalla Sime Darby Plantation <\/a><\/strong><\/em><em>(<a href=\"https:\/\/ilfattoalimentare.it\/olio-di-palma-problemi-blocco-esportazioni-indonesia.html\">Indonesia e Malesia producono l&#8217;84% dell&#8217;olio di palma mondiale<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong><em>Ferrero \u00e8 stata classificata come azienda con miglior prezzo\/qualit\u00e0 in Italia (AF Repubblica , 28 marzo 2022), ma forse, per una valutazione pi\u00f9 completa va considerato quanto esposto di seguito.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/nestle-aiuti-economici-agli-agricoltori-per-fermare-il-lavoro-minorile\/\">Da notare che, poco prima dell&#8217;inizio della guerra, Nestl\u00e8 hannunciato azioni concrete contro il lavoro minorile.<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Per un aggiornamento legg<\/strong>i anche :<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/indonesia-stop-allexport-di-olio-di-palma\/\"> Indonesia : stop all&#8217;export di olio di palma<\/a> ma soprattutto :\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ilfattoalimentare.it\/olio-di-palma-problemi-blocco-esportazioni-indonesia.html\">Olio di palma, i problemi mondiali provocati dal blocco delle esportazioni da parte dell\u2019Indonesia<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<strong>Ferrero<\/strong> (e tutti gli altri), visto questo contesto, stanno cercando <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/lolio-di-palma-scarseggia-ecco-come-snack-e-dolci-lo-sostituiscono-peggiorando-il-valore-nutrizionale\/\"><strong>olii alternativi all&#8217;olio di palma<\/strong>,<\/a> ma, al di l\u00e0 della qualit\u00e0 degli alimenti (importantissima) che rischia di scendere, <strong>\u00e8 comunque lecito domandarsi come &#8220;finir\u00e0&#8221; la vicenda del lavoro minorile. <\/strong><\/em><strong><em>Che sia in Ghana, in Turchia o in Indonesia.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Abbiamo gi\u00e0 parlato del<strong> lavoro minorile<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/ferrero-la-politica-delle-nocciole-in-italia-e-in-turchia\/\">in Turchia (nocciole)<\/a> e in<a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/piano-nestle-per-azzerare-le-emissioni-e-il-lavoro-minorile\/\"> Africa (Ghana e Costa d&#8217;Avorio, cacao).<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sotto trovate un&#8217;inchiesta della famosa agenzia <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/\"><strong>Associated Press<\/strong><\/a> (nel seguito abbreviata con la sigla<strong> AP<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/it.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Associated_Press\">Con <strong>Reuters<\/strong>, <strong>AP<\/strong> \u00e8 una delle agenzie pi\u00f9 importanti al mondo.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Vi si parla del legame tra una ragazzina scout americana, che vuole saperne di pi\u00f9 sull&#8217;<strong>olio di palma<\/strong>, e una bimba indonesiana , costretta a lasciare la scuola e a lavorare nelle piantagioni dove si raccolgono e si lavorano i noccioli che servono al prodotto che \u00e8 <strong>presente nella met\u00e0 dei prodotti venduti dai supermercati<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Piano piano, indagando, Olivia, che era una grande venditrice di biscotti per gli scout, si accorge che &#8220;non \u00e8 oro tutto quel che sembra luccicare&#8221;, e cio\u00e8 che, ad esempio, le certificazioni che dovrebbero tutelare i lavoratori, l&#8217;ambiente e i consumatori presentano numerose falle.<\/p>\n<p>Ma facciamo un passo indietro, dando un quadro generale:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/palm-oil-forests-indonesia-scouts-83b01f2789e9489569960da63b2741c4\">l&#8217;inchiesta della <strong>AP<\/strong> \u00e8 stata effettuata presso 130 lavoratori o ex lavoratori presso 25 aziende + 100 attivisti, insegnanti, sindacalisti, ricercatori, avvocati, etc. Sono stati interpellati anche gli organi governativi. La <strong>AP<\/strong> ha tracciato l&#8217;olio di palma con l&#8217;ausilio dei documenti delle dogane USA.<\/a><\/li>\n<li>l&#8217;industria dell&#8217;olio di palma vale 65 miliardi di $. L&#8217;85% dell&#8217;olio pi\u00f9 consumato al mondo viene da due paesi : Indonesia e Malesia.<\/li>\n<li>l&#8217;olio di palma \u00e8 &#8220;ovunque&#8221; nel cibo (cereali, dolci, gelati di <strong>Nestl\u00e8, Unilever, Kellog&#8217;s, Pepsi co<\/strong> e altre aziende leader, <strong>Ferrero<\/strong> inclusa). Ma \u00e8 presente anche nei cosmetici. Ha 200 nomi diversi, per questo molto spesso \u00e8 difficile da individuare.<\/li>\n<li>il lavoro minorile \u00e8 stato identificato come un problema dall&#8217;ONU e dal governo americano.<\/li>\n<li>i bambini\u00a0 lavorano nelle piantagioni fino a 12 ore al giorno, a volte con le mani insanguinate dalle punture degli scorpioni o a contatto con <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/la-lobby-dei-pesticidi-che-smercia-sostanze-proibite-nei-paesi-extra-ue\/\">pesticidi e diserbanti che sono proibiti in Occidente.