Water
McDonald’s and Shareholder Influence
By Ethel Howley, SSND
In 1990, McDonald’s did away with foam “clam shell” boxes, but it still goes through about a billion foam cups a year.
Polystyrene foam is one of the worst ocean plastics scourges. It breaks down into tiny pieces that marine animals mistake for food, and it lasts — literally — forever. An astounding amount of ocean plastic debris is foam or plastic packaging.
Happily, shareholders have begun to demonstrate a commitment to ending plastic and foam pollution. It takes a lot of power to alter the path of a corporate behemoth like McDonald’s, but with shareholder power complementing grassroots activism and legislation, it can be done. With a 30% shareholder vote on a shareholder resolution, McDonald’s investors told the company they wanted it to end its polystyrene habit – and McDonald’s listened. The company will get rid of foam packaging entirely — globally — by the end of 2018.
McDonald's action is a resounding victory for oceans, ecosystems, landfills, and marine life, and Dunkin’ Donuts has followed McDonalds’s lead! Dunkin’ uses around a billion foam cups each year, too, and they've announced they will do away with foam by 2020.
That's 2 billion foam cups every year between McDonald's and Dunkin' that will never see a customer — or the ocean, or the inside of a sea turtle’s stomach.
That’s the power of shareholder action. That’s shareholders stopping the flow of plastics at the source: giant global corporations. While our province does not have stock in McDonald’s, this is an example of the important role our efforts to change corporate culture through shareholder activity can play in social justice!
Immigration
Last week, President Trump responded to the public outrage against family separations by signing an executive order to end that inhumane policy and Congress failed to pass two morally-vacuous immigration reform bills. While there is still much work to be done to humanize the treatment of unauthorized immigrants, thank you to all who participated in our advocacy campaigns and raised your voices for the voiceless and vulnerable! Please continue to pray for all migrants and refugees.
Trafficking
Please watch this informative TED Talk by Noy Thrupkaew , a global journalist reporting on human trafficking. “Human trafficking is far more prevalent, complex, and close to home than most of us realize. Behind the everyday bargains we all love -- the $10 manicure, the unlimited shrimp buffet -- is a hidden world of forced labor to keep those prices at rock bottom. Noy Thrupkaew investigates human trafficking – which flourishes in the US and Europe, as well as developing countries – and shows us the human faces behind the exploited labor that feeds global consumers.”
Take Action: Urge Congress to Pass the Visa Transparency Anti-Trafficking Act of 2018
Please remember to check out our latest social justice resource, “Seafood and Slavery: Human Trafficking in the Fishing Industry,” if you have not done so already!
Hati
Over 400 students in Haiti were nearly unable to sit for their baccalaureate exams when their schools confiscated their exam cards until their parents could pay off their school debt. The Municipal Council came to their aid and covered the expense of each student – the students are now able to take their exams. This demonstrates the desperate need for increased access to education and a way out of poverty for the Haitian people. Click here to learn about the work we are doing with our partner , Beyond Borders, to address these issues!
