{"id":119013,"date":"2018-09-24T12:00:37","date_gmt":"2018-09-24T11:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=119013"},"modified":"2018-10-01T11:15:20","modified_gmt":"2018-10-01T10:15:20","slug":"slave-labor-found-at-starbucks-certified-brazil-coffee-plantation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/09\/slave-labor-found-at-starbucks-certified-brazil-coffee-plantation\/","title":{"rendered":"Slave Labor Found at Starbucks-Certified Brazil Coffee Plantation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_119014\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119014\" class=\"wp-image-119014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-1024x381.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"261\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-1024x381.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-300x112.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-768x286.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119014\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">One of Starbucks more than 28,000 stores worldwide. Image by JackieCheu under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2<\/p><\/div>\n<p>18 Sep 2018 &#8211; <em>Brazil Labor Ministry investigators have raided the C\u00f3rrego das Almas farm in Piumhi, in rural Minas Gerais state, and rescued 18 workers who were laboring on coffee plantations in conditions analogous to slavery.<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>The C\u00f3rrego das Almas farm holds the C.A.F.E. Practices certification, owned by Starbucks in partnership with SCS Global Services. After hearing of the raid, the two companies responsible for issuing the seal said they would review the farm\u2019s quality certificate. Starbucks says it hasn\u2019t bought coffee from the farm in recent years.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>The farm also holds the UTZ seal, a Netherlands-based sustainable farming certificate prized by the coffee industry. That seal of approval was suspended after the certifier was questioned by Rep\u00f3rter Brasil regarding the Ministry of Justice investigation.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Another inspection in Minas Gerais, in the town of Muzambinho, rescued 15 workers in conditions analogous to slavery from a farm owned by Maria J\u00falia Pereira, the sister-in-law of a state deputy, Emidinho Madeira.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_119015\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119015\" class=\"wp-image-119015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119015\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ministry of Labor investigators rescued 18 workers laboring in conditions analogous to slavery on coffee farms in the state of Minas Gerais; one of those farms held international certifications. Image by Adere.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Ministry of Labor investigators rescued 18 workers laboring in conditions analogous to slavery on coffee farms in the state of Minas Gerais; one of those farms held international certifications. Image by Adere.<\/p>\n<p>At first sight, the C\u00f3rrego das Almas farm in Piumhi, in rural Minas Gerais state, seems to be a model property. \u201cNo slave or forced labor is allowed,\u201d reads one of several signs that display international certifications \u2014 including one linked to the U.S.-based company Starbucks corporation.<\/p>\n<p>But investigators have found that laborers on the farm\u2019s coffee plantations were working under degrading conditions and living in substandard housing without sewerage or drinking water. A Ministry of Labor team inspection conducted at the site rescued 18 rural workers in conditions analogous to slavery.<\/p>\n<p>The farm, locally known as <em>Fartura<\/em> (Portuguese for Abundance), also boasts the UTZ seal \u2013 a Netherlands-based sustainable farming certificate considered one of the most prestigious in the coffee industry. That seal of approval was suspended after the certifier was questioned by Rep\u00f3rter Brasil about the case.<\/p>\n<p>The farm also holds the C.A.F.E. Practices certification \u2014 owned by Starbucks in partnership with SCS Global Services. After hearing of the raid, the two companies responsible for issuing the seal said they would review the farm\u2019s quality certificate. The certifiers verify commodity supply chains in order to assure ethical purchases, good labor practices, and other criteria required by Starbucks and other retailers.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_119016\" style=\"width: 510px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation2.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119016\" class=\"wp-image-119016\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"500\" height=\"314\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation2.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation2-300x189.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119016\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Starbucks coffee shop in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. One of Starbucks\u2019 certifiers gave a seal of approval to a farm found to be operating with working conditions analogous to slavery. Upon hearing about the raid, Starbucks is investigating the farm and its certification. Image courtesy of Starbucks.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Evidence found at <em>Fartura<\/em> shows that the farm\u2019s operating standards were far below those expected at a certified agricultural facility. \u201cThere were lots of bats and mice. We\u2019d buy food and the mice would eat it. Then we had to buy it again,\u201d said one of the workers rescued.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe weren\u2019t paid for holidays, Sundays, nothing. And we worked from Monday to Saturday with no record of the hours. During the week, we would start at 6 am and only stop at 5 pm,\u201d says another former employee rescued from the farm, where workers received payment according to the amount of coffee they picked.<\/p>\n<p>The employees lived in collective lodgings without drinking water. According to the inspectors, sanitation was so precarious that it put workers\u2019 health at risk. The rescued group reported that dead bats were often found in the water tanks, which had no cover. This water was used for cooking and drinking.<\/p>\n<p>In addition, the inspectors collected farm reports indicating that accounts payable were rigged. \u201cWe\u2019d harvest and they\u2019d leave it [the beans] there to be weighed the next day. When we arrived there, the coffee was gone. And then we were humiliated: we complained and they laughed in our faces,\u201d said one of the rescued workers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve always harvested coffee, and I\u2019ve never been through something like that in my life. I wasn\u2019t even able to send money home,\u201d adds another.