<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<li>lo fanno per aiutare la loro famiglia che vi ricava circa 5 $ al giorno, se non vi sono sbagli che portano al taglio della paga.<\/li>\n<li>in Indonesia secondo stime ONU lavorano<strong> 1,5 milioni di bambini &#8211; ragazzini<\/strong> dai 10 ai 15 anni &#8211; su una forza lavoro di 16 milioni. In Malesia l&#8217;et\u00e0 scende a 5-11 anni. Spesso\u00a0 si tratta di bambini senza nessun diritto perch\u00e8 non hanno documenti e vengono abusati, picchiati etc. Molti finiscono vittime della tratta di esseri umani. Non hanno ovviamente cure mediche ne accesso all&#8217;educazione. Si stima che, in Malesia, ce ne siano tra gli 80&#8217;000 e i 160&#8217;000. Nessuno lo sa con certezza.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/anche-in-guatemala-le-piantagioni-di-palme-da-olio-causano-deforestazione-e-le-certificazioni-sono-semplici-pezzi-di-carta\/\">la <strong>certificazione RSPO<\/strong>, usata da molte multinazionali<\/a> (tra le quali <strong>Ferrero<\/strong>),\u00a0 non riesce a monitorare 1,5 milioni di bambini in un territorio grande come la Nuova Zelanda. <strong>Rainforest Action<\/strong> (USA) lo considera uno strumento di <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/greenwashing-lo-screening-dei-siti-web-rivela-che-la-meta-delle-affermazioni-ecologiche-e-priva-di-fondamento\/\"><strong>greenwashing.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/anche-in-guatemala-le-piantagioni-di-palme-da-olio-causano-deforestazione-e-le-certificazioni-sono-semplici-pezzi-di-carta\/\"><strong>RSPO<\/strong> <\/a>non vuol dire che non c&#8217;\u00e8 lavoro minorile e che tutto \u00e8 &#8220;sostenibile&#8221; (vedi il video alla fine, in inglese)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Olivia, la ragazza scout, si \u00e8 ricreduta sulle attivit\u00e0 &#8220;sostenibili&#8221; in generale ma non ha abbandonato l&#8217;idea di cambiare il mondo.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/wwf-sullolio-di-palma-ferrero-tra-le-migliori\/\">La certificazione <strong>RSPO<\/strong> ha tratto in inganno un p\u00f2 tutti : il sottoscritto, molte ONG, etc . <\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/wwf-sullolio-di-palma-ferrero-tra-le-migliori\/\">E poi tutti noi pensavamo si trattasse di un problema di deforestazione, invece non \u00e8 solo cos\u00ec.<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Conclusione<\/strong> : ovviamente, <strong>in questo contesto,<\/strong> con <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/1121dc8b-fcd2-414b-9a50-b62f3899de77\">previsioni di incrementi delle materie prime &#8211; tra le quali , in primis , l&#8217;olio di palma &#8211; <strong>non se ne pu\u00f2 parlare<\/strong><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/piano-nestle-per-azzerare-le-emissioni-e-il-lavoro-minorile\/\"><strong>di incrementi dei prezzi<\/strong> <strong>per finanziare una eventuale &#8220;politica sociale delle imprese coinvolte&#8221;.<\/strong><\/a><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Il Financial Times scrive infatti , a proposito soprattutto del<strong> cioccolato<\/strong> che <strong>un rialzo dei prezzi farebbe decrescere la domanda\u00a0<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/1121dc8b-fcd2-414b-9a50-b62f3899de77\">&#8220;price uplift is very likely to decrease demand&#8221;<\/a>) e che il settore sembra &#8220;vulnerabile (*)&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>Il lavoro minorile sembra quindi un enorme <strong>rompicapo<\/strong>, sul quale \u00e8 inutile per\u00f2 fare &#8220;proclami&#8221; perch\u00e8\u00a0 qualsiasi piccolo intervento sembra una goccia in un&#8217;oceano. <strong>Mi riferisco , ad esempio, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/ferrero-spinge-sul-cacao-tracciato-per-garantire-la-sostenibilita-delle-filiere\/\">Ferrero spinge sul cacao tracciato per garantire la sostenibilit\u00e0 delle filiere?<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Nell&#8217;articolo vi \u00e8 scritto : <em>&#8221; La partnership strategica con Save the Children, iniziata con il programma triennale lanciato nel 2017-2020 in 20 comunit\u00e0 della <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/piano-nestle-per-azzerare-le-emissioni-e-il-lavoro-minorile\/\">Costa d\u2019Avorio<\/a>, dunque continua. Il nuovo progetto cofinanziato per 8 milioni di euro durer\u00e0 cinque anni, l\u2019intervento prevede il coinvolgimento di 37mila beneficiari diretti ed un totale di 90mila persone tra bambini ed adulti che saranno raggiunti da\u00a0<strong>attivit\u00e0 di sensibilizzazione<\/strong>, in 65 comunit\u00e0 nella regione ivoriana di Haut-Sassandra, dove Ferrero acquista una quantit\u00e0 significativa di cacao&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Ma &#8220;sensibilizzazione&#8221; cosa vuol dire?