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[suomursu]

Now I don't know where to put this because I'm not sure if it's really about NWO or what ever BUT I need to tell you this.

Unilever is a huge company. I mean enormous. I don't know which products are sold in each countries but here in Finland there are a lot of Unilever products in the stores. In many bottles and packages there is the Unilever logo in them. Here's the list of all the Unilever brands. There are a lot of different products. Food, hygiene stuff, you name it. Many of them are each other's "competitors" (e.g Dove, Sunsilk, Rexona, Axe) but in reality they're under the same multi-billion company.

Unilever has attracted a variety of criticisms from political, environmental and human rights activists. For example, it has been criticised by Greenpeace for causing deforestation, for testing products on animals by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and for making use of child labour, among others.

My point is that we should stop buying these trademarks which are owned by just a few people. The money goes to their pocket. They rule the world. What about all the little companies? I think we should buy as much local food as we can. We should promote the little independent companies and enterprises. That would help the environment, people and your own countries' well-being.

Another big company, actually even bigger than Unilever, is Nestlé. I think we should be aware of these.

[RK]

I will def boycott their products for being tested on animals. Must speak up for the voiceless.

[Grace]

Now this is a difficult one.
You may add all big consumer goods, cosmetics, food & pharmaceutical companies in your list if your points are those bothering most.

Most of the big consumer goods companies e.g. do test their products on animals - in cosmetics mainly on rabbits as they naturally don't product tears to wipe off the latest skin care revolutionary cream from their eyes. Their backing argument is consumer safety, their sofa is legislation and missing directives on alternative test methods.

Pharmaceutical products companies have to test their products on animals first.
It is obligatory.
http://www.consumergoods.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=MultiPublishing&mod=PublishingTitles&mid=A533BDC6582947448BBFA37BFF6394FF&tier=4&id=8C92ABCA89F74927AA39C95A5D17BA83
Top companies are e.g.:
1      Johnson & Johnson (Consumer Segment)      BAND-AID, Neosporin, Tylenol
2     GlaxoSmithKline (Consumer Segment)    Lucozade, Aquafresh, Sensodyne
3     Novartis (Consumer Health Division)            CIBA Vision, Excedrin, Theraflu
4     Bayer Healthcare (Consumer Care)          Alka-Seltzer Plus, Bayer Aspirin, Midol
5     Wyeth (Consumer Healthcare)                    Advil, Centrum, Dimetapp

Cosmetics e.g.:
1     L'Oreal SA                                        Diesel, Garnier, Maybelline
2    Avon Products Inc.                              Avon, mark.
3    Beiersdorf AG                                     Eucerin, Florena, la prairie
4    The Estee Lauder Companies Inc.        Aveda, Clinique, M.A.C.
5    Shiseido Company Limited                  Shiseido
6    Coty Inc.                                            mary-kateandashley, House of Phat, Nautica
7    Alberto-Culver Company                V05, Nexxus, St. Ives
8    Revlon                                          Almay, Mitchum, Revlon
9    Nu Skin Enterprises                           Big Planet, Nu Skin, Pharmanex
10    Elizabeth Arden Inc.                      Alfred Sung Jewel, Halston Fragrances, Prevage

Food e.g.:
1      Nestle                                          Kit Kat, Friskies, Poland Spring
2     Kraft Foods Inc.                        CapriSun, Oreo, Philadelphia
3     Tyson Foods Inc.                        Tyson
4     Groupe Danone                           Activia, Evian, Numico
5     General Mills                               Bisquik, Cheerios, Progresso
6     Sara Lee Corporation                Ambi Pur, Hillshire Farm, Senseo
7     ConAgra Foods Inc.                       Chef Boyardee, Egg Beaters, Healthy Choice
8     Smithfield Foods Inc.                Butterball, Farmland, Smithfield
9     Dean Foods Co.                           Horizon Organic, International Delight, Silk
10     Kellogg Company                       Nutri-Grain, Morningstar Farms, Kashi
11     H.J. Heinz Company                       Ore-Ida, Weight Watchers Smart Ones, Plasmon
12     Land O'Lakes Inc.                       Land O'Lakes
13     Campbell Soup Company                  Pepperidge Farm, Prego, V8
14     Pilgrim's Pride Corporation         Pilgrim's Pride
15     Hormel Foods Corporation        Jennie-O Turkey Store, Stagg, Valley Fresh
16     Grupo Bimbo                               Bimbo, Lara, Tia Rosa
17     Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company         Altoids, Juicy Fruit, Orbit
18     The Hershey Company               Bubble Yum, Reese's, Twizzlers
19     Chiquita Brands International        Chiquita (Banana)
20    Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc.        Del Monte (Banana)

Procter & Gamble e.g. is like Unilever a mixed big company group (food, household, paper, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals etc., Pampers, Bold, Mr. Clean, Tampax, Pringles, Pantene, Olay, Dolce & Gabbana, Old Spice etc.)

