if you wanna sing out...

as most of my faithful blog readers know, i recently returned from a brief excursion to the US/Mexico border in June. It started my thoughts about corporate exploitation of workers, not because these factories aren't clean, but because employees aren't being paid enough. 50 pesos a day. Fine in an economy that charges very little for food; not so great when it barely buys one meal for a family of 6 (trust me, we did a little exercise in the supermercado so we could see exactly how much we could purchase with 50 pesos. As I said, just enough for one meal.

So, last night I saw The Corporation at the Ritz. It provided a case study or two that I found fascinating. One of them included a look at the Monsanto corporation for their advertising of a product containing rBGH, a bovine growth hormone that, when injected into cows resulted in pus on cow's udders and, ultimately, contamination of milk they gave. I found the movie infinitely fascinating, particularly as they followed this case study. A group investigated this case and attempted to air it on Fox News, but it was recalled because of the ways it indicted said corporation. If you're looking for something to do, check it out. I can't guarantee that you'll leave the movie knowing exactly how to solve the corporate ills of the world, but it may motivate you to look more closely at certain corporations and their potential environmental and human rights violations. As consumers, we vote every time we buy. We can endorse those companies that work to be sustainable and those that pay their employees a living wage. It's just a matter of finding them now...