Are man’s instincts becoming so blurred that we’re contributing to human trafficking? Former Secretary of State John Kerry sheds light on a new threat to modern slavery.
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The face of danger can look just like yours or mine. The sound of danger can be as soft as a pin falling onto a wooden floor. The sense of danger can seem as comforting as a kiss on the cheek–but when you stop to take in its beauty, you realize it’s poison.
Human trafficking is that subtle face, that soft pin drop, that kiss on the cheek. Research suggests that it’s at its highest, causing more private, painful deaths than ever. It’s a sweeping epidemic that’s been around much longer than most know. In fact, there’s a newly-discovered agent to the spreading of modern slavery–and man may be more of a contributing factor than we know.
John Kerry, former Secretary of State, recently spoke out about the issue, telling the horrific story of a sea slave named Lang Long. In the video above, Kerry explains that Long has been held captive on a boat in the open sea–where he is forced to catch fish, kill them and prepare them for inhumane purposes. Kerry uses this as a segue into the real heart of the problem–pets and more particularly, pet food.
Iams, a nationally-known brand of dog and cat food, has been put on high notice for using animal products such as dolphin in their pet food. The animal byproducts are reportedly being caught by sea slaves in Thailand–and companies that enlist for the services of these slaves are currently being linked to fellow pet food makers Meow Mix and Fancy Feast, in addition to Iams.
Numerous lawsuits have reportedly been filed, though Upworthy.com revealed that it’s becoming increasingly difficult to catch these companies, because the majority of the fishing that’s required to keep these companies going is hidden from supply chains. Even worse, the slaves who are hired by these companies are being shackled and beaten within an inch of their lives, knowing nothing of civilization except for a boat and an endless sea of uncertainty and death.
It seems there are two sides to this coin. On one side, there’s man’s best friend–unknowingly being poisoned and killed by their owners. One can argue that it’s actually the pet food manufacturers who are killing thousands of animals. On the other side, however, you have equally as many human lives being jeopardized for doing a job they’ve most likely been forced into.
When will man truly learn? When will the time come to truly weigh the odds?
It seems easy to detect, but can the human heart catch danger before hands become weapons? Before man’s instincts are so distorted that we simply feed the machine of death–instead of doing our part to shut it down?
U.S. Department of State/Youtube
The post The Secret Lives of Sea Slaves: The New Threat to Modern Slavery appeared first on The Good Men Project.