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A little of the dirt on Starbucks
The "Starbucks Experience" has earned legions of fans throughout the world, and the company line is that Starbucks wants to "produce social, environmental and economic benefits for communities in which it does business." However, Starbucks gets less than glowing reviews from a wide variety of sources. Among the criticisms of the corporation are that it takes part in unfair trade practices, uses dairy products laced with Bovine Growth Hormone and employs unfair business tactics against local coffee shops.
A leading critic of Starbucks is the Organic Consumers Association. The OCA charges that Starbucks buys more than 32 million gallons of milk each year that is produced using rBGH (recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone). The OCA also alleges that, in spite of record profits, Starbucks serves what is essentially "sweatshop coffee" and contributes to exploitive working conditions.
Ronnie Cummins, national director of OCA, commented, "Despite repeated pledges, Starbucks is still loading up its coffee drinks with rBGH-tainted milk, and buying coffee and chocolate produced under exploitative labor conditions, and in the case of cocoa plantations in Africa, workers who are actually slaves."
Since early 2001, OCA activists have protested and handed out leaflets outside of more than 1,000 individual Starbucks. They demand that the company remove genetically engineered ingredients from its menu worldwide, improve working conditions for coffee plantation workers, and brew and promote fair trade coffee in each of its outlets.
In addition to these charges, Starbucks also has been accused of employing unfair tactics against local coffee shops.In the case of Ocean Beach, Calif., the coffee giant opened stores in more than one location in an effort to undermine a successful local operation. Starbucks has also been charged with leasing out empty buildings to keep out competition and engaging in a form of coffee espionage by sending agents to competitors in an effort to draw customers away.
Starbucks replies to these allegations with, "Starbucks has a strong commitment to coffee producers, their families and communities, and the natural environment to help promote a sustainable social, ecological and economic model for the production and trade of coffee."
- Will Sands
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