| ACTFORCHANGE
ACTIVISM UPDATE: August 1, 2001
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receiving this newsletter because you have previously taken action on
ActForChange in support of progressive values.
IN
THIS BULLETIN:
Help End Child Slave Labor
Nearly half of all cocoa beans -- chocolates essential ingredient -- comes
from the Ivory Coast. On 600,000 small farms, young boys pick cocoa beans
from dusk to dawn. Recently, a number of factors, including razor-thin
profit margins, have combined
to tempt unscrupulous cocoa bean growers into renewing an age-old cost-cutting
method: child slave labor. The use of forced child labor isnt limited
to the cocoa industry; the cotton and bidi-tobacco industries also use child
slaves to harvest and process their crops.
The House recently approved a bill that could help end this tragedy by
funding the Food and Drug Administration to establish a labeling system
to certify that cocoa beans, chocolates and other derivative products
are not tainted with child slave labor. Alarmingly, Bob Dole and other
Washington lobbyists for the cocoa, cotton and bidi-tobacco industries
seem intent on blocking any Senate legislation. Dont let this happen.
Urge the cocoa bean and chocolate industry to immediately commit to work
with child labor experts among trade unions, nonprofits, and governments
to adopt a comprehensive action plan to end child slavery. Click
here to take action now!
Support Discharge Petition and Ban Soft Money
Urge your representative to sign a discharge petition to bring the campaign finance reform bill onto the House floor. The bill represents our best chance to curb the corruptive influence of money in politics and a discharge petition is now the only way to force the Republican leadership to allow a fair vote. Click here to take action now!
Pass
a Responsible Energy Bill
Contact your
representative and ask him or her to oppose the current House energy bill
and support amendments to save the Arctic Wildlife Refuge from oil and
gas drilling and reduce subsidies for polluting industries. Click
here to take action now!
 By
taking action on this important issue you will be entered in the Global
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Melissa Simpson
ActForChange Newsletter Editor
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