Nestlé

Nestlé (with the accent over the e so you don't confuse it with children nestled all snug in their beds) is a major worldwide food-and-drink seller based in Switzerland.
As with many large successful corporations, they've been accused of all sorts of malfeasance, and some of these accusations are true.Why Nestle is one of the most hated companies in the world
== Stuff Nestlé is fairly accused of ==
=== Child labor in the Ivory Coast ===
Nestlé didn't perform due diligence into their Ivory Coast cocoa farms, to ensure that child labor wasn't being used. Eventually, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) found out,Nestle 'failing' on child labour abuse, says FLA report, BBC News, 29-June-2012 and the International Labor Rights fund filed a lawsuit, which Nestlé fought.Nestlé admits slavery in Thailand while fighting child labour lawsuit in Ivory Coast, The Guardian, 1-Feb-2016 (Ultimately, the U.S. supreme court ruled in Nestlé's favor, saying that they can't be sued because the Alien Tort Statute doesn't apply to their situation.Nestlé v. Doe, 19-416 (17-June-2021))
=== Exploiting Pakistan's water supply ===
Nestlé is the biggest seller of bottled water in the world. They've gotta get that water from somewhere. In one case, they got it from wells in Pakistan's Bhati Dilwan community by digging a deep well there, which seems to have deprived the locals of part of their water supply. This water was bottled and sold as Nestlé Pure Life, which the locals couldn't generally afford.Poisoning The Well? Nestlé Accused Of Exploiting Water Supplies For Bottled Brands, worldcrunch, 19-Jan-2012
== Stuff Nestlé is semi-fairly accused of ==
=== Exploiting Michigan's water supply ===
In Michigan, Nestlé pumps over half a million gallons of water each day for bottling, for which the state charges them only US$200 per yearResidents outraged by new water deal allowing Nestle to pump millions of gallons from Michigan, WDIV ClickOnDetroit, 2018. The article's listed figure of 1.1 million gallons per day is Nestlé's total water pumping worldwide, not just for Michigan.. This works out to around 200 million gallons per year. That may sound like a lot, but they're in no danger of depriving the area of fresh water; lake Michigan contains 1.3 quadrillion gallons of water, roughly two billion times what Nestlé consumes per day, and this is continually replenished by rainfall.For Each Gallon Of Water Michigan’s People Use, 288 Gallons Fall From The Sky, Michigan Capitol Confidential, 12-April-2018
=== Contaminated cookie dough ===
In 2009, it was discovered that some of Nestlé's refrigerated cookie dough was contaminated with E. coli O157:H7, the dangerous strain that causes foodborne illness. The contamination was only discovered because dozens of illnesses were reportedHow Eating Raw Cookie Dough Led to One Mom's Death, Son Recalls, ABC News, 14-Nov-2014. Heat will kill these bacteria, however; this is why packaged refrigerated cookie dough always carries the warning "Do not eat raw cookie dough."
=== Pollution ===
Allegedly, in the United KingdomIllegal Water Pollution Rife, Friends of the Earth, 16-Sept-1997 and China Shell, Nestlé and Motorola among companies failing to come clean about pollution in China, says Greenpeace, The Guardian, 13-Oct-2009, Nestlé exceeded the legal limits on water pollution and other forms of pollution. In both cases, several companies were implicated; there's no indication that Nestlé's operations were any more egregious than those of the other companies in the same area.
=== Slave labor in Thailand ===
Nestlé was, indeed, involved in the use of slave labor in Thailand. However, this fact only came to light because Nestlé themselves launched an investigation into it, and found that forced labor was indeed occurring. Once they discovered this, they stopped using this source of labor.Nestlé admits to forced labour in its seafood supply chain in Thailand, The Guardian, 24-Nov-2015
== Stuff Nestlé is unfairly accused of ==
=== Melamine-tainted milk ===
Nestlé was widely blamed for the in which milk products, including infant formula, were tainted with melamine and killed at least 6 babies.
However, Nestlé was not among the companies implicated within China, and none of its milk products manufactured there were intended for sale within China. Only its Taiwanese exports had detectable levels of melamine, and these levels were so low as not to pose a health risk — and none of these products were baby formula.Melamine found in Nestle milk products: minister, 2-October-2008
=== "Water isn't a human right" ===
Nestlé's former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe is infamous for having said the following:
This quote is taken out of its larger context, however. From the full quote, he seems to be interested in preserving access to water for local populations, not grabbing it all up for themselves.Did the Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Say Water Is Not a Human Right?, Snopes
== See also ==
*Chiquita
==External links==
* Jon Oliver discussing chocolate farmers, which implicates more companies than just Nestlé, but Nestlé's in there too, on YouTube
==References==
Category:Slavery
Category:Business
Category:Food