125 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
125 lines
5.6 KiB
Plaintext
Subject: Militant Farmers Rekindle Anti-Transnationals Campaign
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Date: Sept 7, 1995
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From: Rich Winkel <rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu>
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(by way of Vegetarian Resource Center <vrc@tiac.net>)
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India-Economy: Militant Farmers Rekindle Anti-Transnationals Campaign
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by Mahesh Uniyal
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New Delhi, Aug 3 (IPS) - India's activist campaign against
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transnationals has been energised again by a well known militant
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farmers' group serving notice on a fast food subsidiary of the
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U.S.based Pepsi corporation.
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The Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha ,which uses physical force in
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its campaign to drive out agribusiness transnationals from India,
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has given Pepsi affiliate Kentucky Fried Chicken a week's time to
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close shop in the country.
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Kentucky Fried Chicken opened the first of its 30 planned Indian
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outlets a month ago in Bangalore, the capital of Southern
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Karnataka state and the country's fastest growing metropolis.
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However, Kentucky Fried Chicken denies the threat publicised by
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media reports from Bangalore where the The Karnataka Rajya Raita
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Sangha is based. the farmers' outfit made news in recent years
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by twice ransacking the Bangalore-based office of the U.S. seed
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firm Cargill.
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Two years ago, Cargill abandoned a salt making venture on India's
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western India coast, citing business reasons. but it was widely
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seen as a surrender to activist threats.
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"Kentucky Fried Chicken has not received any such notice from The
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Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha so we are not commenting on it,"
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said a Kentucky Fried Chicken spokesperson in Delhi. She
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dismissed as baseless the charges levelled against Kentucky Fried
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Chicken by the farmers' organisation and other activists.
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In recent months, Kentucky Fried Chicken, along with
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international burger giant McDonald's has been targeted by
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activists who include prominent political leaders.
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Agitated members of Indian parliament shot off a letter to prime
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minister P.V. Narasimha Rao two months ago, accusing the
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government of buckling under pressure from transnationals. They
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urged the government to learn from China's tough stand against
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McDonald's.
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"If China can stand up to the pressure, what is it that India
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lacks in saying no to the American junk food sellers?," They
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asked in their letter which ended with an appeal to cancel the
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clearance given to Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut and
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McDonald's.
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A driving force behind the campaign is former Indian environment
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minister Maneka Gandhi. The The Karnataka Rajya Raita Sangha has
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repeated Gandhi's well-publicised charges against the fast food
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transnational chains.
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"I am against all meat junk foods," says Gandhi who has attacked
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Pepsi and McDonald's for promoting unhealthy eating habits,
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damaging ecology and reducing job opportunities for locals.
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She cites scientific studies in the west, including a U.S. Senate
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probe which found that every seven seconds a U.S. citizen gets
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cancer from overindulging in junk foods.
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Gandhi has also charged that the Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets
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will use 100,000 poultry birds a day while McDonald's will buy an
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equal number of goats a week. She fears the spread of poultry
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disease among the birds which will be reared on a diet laced with
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size and weight- enhancing drugs.
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Activists argue that large scale livestock farming necessary to
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feed the fast food industry will lead to overgrazing and
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increased soil erosion of already degraded lands. they also
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ridicule the claim by the transnationals that their ventures will
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create jobs for Indians.
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However, Kentucky Fried Chicken rebuts the charges. "Kentucky
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Fried Chicken is not doing any of the things that they are saying
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it is going to do," says the food chain's spokesperson.
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Kentucky Fried Chicken will open its remaining outlets in other
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big Indian cities over the next seven years. the biggest planned
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outlet, like the one in Bangalore, where 200 people can eat, will
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not use more than 200 birds daily, she claims.
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Not all Kentucky Fried Chicken outlets will be of this size and
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Kentucky Fried Chicken expects to use about 1,500 poultry birds a
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day when all its shops in India start working, she says. The
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company has tied up with Venkateshwar Hatcheries for the supply
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of chicken and will ensure the highest quality standards, she
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adds.
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"The allegation that the birds will be diseased does not make
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sense. Kentucky Fried Chicken has 9,400 outlets worldwide and
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strict quality control measures are followed," the Kentucky Fried
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Chicken spokesperson says.
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Each Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet will employ 50 people. and for
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every person hired directly, 10 indirect jobs will be created,
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she claims.
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Kentucky Fried Chicken also denies charges that its joints will
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use beef as a filling. Under the terms of the clearance given by
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India's foreign investment promotion board, Kentucky Fried
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Chicken cannot use beef at all in the Hindu majority nation.
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(end/ips/mu/mv/95)
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origin: new Delhi/India-economy/
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
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[c] 1994, Inter Press Third World News Agency (IPS) - all rights
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e-mail to ips-info@igc.apc.org.
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