<\/p>\n<p>It was also reported that, for workers to cash their pay checks or to buy food, they had to pay R$ 20 for a \u201cclandestine bus\u201d \u2013 in the words of one laborer \u2013 to go from the farm to the nearest town. \u201cWe had to pay in order to get paid,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n<p>UTZ said the seal\u00b4s audit of the farm occurred in February 2018, and the certificate was issued in April. After Rep\u00f3rter Brasil questioned the organization, the certification was suspended and the group said their team would look into the conditions at the farm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorkers\u2019 rights and wellbeing are of the utmost importance and are an integral part of our standard. We take those issues very seriously because something like that would violate the UTZ standard. Whenever we receive reliable evidence of breaches on UTZ certified farms, we take immediate action, which includes conducting a thorough investigation,\u201d the organization said in a statement.<\/p>\n<p>According to Starbucks, the Fartura farm has been certified since 2016, but the firm denied having \u201cpurchased or received any coffee from this farm in recent years. It said it is starting a process of investigation to re-evaluate the seal. \u201cWe are already investigating this matter and will continue to pay very close attention to issuances from the Ministry of [Brazilian] Labor and Employment and communicate expectations to our suppliers that no farm on the list may supply coffee to Starbucks,\u201d the statement said.<\/p>\n<p>SCS, a Starbucks partner on the C.A.F.E. seal, reported that inspections and audits are conducted before certifications are granted and that no signs of slave labor were detected when the process was conducted at Fartura: \u201cForced labor is considered a point of zero tolerance, therefore farms with forced labor would not be eligible for the status in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In addition to these two seals, another sign at Fartura suggests its certification by the 4C Association of the Coffee Assurance Services (CAS), a worldwide organization. However, the indications at the farm were that this seal was still under analysis, and \u201cthe final decision on the license has not yet been made.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The discovery of slavery-like conditions on this particular farm points to flaws likely to be present elsewhere in the coffee certification process: \u201cThis is not the first or second time, and it will not be the last time a certified farm is charged with employing slave labor and violating labor rights,\u201d said Jorge Ferreira dos Santos, who heads the Coordination of Rural Employers of Minas Gerais (<em>Articula\u00e7\u00e3o dos Empregadores Rurais de Minas Gerais<\/em>, Adere-MG) and who accompanied the Labor Ministry inspectors. The certification system is weak and not transparent, he added, and fails at \u201ctaking workers\u2019 views and reality into account.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Fartura Farm is currently caring for 3 million coffee trees, while also raising so, and cattle; it has 151 employees. The property is leased and managed by Fabiana Soares. In a statement, her lawyer, Amanda Costa Ferreira, claimed that the property owner learned about the inspection \u201cwith shock\u201d since slave labor is not the company\u2019s \u201cwork philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur farm has been operating in the coffee market for many years and has always sought to comply with all legal requirements, that includes obtaining all certifications, licenses and awards whose requirements are extremely strict,\u201d the statement read.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_119017\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation3.jpg\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-119017\" class=\"wp-image-119017\" src=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation3.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"398\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation3.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/09\/starbucks-coffee-slavery-brazil-plantation3-300x171.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 700px) 100vw, 700px\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-119017\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Living conditions at the C\u00f3rrego da Prata farm, where workers were rescued from illegal labor conditions. The farm belongs to the sister-in-law of state deputy Emidinho Madeira. Image by Adere.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Second raid rescues 15 workers<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Another inspection in Minas Gerais, in the town of Muzambinho, rescued 15 workers in conditions analogous to slavery from a farm owned by Maria J\u00falia Pereira, the sister-in-law of a state deputy, Emidinho Madeira. The workers there included a 17-year-old.<\/p>\n<p>The laborers questioned reported that they were forced to buy their own equipment, so ended up owing the farm owner R$ 2,500-3,000 before even beginning harvesting. The group also told Rep\u00f3rter Brasil that they were required to work 90 days straight, without a single day off. Coffee harvesting only paused on rainy days, with work generally continuous from 6 am to 8 pm, one laborer said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd if we stopped, the boss got angry,\u201d added another. \u201cIt was exhausting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pereira was not charged, but the workers said that she paid severance. Her lawyer Thiago de Lima Dini, issued a statement explaining that Pereira acquired the farm at the end of 2016 and that she leased it to Elias Rodrigo de Almeida in December of the same year, \u201cignoring any procedures and occurrences on that property.\u201d The lawyer, who also represents Almeida, said that he \u201cused subcontractors to hire workers\u201d and that he is \u201ca victim, just like other workers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The C\u00f3rrego da Prata Farm was cited for 34 violations and paid R$ 87,000 (US$ 20,000) to the workers in damages. The Fartura farm received 27 notifications and paid R$ 71,000 in severance.<\/p>\n<p>_______________________________________________<\/p>\n<p><em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/by\/roberto-cataldo-translator\/\" >Roberto Cataldo \u2014 translator<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>This story was produced via a co-publishing partnership between <\/em>Mongabay<em> and <\/em>Rep\u00f3rter Brasil<em> and can be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2018\/09\/portugues-fazenda-de-cafe-certificada-pela-starbucks-e-flagrada-com-trabalho-escravo\/\" >read in Portuguese HERE<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.mongabay.com\/2018\/09\/slave-labor-found-at-starbucks-certified-brazil-coffee-plantation\/\" >Go to Original \u2013 news.mongabay.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>18 Sep 2018 &#8211; Brazil Labor Ministry investigators have raided the C\u00f3rrego das Almas farm in Piumhi, in rural Minas Gerais state, and rescued 18 workers who were laboring on coffee plantations in conditions analogous to slavery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":119015,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[242,224,180,55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-119013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exposures","category-human-rights","category-brics","category-capitalism"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}