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News Articles
| SOUTHEAST ASIA: Sizing up palm oil
by David Grant, Christian Science Monitor
November 2nd, 2009
While it doesn’t sound (and need not be) nefarious, activist groups worldwide like the Rainforest Action Network argue that the production of palm oil is currently harming rain forests in Southeast Asia, orangutans, and the environment. |
| BRAZIL: Giants in Cattle Industry Agree to Help Fight Deforestation
by Alexei Barrionuevo, New York Times
October 7th, 2009
Environmental groups hailed a decision this week by four of the world’s largest meat producers to ban the purchase of cattle from newly deforested areas of Brazil’s Amazon rain forest. Brazil has the world’s largest cattle herd and is the world’s largest beef exporter. It is also the fourth largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. |
| US: E. Coli Path Shows Flaws in Beef Inspection
by Michael Moss, New York Times
October 3rd, 2009
Tracing the chain of production of an E. Coli-contaminated hamburger made by Cargill, through interviews and government and corporate records obtained by The New York Times, shows why eating ground beef is still a gamble. Neither the system meant to make the meat safe, nor the meat itself, is what consumers have been led to believe. |
| US: Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering
by Charles Duhigg, New York Times
September 12th, 2009
Violations of the Clean Water Act have risen steadily across the nation, an extensive review of water pollution records by The New York Times found. Polluters include small companies, like gas stations, dry cleaners, and shopping malls. They also include large operations, like chemical factories, power plants, sewage treatment centers and one of the biggest zinc smelters, the Horsehead Corporation of Pennsylvania. |
| US: Food Problems Elude Private Inspectors
by Michael Moss and Andrew Martin, New York Times
March 5th, 2009
When food industry giants like Kellogg want to ensure that American consumers are being protected from contaminated products, they rely on private inspectors. With government inspectors overwhelmed by the task of guarding the nation’s food supply, the job of monitoring food plants has in large part fallen to an army of private auditors, and problems are rife. |
CorpWatch Blog
CorpWatch Exclusives
 | Titanium or Water? Trouble brews in Southern India
by Nityanand Jayaraman, Special to CorpWatch
October 24th, 2007
Tata, India's largest conglomerate, wants to take 10,000 acres of land to mine ilmenite in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The plan has sparked protests by local villagers who say the project will destroy their traditional way of life and the environment. |
 | Trademarking Coffee: Starbucks cuts Ethiopia deal
by Anton Foek, Special to CorpWatch
May 8th, 2007
Starbucks, the world's largest coffee shop chain, and the Ethiopian government are on the verge of unveiling a deal that the company hopes will end attacks on the company's carefully constructed ethical image. |
 | Green Fuel's Dirty Secret
by Sasha Lilley, Special to CorpWatch
June 1st, 2006
Ethanol made from corn has been touted as the "green fuel" of the future. Archer Daniels Midland, the largest U.S. producer of ethanol, stands to make a fortune from environmentally conscious car drivers. But is ethanol really as environmentally clean as it is hyped to be?
Listen to an interview with Sasha Lilley on CorpWatch Radio.
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 | Australia Reaps Iraqi Harvest
by Marc Moncrief, Special to CorpWatch
April 4th, 2006
United Nations sanctions against Saddam Hussein may have failed to end his regime but they succeeded in enriching both the Iraqi dictator and corporations able to manipulate the scandal-ridden world body's Oil-for-Food program. Among the profiteers was the Australian Wheat Board, a former state-owned monopoly, which funneled over $200 million into Saddam's coffers even as the “Coalition of the Willing” was preparing for invasion. |
Commentary & Analysis
| INDIA: Coke, Pepsi Face Public Ire
by Praful Bidwai, Inter Press Service
September 6th, 2006
A month after seven Indian states imposed severe restrictions on the sale of colas and other aerated drinks, the Coca-Cola company has become the target of a vigorous popular campaign in Uttar Pradesh, India's largest state. |
| BURMA: Time to Restore Human Rights and Democracy
by Paul Fireman, Wall Street Journal
June 7th, 2005
Over the years many foreign companies in a wide range of industries have responded withdrawn their business form Burma. These include adidas-Salomon, H&M, IKEA, Newmont and British Petroleum. But some of the regime's principal business partners continue to be multinationals, many based in Europe. Those lifelines must be cut to weaken the regime's hold on the people of Burma. |
 | Is Agriculture the WTO's Achilles' Heel?
by Walden Bello, Focus on the Global South
February 19th, 2003
In this report from the Tokyo mini-ministerial, activist and scholar Walden Bello looks for cracks in the WTO's armor on the road to the September summit in Cancun. |
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