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>E poi, anche se i problemi in Costa d&#8217;Avorio venissero risolti, rimarrebbero quelli relativi al lavoro minorile in Turchia, Indonesia e Malesia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Da notare l&#8217;encomiabile recente iniziativa <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/aldi-sud-e-aldi-nord-lanciano-il-cioccolato-equo-e-solidale\/\">Aldi Sud e Aldi Nord lanciano il cioccolato equo e solidale<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Un esempio sul quale riflettere, visto che capacit\u00e0 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/non-solo-nutella-con-una-maxi-fusione-giovanni-ferrero-ha-creato-un-nuovo-gruppo-in-belgio\/\">e mezzi<\/a> a Ferrero non mancano.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/il-2021-e-lanno-internazionale-per-leliminazione-del-lavoro-minorile\/\"><strong>Il 2021 \u00e8 l\u2019anno internazionale per l\u2019eliminazione del lavoro minorile<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Da notare che in Indonesia esiste anche il land grabbing : <a href=\"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/flash\/bbc-indonesia-voce-agli-indigeni-derubati-per-produrre-olio-di-palma\/\">BBC Indonesia. Voce agli indigeni derubati per produrre olio di palma<\/a><\/p>\n<p>(*) da verificare attentamente :<strong> il cioccolato<\/strong> non \u00e8 la pasta (per l&#8217;Italia) o il cos cous (per i paesi del Maghreb)&#8230; quel che voglio dire \u00e8 che <strong>non \u00e8 essenziale\u00a0<\/strong>nei pasti quotidiani e , probabilmente, nessuno si accorgerebbe dell&#8217;aumento di prezzo di una barretta di cioccolato.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<h2><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/palm-oil-forests-indonesia-scouts-83b01f2789e9489569960da63b2741c4\"><strong>Child labor in palm oil industry tied to Girl Scout cookies<\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n<p><strong>By ROBIN McDOWELL and MARGIE MASON<\/strong><br \/>\nDecember 30, 2020<\/p>\n<p>They are two young girls from two very different worlds, linked by a global industry that exploits an army of children.<br \/>\nOlivia Chaffin, a Girl Scout in rural Tennessee, was a top cookie seller in her troop when she first heard rainforests were being destroyed to make way for ever-expanding palm oil plantations. On one of those plantations a continent away, 10-year-old Ima helped harvest the fruit that makes its way into a dizzying array of products sold by leading Western food and cosmetics brands.<\/p>\n<p>Ima is among the estimated tens of thousands of children working alongside their parents in Indonesia and Malaysia, which supply 85% of the world\u2019s most consumed vegetable oil. An Associated Press investigation found most earn little or no pay and are routinely exposed to toxic chemicals and other dangerous conditions. Some never go to school or learn to read and write. Others are smuggled across borders and left vulnerable to trafficking or sexual abuse. Many live in limbo with no citizenship and fear being swept up in police raids and thrown into detention.<\/p>\n<p>The AP used U.S. Customs records and the most recently published data from producers, traders and buyers to trace the fruits of their labor from the processing mills where palm kernels were crushed to the supply chains of many popular kids\u2019 cereals, candies and ice creams sold by Nestle, Unilever, Kellogg\u2019s, PepsiCo and many other leading food companies, including Ferrero \u2013 one of the two makers of Girl Scout cookies.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53521&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53519&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Olivia, who earned a badge for selling more than 600 boxes of cookies, had spotted palm oil as an ingredient on the back of one of her packages but was relieved to see a green tree logo next to the words \u201ccertified sustainable.\u201d She assumed that meant her Thin Mints and Tagalongs weren\u2019t harming rainforests, orangutans or those harvesting the orange-red palm fruit.<\/p>\n<p>But later, the whip-smart 11-year-old saw the word \u201cmixed\u201d in all caps on the label and turned to the internet, quickly learning that it meant exactly what she feared: Sustainable palm oil had been blended with oil from unsustainable sources. To her, that meant the cookies she was peddling were tainted.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of miles away in Indonesia, Ima led her class in math and dreamed of becoming a doctor. Then one day her father made her quit school because he needed help meeting the high company targets on the palm oil plantation where she was born. Instead of attending fourth grade, she squatted in the unrelenting heat, snatching up the loose kernels littering the ground and knowing if she missed even one, her family\u2019s pay would be cut.<\/p>\n<p>She sometimes worked 12 hours a day, wearing only flip flops and no gloves, crying when the fruit\u2019s razor-sharp spikes bloodied her hands or when scorpions stung her fingers. The loads she carried, sometimes so heavy she would lose her footing, went to one of the very mills feeding into the supply chain of Olivia\u2019s cookies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am dreaming one day I can go back to school,\u201d she told the AP, tears rolling down her cheeks.