Rainforest timber, "the worst thing that money can buy"
Published on Fri, 2011-08-05 07:43
Source: Helsingin Sanomat Concerns about climate change and about the future of the planet were given the most weight by the readers of Helsingin Sanomat (HS), a Finnish newspaper, when they voted on what they considered to be the most unethical product in the world. “The findings [of the survey] indicate that people are aware of the problems related to these products and are following debates on these issues,” said Mika Railo, from the Finnish Service Centre for Development Cooperation (KEPA, focal point of Social Watch in Finland). The online questionnaire received almost 9,000 responses in the course of two weeks. The list of suggested responses included 12 alternatives, and in addition, respondents could name products that were not listed. “The logging of rain forests eats up carbon sinks, while also snatching living space from plants and animals,” argued a reader, who called himself Pekka, explaining his choice. Blood diamonds mined in war zones by slave labour were considered nearly as bad by HS readers. “Buying blood diamonds is difficult to defend, as diamonds are useless luxury items, at least if used as jewellery”, explained another reader, who chose the pseudonym Mka. The third item on the list was intensive produced poultry meat, as it is also an ordinary everyday meal. In fact, broiler production was considered even worse than fur farming, because of the number of victimized animals. “I started to think which alternative I would tick myself. The correct answer is all of them,” noted KEPA’s Railo. But “as the father of two sons I have to admit that a mat produced by child labour bothers me a lot", he said. More information
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