This is some future outlook being discussed on a consumer goods summit in London in June:
http://www.theconsumergoodsforum.com/

These are companies that do not test their products on animals:
Yves Rocher, France (cosmetics)
http://www.vegfamily.com/lists/cruelty-free-companies.htm

more info (by PETA who were discussed also)
http://www.caringconsumer.com/

another one:
http://www.leapingbunny.org/indexcus.php

[suomursu]

Thanks Grace.
Yeah the big companies suck.

Also you can create your own cosmetics from basic ingredients like honey, baking soda and salt. For example, I wash my face with canola oil, use salt water as toner (rinse it off after a few minutes). If necessary I moisturize my skin with argan oil or pure aloe vera. If I need peeling, I mix honey with sugar, put it in my face, leave it for a while then rinse off. My skin is a lot better now than it was with all the chemicals I used to use. And also I wash my teeth with baking soda.

Remember: organic (cosmetics and food) is good for you, environment and animals!

[paula-c]

The 10 greatest (Nestlé, PepsiCo, Kraft Foods, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Tyson Foods, Cargill, Mars, ADM, Danone) food processors control 26 per cent of the market, and 100 strings direct sales to the consumer control 40 per cent of the global market. Seems "little" in comparison, but are selling volumes immensely increased. In 2002, global seed and agrochemical sales were $ 29 billion; food, 259 billion, processors and chains of sales to the consumer, 501 billion. In 2007, these three sectors respectively increased to 49 billion; 339 billion and $ 720 billion. Seed to the supermarket, the transnational dictate or seek to dictate what planting, how to eat and where to buy it. The crisis prescribe us more of the same: more industrialization, more chemicals, most GM and other high-risk and freer trade technologies. Not surprising, since all are among those who have more lucrado with increased prices and famines: obtained profits ranging up to 108 per cent more than in previous years. But while intended to control everything, thousand 200 million farmers continue to have their own seeds, and even though Wal Mart is the world's largest company, 85 per cent of global food production is consumed about where are sowing - mostly in the informal market.

According to the figures of sales reported in 2008, 10 largest in the world in each category, transnational corporations control 67 percent of the market of commercial seed under intellectual property; 89 percent of the world market of agrochemicals; 26 per cent of the direct sales to consumers globally; 55 per cent of the pharmaceutical market, veterinary pharmaceuticals 63 per cent and 66 per cent of the biotechnology industry. In many cases, repeating the same companies in different sectors, or have mutual agreements that allow them to control in its category and associated categories strings. Still the WalMart, the world's largest company supermarket, and number 26 among the 100 largest planet, much larger than entire as Denmark, Portugal, Venezuela or Singapore countries product of Brutus (GDP) economies.
Also individual income worldwide disparity grew. The accumulated wealth of 1125 the world's richest individuals (4.4 billion dollars) is almost equivalent to the GDP of Japan, second world economic power of the United States.

In short, an absurd minority of enterprises and a few billionaires who have their actions control large percentages of industries and core markets for survival as food and health.
This allows them to heavy interference on national and international, shaping their own regulations and models of production and consumption that apply in the countries, are causing major disasters food, environmental and health policies.

One of the most tragic examples of this interference is privatization and agri-food, system conversion until few decades ago decentralized and based mostly on seeds of free access, water, Earth, Sun and human labour to become an industrial machine required large investments, expensive machinery, devastating amounts of agricultural chemicals (pesticides called better) and patented seeds controlled by a few companies. Although there were larger amounts of some grains, not fixed hunger in the world as promised, but it increased. The erosion of soil and crop and livestock, biodiversity along the químico-tóxica contamination of water balance is unprecedented in the history of humanity. All accompanied, if outside, by a growing crisis in human and animal health (which is also business for companies).

The most significant paradigm of this "green involution" are GMOs, addicted to chemical companies, promoted as a panacea to resolve the current problems of hunger model itself created patented seeds. Another of the same model is high requirement of fertilizers, which named it would seem less harmful than the rest of the pesticides. But the use of industrial fertilizers instead of the balance of natural nutrients from previous models of agriculture, also causes addiction and dependency and is in the hands of a closed transnational oligopoly.