<\/p>\n<p>Child labor has long been a dark stain on the $65 billion global palm oil industry. Though often denied or minimized as kids simply helping their families on weekends or after school, it has been identified as a problem by rights groups, the United Nations and the U.S. government.<\/p>\n<p>With little or no access to daycare, some young children follow their parents to the fields, where they come into contact with fertilizers and some pesticides that are banned in other countries. As they grow older, they push wheelbarrows heaped with fruit two or three times their weight. Some weed and prune the trees barefoot, while teen boys may harvest bunches large enough to crush them, slicing the fruit from lofty branches with sickle blades attached to long poles.<\/p>\n<p>In some cases, an entire family may earn less in a day than a $5 box of Girl Scout Do-si-dos.<br \/>\n\u201cFor 100 years, families have been stuck in a cycle of poverty and they know nothing else than work on a palm oil plantation,\u201d said Kartika Manurung, who has published reports detailing labor issues on Indonesian plantations. \u201cWhen I \u2026 ask the kids what they want to be when they grow up, some of the girls say, \u2018I want to be the wife of a palm oil worker.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Read more on AP&#8217;s investigation: <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/tag\/FruitsofLabor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Fruits of Labor<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The AP\u2019s investigation into child labor is part of a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/virus-outbreak-only-on-ap-indonesia-financial-markets-malaysia-7b634596270cc6aa7578a062a30423bb\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">broader in-depth look<\/a> at the industry that also exposed <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/palm-oil-abuse-investigation-cosmetics-2a209d60c42bf0e8fcc6f8ea6daa11c7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">rape<\/a>, forced labor, trafficking and slavery. Reporters crisscrossed Malaysia and Indonesia, speaking to more than 130 current and former workers \u2013 some two dozen of them child laborers \u2013 at nearly 25 companies. Their locations are not being disclosed and only partial names or nicknames are being used due to fears of retribution.<\/p>\n<p>The AP found children working on plantations and corroborated accounts of abuse, whenever possible, by reviewing police reports and legal documents. Reporters also interviewed more than 100 activists, teachers, union leaders, government officials, researchers, lawyers and clergy, including some who helped victims of trafficking or sexual assault.<br \/>\n___<\/p>\n<p>This story was funded in part by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mcgrawcenter.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">McGraw Center for Business Journalism<\/a> at CUNY\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.journalism.cuny.edu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newmark Graduate School of Journalism<\/a><br \/>\n___<\/p>\n<p>Indonesian government officials said they do not know how many children work in the country\u2019s massive palm oil industry, either full or part time. But the U.N.\u2019s International Labor Organization has estimated 1.5 million children between 10 and 17 years old labor in its agricultural sector. Palm oil is one of the largest crops, employing some 16 million people.<\/p>\n<p>In much smaller neighboring Malaysia, a newly released government report estimated more than 33,000 children work in the industry there, many under hazardous conditions \u2013 with nearly half of them between the ages of 5 and 11. The study was conducted in 2018 after the country was slammed by the U.S. government over the use of child labor, and it did not directly address the large number of migrant children without documents hidden on many plantations in its eastern states, some of whom have never seen the inside of a classroom.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53516&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Many producers, Western buyers and banks belong to the 4,000-member Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, a global not-for-profit organization that provides a green stamp of approval to those committed to supplying, sourcing, financing or using palm oil that\u2019s been certified as ethically sourced.<\/p>\n<p>The RSPO has a system in place to address grievances, including labor abuse allegations. But of the nearly 100 complaints listed on its case tracker for the two Southeast Asian countries in the last decade, only a handful have mentioned children.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is an issue, and we know it\u2019s an issue,\u201d said Dan Strechay, the RSPO\u2019s global outreach and engagement director, adding that the organization has started working with UNICEF and others to educate members about what constitutes child labor.