Saturday, December 17, 2011

Chiquita Are Bananas



The Canadian oil sands industry is facing an unlikely adversary in Chiquita Brands International, the banana company.

The Ohio-based company said it will work with environmental organization ForestEthics to eliminate shipping of Chiquita bananas with fuel from refineries that use Canada’s oil sands.


Bwahahaha...let's see how that works out for you Chiquita.

Ethicaloil.org, an advocacy group that says Americans should choose Canada’s ‘ethical’ oil over crude from dictatorial regimes in the Middle East, says it will launch a Chiquita boycott campaign soon.

“We will be launching a radio ad campaign urging Canadians not to buy Chiquita products. Canada’s oil is the most ethical in the world,” said Kathryn Marshall, spokesperson from EthicalOil.org.

“And Chiquita is a company with a terrible human rights record — just four years ago they were fined for giving money to terrorist groups in South America, and now they want to discriminate against Canadian oil?”

27 comments:

  1. And, of course, those dictatorships whose oil Chiquita wants to use do not harm the environment in the least bit.

    I would like to see a list of all 15 companies that are avoiding Canada's oil sands so I can avoid them.

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  2. We'll see how that works out for them. Also, they can kiss my ass.

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  3. Chiquita, I mean. It completely reminds me of the people who argued against the horrible abuses of the capitalist countries, and then extolled the virtues of the Soviet Union. Because we were completely misunderstanding those political assassinations and mass man-made starvations, you know.

    Ugh.

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  4. The term banana republic exists for a reason. Chiquita (the successor to United Fruit) is that reason.

    Also I agree with afw #2.

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  5. afw mails it. The sheer economic illiteracy in this stunt should be blatant to any half-thinking person with even a rudimentary knowledge of oil distribution.

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  6. Here are some of the other companies joining Chiquita in this off-the-chart lunacy:

    Cosmetics giant Avon and U.S. drugstore chain Walgreen's have both made commitments similar to Chiquita's.

    Others, such as Gap, Levi Strauss and Timberland, have only said they are trying to reduce the environmental impact of transporting their products. The city of Bellingham, Wash., has guidelines minimizing fuel purchases that take oilsands feedstock.

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  7. Thanks for the link lewy; that was very interesting.

    I believe I can easily do without Chiquita bananas, products from Walgreens, or cosmetics/trinkets from Avon.

    Meme of the week: their CEO's display both ignorance and social pliability; this poor decision-making could indicate that their farming/manufacturing/shipping standards are suspect, and that their products may be unsafe. :D

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  8. I believe I can easily do without Chiquita bananas, products from Walgreens, or cosmetics/trinkets from Avon.

    Ditto.

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  9. Fay and lady red find the best graphics.

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  10. I stopped shopping at Avon last year, just because it was a pain in the ass to have to buy things sight unseen. I'm picky about skin products - I want to age like my grandmother, and I'm afraid that I might age like some other genetics I might have inherited.

    Avon is so hit and miss with their things anyway, it just became too cumbersome. Also, I don't really like people, so I didn't want to find a representative. I just want to be left alone to fondle skin-care products in peace.

    Oil of Olay rocks HARD, yo. I hope they aren't on that list.

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  11. Here's the full list of the 15:

    Walgreens, Chiquita, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, Quiksilver, Gap Inc., Levi Strauss & Co., Timberland, Bed Bath & Beyond, FedEx, Avon, American Eagle Outfitters, LUSH Fresh Handmade Cosmetics, Liz Claiborne Inc., and the City of Bellingham.

    Don't do or have to do business with any of these except FedEx.

    Just came back from the grocery store with a bunch of Del Monte bananas :)

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  12. Trader Joes?

    img:"http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y117/floranista/crying.gif"

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  13. Aww, sorry florrie. From ForestEthics website, to which I am not linking:

    "Trader Joe's has asked its transportation providers to eliminate fuels from Tar Sands refineries where possible and adopt a strategy of continuous improvement toward elimination of these fuels."

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  14. Oh, I suppose it is also better to use all that fuel to bring oil in from those despotic hell-holes, too.

    Fed-Ex, I'm disappointed in you.

    While many on that list are boot-bat companies, I bet some of them are on that list because they are a) naively buying into bull-crap, or b) naively believe that believers on only one side of the argument are paying attention. hate to disappoint them.

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  15. I read a comment somewhere that Saudi Arabia is funding a lot of the anti tar sands propaganda. Not sure if it's true or not but I wouldn't be surprised.

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  16. Well, until Trader Joe's gets off the eejit bandwagon, we aren't shopping there.

    (We only shop there maybe 4 times a year for all the guilty pleasures and their cheese selections/prices are the BEST.)

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  17. Cheese is crazy expensive in Canada florrie. We went to a little Christmas party on Saturday night and I offered to make the appies. I made 48 mini Yorkshire Puddings topped with slices of rare filet mignon. I also made 4 dozen other appies that involved the use of various cheeses.

    The total cost of the cheeses came to more than I paid for the filet mignon!

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  18. Fay, you must have been the hit of the party! That was very extravagant, what a treat (and what a lot of work).

    Yes, cheese is pricey but it's definitely one of the things I treat myself to every now and then.

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  19. I was a hit florrie! But I loved it. The filet was on sale this week at 15.99 a pound and that is all we needed. It was a great treat and I loved making and serving it. Everyone was blown away.

    Joy to the world!

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  20. Fay, can you make Christmas dinner at my house?

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  21. Oh good. Also, I need etiquette lessons. Kind of like the Princess Diaries movies, or Pygmalion. Except it wouldn't work.

    I would totally try, though.

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  22. I don't believe that for a minute afw! Stay just the way you are.

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  23. Well, I guess here is as good a place as any to tell about the sticker I saw on the back of a pick up truck today:

    Pizza is like sex
    When it's good, it's really really good
    And when it's bad
    It's still pretty good

    =))

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