Urges the deep questioning of industrial and corporate, agroalimentación model including radical critique that on behalf of the food and climate crises they want to impose on us more of the same model with GM and agrocombustibles. Real solutions already exist and are diametrically opposed: food sovereignty, of agricultural economies decentralized, diverse, free of patents, based on knowledge and farming cultures that are more than ten thousand years have proven their ability to feed to humanity.

[rag doll]

@Grace: Yves Rocher´s position is somewhat ambivalent. This is what was stated on their website regarding animal testing:
"We were one of the first European companies to say "no" to animal testing on finished products, favoring the use of alternative methods since 1989."

A statement of Peta referring to this:

"Yves Rocher's claim that they do not test their products on animals is pretty much meaningless, as it is not the products that are tested, but rather the ingredients that go into them... Yves Rocher is not approved by the Humane Cosmetics Standard, which provides our list of cruelty-free companies. So there's no guarantee that they do not test their ingredients on animals, or - more likely - buy ingredients that are tested on animals from supplier companies.
The fact that they don't mention ingredients in their statement suggests there's a good chance that they do exactly that."   :|

A little too untransparent and inconsequent for my taste.  :?

[Grace]

@ rag doll - I didn't know this about Yves Rocher, thanks.

I don't trust PETA since they are e.g. responsible for many thousands of killed animals each year, resolving their financial issues in animal shelters. Animals are not allowed for a longer period than 10 days in a shelter and then will be killed by syringe. My experience from L.A.
PETA are being discussed controversely. I remember some arguments when the TMZ article of MJ's dead giraffes was published.

[Doctor Death]

Thing is, how many people will you get to boycott...Because people have been buying these products on a regular basis for a looong time. Its a question of years and years of trust.

Considering the financial leverage that these huge companies have, the truth wil hardly get the kind of spotlight that'll attract considerable public attention. Michael is a popular man, agreed. But not everyone in the world is gonna watch the reveal or even if they do, they're not gonna understand. I, personally know a lot of people here in India who sadly, really wouldnt care....Although I'd be happy if my skepticism is proven to be fruitless. We all do need people to realise that the truth regarding their everyday lives isnt all that simple. Whatever's obvious/visible could also be an illusion. ;)

The situation in my country is like this.....These products are in stock everywhere...From grandiose shopping malls in cities to the samller grocery stores in suburbs....even in villages..and there are many people living in these regions who never knew and will perhaps never know who Michael Jackson was or what is it that he did...Not that its their fault...Its just that they have too many issues to deal with on an everyday basis...issues like local hooliganism, water shortage, illiteracy, hunger and so on......Hence when some of these manage to crawl out of the living hell that they live in, lay their hands on whatever goodies that they were deprieved of when poor....and so theres really no end to consumers for these products.

The sole thing that worries me more than anything else is that how will the message percolate down to the lowes strata of society.   :cry:

[Grace]

Hence when some of these manage to crawl out of the living hell that they live in, lay their hands on whatever goodies that they were deprieved of when poor....and so theres really no end to consumers for these products.

That's why illusions are being hammered by marketing psychologists into our heads as being our own individual & personal need - those who realize the mecanisms AND can afford to cut those artificial bonds are a minority.
I watched with my own eyes how poor people first are proud to be able to buy a coke and later don't realize how fast they are losing their culture, ethnical identity & dignity.
The developping countries are targetted and they will be conquered. No doubt about it.
Wake comes later when much damage has occured - some of it may never be healed again.

[Doctor Death]

Sad it really is.
And there is no way of making these people awre simply becuase they dont give a damn. The thing that makes large scale consciousness elusive is that the "awakened" ones are outnumbered by the ones they want to awaken.

[suomursu]

DD you're making a good point there but you have to remember that every little thing does matter. If I can get five people into this, I'm proud because I've made a difference in their lives. It starts with little steps. Think if every person reading this topic would "recruit" five more. Then they would have five more and so on. Soon we would have a million, then billions.

Then I have to ask out of pure curiosity... How many of you guys worried about animal testing eat meat? I'm not judging anyone, just bringing up something to think about.

[Doctor Death]

Thats fine.

But people dont WANT to believe that something that they have been using for ages is gonna kill them. Thats where the whole problem is.

