Nestle and Ethiopia

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Something that my girlfriend, who works for Amnesty International, passed on to me. It originated with Oxfam. I know no more than is here about what this claim is about.

"Nestlé, the world's largest coffee company, are demanding millions of dollars from a country where 11 million people are facing famine. Take action to stop this scandal now!

Ethiopia is currently experiencing a terrible drought. This crisis has been compounded by the collapse in the global coffee price, which many of you have been helping us campaign on. The Ethiopian government fears this drought could cause the worst famine the country has ever faced.

Nestlé has demanded that Ethiopia pay over $6million in compensation for a company that was nationalised 27 years ago, a company that Nestlé didn't even own at the time.

The $6m represents 0.01% of Nestlé's turnover last year. But for Ethiopia, $6m would buy food for over a million people for a whole month.

Take action now:
1. Send a message to Nestlé, telling them to drop the claim for $6m from Ethiopia.
2. forward this to 15 or more friends, family and colleagues"

― Martin Skidmore (Martin Skidmore), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 20:43 (twenty-two years ago)

A new stick to beat Nestlé with. Fantastic

― Ed (dali), Wednesday, 18 December 2002 20:45 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmmm, I have a hard time believing this is true. I can't imagine Nestle would do this, especially after they were made the whipping boy for corporate irresponsibility via the bottlefeeding scandal from the 70s. But who knows!

― donut bitch (donut), Thursday, 19 December 2002 00:29 (twenty-two years ago)

No, DB, it's absolutely true. Has just been on R4.

Extremely cheeky of Nestle and they don't exactly need the money. Can Ethiopian government LITERALLY tell them to FUCK OFF in a press release or something? I'd love to see a news report after the watershed that said 'Ethiopian government officials told Nestle to fuck off today...'

― suzy (suzy), Thursday, 19 December 2002 08:30 (twenty-two years ago)

'... and the Nestlé representative, the Milky Bar kid, promptly burst into tears.'

― Alfie (Alfie), Thursday, 19 December 2002 08:51 (twenty-two years ago)

Just imagine the disappointment, toppling a regime and then getting stuck with the fallout from its nationalization program.

― nabisco (nabisco), Thursday, 19 December 2002 08:58 (twenty-two years ago)

I thought this was going to be a thread where you could win something.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 19 December 2002 09:19 (twenty-two years ago)

I heard about this on R4 this morning too. Disgraceful.

― Madchen (Madchen), Thursday, 19 December 2002 09:19 (twenty-two years ago)

oh for FUCK'S SAKE do nestle have *any* idea about public relations AT ALL...

[shakes head]

― CarsmileSteve (CarsmileSteve), Thursday, 19 December 2002 09:22 (twenty-two years ago)

oh for FUCK'S SAKE do nestle have *any* idea about public relations AT ALL...

of course not, they're Swiss fer god's sake

― Tad (llamasfur), Thursday, 19 December 2002 09:34 (twenty-two years ago)

oh for FUCK'S SAKE do nestle have *any* idea about public relations AT ALL...

This is beside the point, which is that there are a lot of Nestle products that taste really, really nice and therefore millions of people will continue to buy them even if they have been torturing puppies in Somalia, sadly.

― Matt DC (Matt DC), Thursday, 19 December 2002 09:59 (twenty-two years ago)

The gall of the Nestle spokesman on R4 this morning was just flabbergasting. He was seriously attempting to argue that being sued for $6000000 was GOOD for Ethiopia, because it would encourage foreign investment.

I hate Nestle. It was a sad day indeed when they bought out Rowntrees.

― RickyT (RickyT), Thursday, 19 December 2002 10:07 (twenty-two years ago)

Now that we have Cadbury's Dream bars, we have no need for Nestle Milkybars anymore. They'll feel the effects of boycotting...

― weasel diesel (K1l14n), Thursday, 19 December 2002 10:10 (twenty-two years ago)

what i don't understand is, as someone upthread pointed out, why don't the ethiopians tell Nestle to go fuck themselves (or the appropriate diplomatic terms-of-art to that effect)?

― Tad (llamasfur), Thursday, 19 December 2002 10:15 (twenty-two years ago)

But remember Rick - they've sold rowntrees now, so its okay to eat Fruit Pastilles again. Yay!

Every year I get sent a big thick book from the Nestle PR department telling me how they are conforming with the WHO code. This is usually followed by a piece of paper sent out by the NUS Environment & Ethical committee telling me which bits are lies (lines like p.1-127 - stuff like that).

However as much as we might get on our high horse about Nestle, do you really think that the Ethiopian government would spend that six million on food?

― Pete (Pete), Thursday, 19 December 2002 10:45 (twenty-two years ago)

i never liked milkybars.

― g-kit (g-kit), Thursday, 19 December 2002 10:55 (twenty-two years ago)

but the chocolate milk from ehtipian breasts mixed with quik tastes soooo good

― Queen G (Queeng), Thursday, 19 December 2002 11:42 (twenty-two years ago)

Who'd they sell rowntrees to?

― Ed (dali), Thursday, 19 December 2002 11:44 (twenty-two years ago)

Here it is:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/famine/story/0,12128,862655,00.html

― PJ Miller (PJ Miller), Thursday, 19 December 2002 12:44 (twenty-two years ago)

What about 100 Grand bars? I love them soooo much, but it would be evil to buy one.

― Nicole (Nicole), Thursday, 19 December 2002 12:55 (twenty-two years ago)

Who'd they sell rowntrees to?

Small Ethiopian babies. They told their mothers that Fruit Pastilles were a major advance on nipples.

― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 19 December 2002 13:20 (twenty-two years ago)

Hmmmm, I have a hard time believing this is true.

why?

― J0hn Darn13ll3 (J0hn Darn13ll3), Thursday, 19 December 2002 13:50 (twenty-two years ago)

i bewt you the caffeine addicted ethiopian 4 year olds are gonna be kicking up a meery hell about this and taking it out on the eriotreyans

― Queen G (Queeng), Thursday, 19 December 2002 14:24 (twenty-two years ago)

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