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#1314: More on Grand Marnier orange worker appeal : Arthur comments
From: Charles Arthur <charlesarthur@hotmail.com>
A list member has contacted me to ask if the discomfort suffered by the
workers who peel the oranges for Grand Marnier on the plantation in northern
Haiti is caused by pesticides sprayed on the fruit.
The answer to this question is contained within a conversation I had with a
representative of the Haitian company, Hans Broder Schutt (also involved in
the export of dried orange peel to Europe) in March 1998, reveals a lot.
I asked the Schutt representative why there was a demand for orange peel
from Haiti when there are so many sources closer to Europe - I was thinking
of Spain, Morocco, Cyprus, Israel, etc. Surely, I suggested, it would be
more economic to import the orange peels from one of these sources.
She replied that there are two reasons why Marnier-Lapostelle wants orange
peels from Haiti rather than somewhere else.
One, the physical task of peeling oranges is time-consuming, it is
labour-intensive. Therefore, wage costs can be high. Haiti is preferred
because there is nowhere in the world that grows oranges where the labour is
as cheap as Haiti.
The second reason is that Marnier-Lapostelle requires organic orange peel
for the production of the Grand Marnier liqueur. As the Corbett list member
pointed out, most orange growers use pesticides, but, you guessed it, not in
Haiti. The non-use of pesticides is not for environmental nor health
reasons, but because this (and many other) aspects of the Haitian economy
are so under-developed that the widespread use of pesticides has not even
begun.
So the pathetically badly paid Haitian orange peelers are suffering not from
pesticides but from constant exposure, without gloves, or washing
facilities, to the citric acid from the fruit. I understand the peeling is
done with some kind of knife, and that workers must peel so many cases of
oranges each day in order to make anything like a reasonable wage that cuts
to the hands are common. Imagine the orange juice getting into a cut on the
fingers.
While I have your attention, many people have emailed Marnier-Lapostelle in
response to the urgent appeal in solidarity with the plantation workers. The
Haiti Support Group has already received a reply from Marnier-Lapostelle
denying that the situation on the plantation is anything to them. They say
everything is up to Novella. Veterans of the Disney campaign will recognise
this tactic.
Marnier-Lapostell has though been good enough to provide us with a differnt
email name and contact, and should you want to pursue the matter further, or
even send a message for the first time, we are advised that the correct
destination is:
Mr François de Gasperis
CEO of Human Resources
Marnier-Lapostelle
<Gasperis.F@GRANDMARNIER.TM.FR>
Thanks
Charles Arthur
for the Haiti Support Group
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