[suomursu]

paula-c
There were so many hard words in your text that I can't say I understood much but I think you have made good research and you seem to know a lot about this stuff. Correct me if I'm wrong - the point in your post was that these big industries and GMO are bad and that the way our food is processed today isn't sustainable.

rag doll
You're right; we should be aware of these companies claiming that they don't use animal testing on their finished products. That doesn't really mean that they are animal-friendly, now does it. It's the ingredients they test.

Doctor Death
There are also people who care about the planet and who accept that there's evil and want to change it. For example, me. Our mission is to turn the heads of the people who don't see the things we see. I hope you can turn your skepticism into love and faith for people. Together we can make that change.

[paula-c]

suomursu if I think it's unsustainable ... There is so much trash in what people normally eat, I have some very interesting articles about how it makes a coca-cola in some Latin American countries that if people take the time to read would never take this drink.
There are things that people do out of ignorance, and I speak of ignorance in the best sense, the person or persons who do not know something, do not know or do not understand, can be considered the individual or social group that has no training, for example, There is much ignorance in these countries in this way to the powerful would rather people submit their interreses.
For example, the topic you mention and the food and pesticides, environmental, agricultural, health and economic partner of GM. GMOs pose a serious risk to biodiversity and are irreversible and unpredictable effects on ecosystems. Some of the dangers of these crops to the environment and agriculture are: increased use of toxic chemicals in agriculture, genetic pollution, soil pollution, biodiversity loss, development of resistance in insects and "weeds" and unwanted effects in other organisms.

Loss of biodiversity:

Genetic contamination threatens traditionally grown varieties and species. The increased use of chemicals eliminates or severely affects the flora and fauna not objective.

The increased use of pesticides increases chemical pollution:

With herbicide-tolerant plants, the farmer can use larger amounts of pesticides to eliminate so-called "weeds." Today there is evidence that because of this, many more pesticides are being used in transgenic crops than in conventional.
Dependence of farmers to a few multinationals:

Only a handful of companies (90% of GMOs in the hands of Monsanto) control the market for seeds and chemicals associated. These multinationals have patented seeds. They are called biopatentes. They have decided to put a price on life, when the wealth of biodiversity has always been a heritage of the peoples and has never had owners that charge a farmer to use the seeds of their own crops. The seed, as well as being a key input for producers is the basis of food sovereignty: the seeds may not belong to a few at the expense of the majority.

Health Effects

To date, noted the following health effects:

Emergence of new allergies by introducing new proteins in food. In the U.S., in the famous case of "Starlink Corn" (2000) were found in the food chain traces of a genetically modified corn not approved for human consumption causing serious allergic reactions.

Emergence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria pathogenic to man (GMOs antibiotic genes used as markers). That is, some genetically modified bacteria can transfer resistance to certain antibiotics used to combat both human and animal diseases (eg, amoxicillin). The British Medical Association has recommended banning the use of these marker genes.

Emergence of new toxins in food (due to Bt crops or proteins that are used as markers in GMOs).

Increased food contamination by greater use of chemicals in agriculture.

The solution to hunger and malnutrition through the development of sustainable technologies and fair and by the use of techniques such as agriculture and organic farming. These already exist but lack the support needed for start-up or to generalization.

[rag doll]

I also heard about the controversity of PETA - that´s what I mean - it´s hardly distinguishable who´s "all good". :|

I began to read up on this subject some years ago, especially about cosmetics, since I dont´t want to support cruelty on animals for pure vanity. And what I found was a hazy jungle of misinformation. Actually there are some companies that keep their promise but as already mentioned, there is a low probability to find these products in malls and shopping centers next to a mass of highly advertised and therefore well known conventional brands- if they carry them at all.

There are some international seals of approval that can be helpful to make the right choice:
http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/tags/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/e ... esting.png

We are a majority of girls and women here.
We use as a matter of course dozens of products like shampoos, shower gels, soaps, perfumes every day as well as decorative cosmetics. I´m down to earth enough to know, that a handful of people can´t lever out a whole system within a blink of an eye.
But every long way begins with a first step...

This general topic - to be aware of our own daily shopping manners and their consequences and to look for other, more respectable alternatives - should be one of the sticky treads.

"Change" starts with each one of us.

suomursu: Even if I rarely eat meat and watch out where to buy it, I`m not a vegetarian.
You´re absolutely right with calling our attention to this: complete deforestation in some areas because of cattle farming,
rising CO2 emission and global warming as a consequence of that, the terrible cruelty of intensive livestock farming -
these are all important subjects.