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NPR visits a prison goat farm that was the subject of an activist's ire back in 2015:
Whole Foods loved [Jim Schott's] cheese. His company [Haystack Mountain] grew. It also changed. Ten years ago, Haystack Mountain started buying milk from a farm in a prison. Schott doesn't recall telling Whole Foods or his other customers about that change in the Haystack Mountain story. In any case, Schott felt that it was a good thing — "a model of good prison management."
Then, in 2015, a prison reform activist named Michael Allen sent a letter to John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods. Allen demanded that Whole Foods stop selling Haystack Mountain's cheese because it was made, in part, using the labor of prisoners earning pennies per hour. The way Allen sees it, Haystack was "taking advantage of helpless, powerless individuals. They're fair game for corporations to make money off of. And I just told [Mackey] that we wanted him to get out of that business."
Many things besides cheese are made in prisons. Across the country, tens of thousands of inmates work for businesses that have set up operations inside prison walls. They make flags and furniture. Most of the time, they attract little attention. People may feel differently about something they eat, though, especially a boutique food like goat cheese. To Allen's amazement and delight, Whole Food caved to his demands. In a statement, the company said that some of its customers weren't comfortable with products made by prisoners, so it would no longer sell them.
The inmates are still milking those goats, though. I was curious about this farm, and set up a visit.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 21 2017, @02:03PM (6 children)
They say China has inhumane conditions, and that is why American products can't compete. Apparently this is our answer.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by DannyB on Friday July 21 2017, @02:40PM (5 children)
At least Foxconn puts up nets around the building to prevent employees from committing suicide. I doubt our prisons will provide such a benefit to improve life expectancy.
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(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday July 21 2017, @03:16PM
"According to [an] Al Jazeera special report on slavery, China has the largest penal labour system in the world today. Often these prisoners are used to produce products for export to the West." [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 1, Flamebait) by Type44Q on Friday July 21 2017, @03:44PM (3 children)
Dumbass: It's not to improve worker safety; it's to improve worker retention.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday July 21 2017, @05:27PM (2 children)
Improving worker safety and life expectancy also improves worker retention. Which improves revenue. Which improves profits. Which improves executive bonuses. And shareholder value. Everyone happy. What's not to like?
Oh, except for the 'employees' who have the safety nets.
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(Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Friday July 21 2017, @10:56PM (1 child)
When labor is the cheapest, most plentiful and expendable part of the equation, abuse towards workers will always occur.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 24 2017, @03:28PM
Yep.
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