<\/p>\n<p>Strechay said many parents in Indonesia and Malaysia believe it\u2019s the \u201ccultural norm\u201d for their kids to work alongside family members, even if it means pulling them out of school. \u201cAnd that\u2019s not OK,\u201d he said.<br \/>\nPalm oil is contained in roughly half the products on supermarket shelves and in almost three out of every four cosmetic brands, though that can be hard to discern since it appears on labels under more than 200 different names.[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=DTFvRrxw2WY&#8221; align=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_column_text]And in a world where more and more consumers are demanding to know the provenance of the raw materials in the products they purchase, many companies are quick to issue assurances that they are committed to \u201csustainable\u201d sourcing. But supply chains often are murky \u2013 especially in the palm oil industry \u2013 and developing countries that produce commodities in large volumes cheaply often do so by disregarding the environment and minimizing labor costs.<\/p>\n<p>Most people take words like \u201corganic,\u201d \u201cfair trade\u201d and \u201csustainable\u201d at face value. But not Olivia. She became increasingly worried about palm oil, rifling through the kitchen cupboards in her family\u2019s century-old farmhouse in Jonesborough, Tennessee, to inspect the ingredients printed on cans and wrappers. Then she began digging through her shampoos and lotions, trying to make sense of the scientific-sounding names she saw there.<\/p>\n<p>Now 14, Olivia has fired letters off to the head of Girl Scouts of the USA, demanding answers about how the palm oil is sourced for the organization\u2019s cookies. She\u2019s started an online petition to get it removed. And she and some other members of Troop 543 have stopped selling them.<\/p>\n<p>The Girl Scouts did not respond to repeated requests for comment before the AP published its findings Tuesday. But after widespread criticism on social media, the organization sent out a tweet the next day calling on its bakers and the RSPO to take action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought Girl Scouts was supposed to be about making the world a better place,\u201d Olivia said. \u201cBut this isn\u2019t at all making the world better.\u201d<br \/>\n___[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53511&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Many kids are introduced to palm oil soon after they\u2019re born \u2013 it\u2019s a primary fat in infant formula. And as they grow, it\u2019s present in many of their favorite foods: It\u2019s in their Pop-Tarts and Cap\u2019n Crunch cereal, Oreo cookies, KitKat candy bars, Magnum ice cream, doughnuts and even bubble gum.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet them enjoy it,\u201d said Abang, a skinny 14-year-old who dropped out of the fifth grade to help his father on an Indonesian plantation and has never tasted ice cream. He has accepted his own fate, but still dreams of a better future for his little brother.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me work, just me, helping my father,\u201d Abang said. \u201cI want my brother to go back to school. \u2026 I don\u2019t want him in the same difficult situation like me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Though many consumers aren\u2019t familiar with it, palm oil became ubiquitous nearly two decades ago after warnings about health risks associated with trans fats. Almost overnight, food manufacturers began shifting to the highly versatile and cheap oil.<\/p>\n<p>Indonesia is the world\u2019s largest palm oil producer and, with a population of 270 million, there is no shortage of strong backs. Many laborers migrate from the poorest corners of the country to take jobs that others shun, often bringing their wives and children as helpers in order to meet impossibly high daily quotas.<\/p>\n<p>Others have been living on the same plantations for generations, creating a built-in workforce \u2013 when one harvester retires or dies, another in the family takes his place to hold onto company-subsidized housing, which often is a dilapidated shack with no running water and sometimes only limited electricity.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a cycle that 15-year-old Jo was trying to break. Even though he had to help his family in the fields each day, heaving palm fruits high over his head and lobbing them onto trucks, his parents let him keep $6 a month to cover school fees so he could attend morning classes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am determined to finish high school to find a job outside the plantation,\u201d said Jo, who toiled alongside his mother, father and grandfather. \u201cMy parents are very poor. Why should I follow my parents?