A report by The Guardian yesterday uncovered that one of the world?s largest shrimp farmers, Charoen Pokphand (CP) Foods is using slave labor in its operations. CP Foods sells to major European and U.S. chain stores including Walmart and Costco which both released statements reaffirming their opposition to human trafficking and promising to take corrective actions. Several of the companies who had used CP Foods as a supplier have now joined with Project Issara (Project Freedom) which is a public-private sector partnership aimed at ending human trafficking in South-East Asia. The men who escaped CP Food?s facilities told reporters of 20-hour shifts, physical and mental abuse, torture, and murder.
See "Shrimp slaves: Walmart, Costco act against forced labor", Kevin McCoy, USA Today, June 10, 2014