Walmart DROPS Popular Food Brand Over ANIMAL LABOR Allegations?!!
(NewsBroadcast.com) – Thailand was the third-largest exporter of coconuts by dollar value in 2020, so it’s likely if you’ve eaten any products that contain coconut milk or oil, it was sourced from the Asian country. According to People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia, there is a severe and systematic abuse of the trained monkeys used to gather the produce from the tops of the 50-60 foot trees. These reports have led to retailers cutting some Thai coconut products.
PETA alleges that one of the worst offenders is the company that makes Chaokoh coconut milk, and through its efforts, “more than 25,000 stores have dropped [the brand].” Among the retailers that have discontinued the brand are Walmart, Wegmans, and Target. PETA’s “take action” page claims that more than 95,000 supporters had a hand in forcing change.
Walmart is the latest retailer to stop selling coconut milk from a Thai supplier that has been accused of using monkeys for forced labor. https://t.co/tOYigX7O8L
— Axios (@axios) June 7, 2022
However, not everyone agrees with PETA’s assessment of the monkey labor situation in Thailand. Leslie Sponsel, professor emeritus in anthropology at the University of Hawaii was quoted in a National Public Radio (NPR) article in 2015 saying that during his trip to the country, his observations were that “the monkeys are very similar to family pets [sometimes] even like family members….” He went on to say that he and his wife never observed or heard of any kind of cruelty or abusive behavior towards them and, in fact, the ones he saw were “fed, watered, bathed” on a regular basis.
NPR also likened the use of monkeys harvesting coconuts to other working animals like oxen, sheepdogs, and bomb-sniffing beagles.
What’s your opinion? Has PETA uncovered a widespread abuse of animals, or is it riling up the woke mob to advance a liberal agenda?
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