\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53510&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]But for many migrant children in neighboring Malaysia \u2013 which relies almost entirely on foreign workers to fill constant labor shortages \u2013 the hurdles to a brighter life seem insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>Male harvesters technically are not allowed to bring their families to plantations on Borneo island, which is shared by both countries. So children often follow behind, sometimes traveling alone on illicit smugglers\u2019 routes known as \u201cjalan tikus,\u201d or rat roads. The perilous border crossings to the Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak can take place at night, either on foot across winding jungle paths or in packed speed boats racing without lights, sometimes colliding or capsizing in the dark.<\/p>\n<p>An official estimate says 80,000 children of illegal migrants, mostly from Indonesia and the Philippines, are living in Sabah alone, but some rights groups say the true number could be nearly double that. Without birth certificates and with no path to citizenship, they are essentially stateless \u2013 denied access to even the most basic rights, and at high risk of exploitation.<\/p>\n<p>Migrant workers without documents are often treated \u201cinhumanely\u201d in Malaysia, said Soes Hindharno, an official from Indonesia\u2019s Manpower Ministry. He said he had not received any complaints about child labor occurring in his own country, but an official from the ministry that oversees women and children\u2019s issues acknowledged it was an area of growing concern in Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p>Malaysia\u2019s Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities did not respond to repeated requests for comment, but Nageeb Wahab, head of the Malaysian Palm Oil Association, a government-supported umbrella group, called allegations of child labor very serious and urged complaints to be reported to authorities.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53509&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Children of migrant parents grow up living in fear they will be separated from their families. They try to remain invisible to avoid attracting the ever-watchful eyes of police, with some keeping backpacks with supplies ready in case they need to flee their houses and sleep in the jungle to avoid raids.<\/p>\n<p>Many never leave their guarded plantations, some so remote that workers must climb hills to search for a phone signal. And for those who dare to go out, trouble can come quickly.<\/p>\n<p>Alex was 12 when he began working 10 hours a day on a small plantation with his father, hoisting fruits so heavy his aching muscles kept him awake at night. One day, he decided to sneak off to visit his favorite aunt in a nearby village. With no passport, Alex said authorities quickly found him and carted him off to a crowded immigration detention center where he was held for a month.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere were hundreds of other people there, some my age, and also younger children, mostly with their mothers,\u201d he said. \u201cI was very afraid and kept thinking about how worried my mother and father must be. It made it hard to even eat or drink.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the biggest obstacles faced by Alex and other child workers in the two countries are lack of access to adequate, affordable education and medical care.<\/p>\n<p>Some companies in Indonesia provide rudimentary elementary schooling on plantations, but children who want to continue their studies may find they have to travel too far on poor roads or that they can\u2019t afford it. In Malaysia, the problem is even bigger: Without legal documents, tens of thousands of kids are not allowed to go to government schools at all.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s such an extensive problem that Indonesia has set up learning centers to help some of its children on plantations in the neighboring country, even sending in its own teachers. But with such heavy workloads on plantations, one instructor said he had to beg parents to let their sons and daughters come for even just a half-day of classes. And many children, especially those living in remote, hard-to-reach areas, still have no access to any type of education.<br \/>\n\u201cWhy aren\u2019t companies playing a role in setting up schools in collaboration with the government?\u201d asked Glorene Das, executive director of Tenaganita, a Malaysian nonprofit group concentrating on migrant issues for more than two decades. \u201cWhy are they encouraging the children to work instead?\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53520&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53518&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Medical care also is woeful, with experts saying poor nutrition and daily exposure to toxic chemicals are undermining child laborers\u2019 health and development. Many Indonesian plantations have their own basic clinics, but access may be available only to full-time workers. Travel to a private doctor or hospital can take hours, and most families cannot afford outside care. Migrant children without documents in Malaysia have no right to health care and often are too scared to seek medical help in villages or cities \u2013 even in life-threatening emergencies.