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The Brazilian farm workers exploited to harvest an everyday ingredient (www.bbc.com)

submitted 7 months ago by recreationalplacebos@midwest.social to c/news@beehaw.org

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Carnauba wax is a product you may not have heard of, but you have almost certainly consumed it - it is added to sweets to stop them melting, to pills to make them easier to swallow and as a thickener in lipstick and mascara.

Workers in Brazil's poor north-eastern state of Piauí rely on harvesting wax from carnauba palm trees to earn a living. But the power is in the hands of big business who, authorities say, are turning a blind eye to exploitation.

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[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago)

i dunno if thats the case here but its common for the workers to be lured in by promise of a "good" salary. it happens so readily and easily because of good ol capitalism-induced desperation.

they scrape what they can to get across state lines to work there, and surprise, they are now slaves that cant go back, as they target people from poorer states far away. plus most of the time theres some sort of "you owe me for that shitty shack i let you sleep in with a bunch of other slaves" arrangement.

it happened in grape plantations that supply the common (and fucking expensive) brands that sell wine and grape juice all over the country. just a big one off the top of my head because it was particularly big in the mainstream media too.

i dont think any of those removed ass slavers suffered from serious consequences, and there are probably many many other instances we just havent uncovered. you can easily guess this is rampant