<\/p>\n<p>Many young palm oil workers also have little understanding about reproductive health. Girls working on remote plantations are vulnerable to sexual abuse, and teen pregnancies and marriages are common.<\/p>\n<p>Ana was just 13 when she first arrived in Malaysia, quickly learning, as she put it, that \u201canything can happen to the female workers there.\u201d She said she was raped and forced to marry her attacker, but eventually managed to break free after years of abuse and return home to start a new life. Now a mother with kids of her own, she abruptly left Indonesia last year again to look for work in Malaysia.<\/p>\n<p>Many children do not have the option to ever leave. They are born on plantations, work there and sometimes die there. Overgrown headstones and crosses marking graves in crude cemeteries are found on some plantations near the towering palm trees.<\/p>\n<p>Others, like 48-year-old Anna\u2019s husband, are buried in community graveyards along the Indonesian and Malaysian border. A month after the palm oil harvester\u2019s death, Anna lovingly tended his plot at the Christian site in Sabah, crammed with the bodies of hundreds of other migrants.<\/p>\n<p>She said her son, whose own newborn baby was buried in the adjacent grave, had inherited his father\u2019s job. He is the family\u2019s main breadwinner now.<br \/>\nThe cycle continues.<br \/>\n___[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53515&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53512&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53513&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Olivia is not the first Girl Scout to raise questions about the way palm oil makes its way into the beloved American cookies.<\/p>\n<p>More than a decade ago, two girls in a Michigan troop stopped selling them because they worried palm oil\u2019s expansion in Indonesia and Malaysia was destroying rainforests and killing endangered animals like orangutans.<br \/>\nAfter they campaigned for several years, the Girl Scouts of the USA became an affiliate member of the RSPO and agreed to start using sustainable palm oil, adding the green tree logo to its roughly 200 million boxes of cookies, which bring in nearly $800 million annually.<\/p>\n<p>The RSPO was created with the best of intentions and it attempts to factor in the interests of a wide array of groups, including environmental organizations, industry leaders and banks. Its mission was not to flip a switch overnight, but to encourage the mammoth palm oil industry to evolve after years of breakneck growth and little outside oversight.<br \/>\nStill, for many food and cosmetic companies facing increased pressure from conscientious consumers, the RSPO\u2019s stamp of approval has become the go-to answer when questions are raised about their commitments to sustainability.<\/p>\n<p>Monitoring the millions of workers hidden beneath palms covering an area equal to roughly the size of New Zealand, however, is next to impossible.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53514&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Some women and children on remote, sprawling plantations told the AP and labor rights groups that they are ordered to hide or stay home when sustainability auditors visit. They said only the optimal, easiest-to-reach parts of a plantation are typically showcased, with poor living and working conditions in distant areas hidden from outside eyes.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe RSPO promises sustainable palm oil. But it doesn\u2019t mean that that palm oil is free of child labor or other abuses,\u201d said Robin Averbeck of the Rainforest Action Network, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that has found pervasive problems on plantations, including those certified as sustainable. \u201cIt has simply become a tool for greenwashing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When contacted by the AP, companies reaffirmed their support of human rights for all workers, with some noting they rely on their suppliers to meet industry standards and abide by local laws. If evidence of wrongdoing is found, some said they would immediately cut ties with producers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe aim to prevent and address the issue of child labor wherever it occurs in our supply chain,\u201d said Nestle, maker of KitKat candy bars. Unilever \u2013 the world\u2019s biggest ice-cream maker, including Magnum \u2013 noted that its suppliers \u201cmust not, under any circumstance, employ individuals under the age of 15 or under the local legal minimum age for work or mandatory schooling.\u201d There was no response from Mondelez, which owns Oreo cookies, or Cap\u2019n Crunch parent company PepsiCo.<\/p>\n<p>Consumers have their own challenges in trying to buy responsibly. Those, like Olivia, who want to make sense of where their palm oil really comes from often find themselves confused, since the dense terms used to explain what makes palm oil sustainable can sometimes raise even more questions.<\/p>\n<p>Take Girls Scout cookies, for instance, which are made by two different U.S. bakers Boxes from both are stamped with green palm logos. The maker of Olivia\u2019s cookies, Little Brownie Bakers in Kentucky, has the word \u201cmixed\u201d beside the tree, meaning as little as 1 percent of the palm oil might be certified sustainable. ABC Bakers in Virginia says \u201ccredits,\u201d which means money is going toward promoting sustainable production.<\/p>\n<p>The bakers\u2019 parent companies \u2013 Italian confectionary brand Ferrero and Canadian-based Weston Foods \u2013 would not comment on the issue of child labor, but both said they were committed to sourcing only certified sustainable palm oil.[\/vc_column_text][vc_single_image image=&#8221;53523&#8243; img_size=&#8221;full&#8221; add_caption=&#8221;yes&#8221; alignment=&#8221;center&#8221; onclick=&#8221;link_image&#8221;][vc_column_text]Weston Foods, which owns ABC Bakers, would not provide any information about its palm oil suppliers, citing proprietary reasons, so the AP could not determine if its supply chain was tainted.<\/p>\n<p>Palm oil, the highest-yielding vegetable oil, is an important part of the two Southeast Asian countries\u2019 economies and the governments bristle at any form of criticism, saying the industry plays an important role in alleviating poverty.<\/p>\n<p>They have banned products touted as \u201cpalm oil-free\u201d from supermarket shelves and created slogans calling the crop \u201cGod\u2019s gift.\u201d And when students at an international school in Malaysia were criticized last year for staging a play questioning the industry\u2019s effect on the environment, school administrators responded with an apology.<br \/>\nBack in Indonesia, Ima could give a very different classroom presentation about palm oil, but she has no chance. She continues to toil full time on the plantation alongside her family, even though her mother had promised she eventually could resume her studies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSometimes my friends ask me, \u2018Why did you drop out? Why are you not at school?\u2019\u201d Ima said, her resentment readily apparent. \u201c\u2018Because I have to help my father. If you want to replace me and help my father, then I will go to school. How about that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After learning about Ima, Olivia is even more determined to fight on. She had previously sent letters to her customers explaining her reasons for no longer selling Girl Scout cookies, and many responded by donating money to her Southern Appalachian troop to show support.<\/p>\n<p>Now, Olivia is asking Girl Scouts across the country to band with her, saying, \u201cThe cookies deceive a lot of people. They think it\u2019s sustainable, but it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m not just some little girl who can\u2019t do anything about this,\u201d she said. \u201cChildren can make change in the world. And we\u2019re going to.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_video link=&#8221;https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=49VkQn53lk0&#8243; align=&#8221;center&#8221;][vc_column_text]An Associated Press investigation has found that an army of children are toiling on palm oil plantations in Indonesia and Malaysia. The vegetable oil can be found in the supply chains of popular cereals, snacks and Girl Scout cookies. (Dec. 29)<\/p>\n<p>___<br \/>\nThis story has been edited to remove an erroneous reference to Girl Scouts selling S\u2019mores more than a decade ago.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>La certificazione RSPO, usata da molte multinazionali (tra le quali Ferrero),\u00a0 non riesce a monitorare 1,5 milioni di bambini in un territorio grande come la Nuova Zelanda. Rainforest Action (USA) lo considera uno strumento di greenwashing\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":56396,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,37,270],"tags":[255,245,96,237,195],"class_list":["post-53507","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sociale","category-interventi","category-storia-del-cibo-e-della-distribuzione","tag-deforestazione","tag-ferrero","tag-nestle","tag-pesticidi","tag-unilever","category-76","category-37","category-270","description-off"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53507","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53507"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53507\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76259,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53507\/revisions\/76259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/56396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53507"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53507"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.giuseppecaprotti.it\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53507"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}