BIG CORPORATIONS are FULL OF S**T!

Okay – this blog is supposed to be about creating positive change in the world….so why a blog title with such a negative implication?  Well – in order to achieve positive outcomes and promote positive change into the world – we must look at the bad.  Here are some of the most profitable companies in the world and some of their crimes – educate yourself, do the research and ask yourself these questions:  Do you want to continue to support this kind of business?  Are their products really promoting good health?  Do these companies really have the consumers best interests at hand?  Are they environmentally conscious?  How are they treating their workers around the world?  Is the company really promoting an inclusive, positive and healthy planet?  Keep these questions in mind as we take a closer look at just how these corporations run their business.

COCA COLA – Yes, it is THE REAL THING but not really what you think.

Coca Cola has spent millions of dollars marketing Coke (and  many of their other soft drink brands) as delicious and sometimes nutritious.  Tell me, how can they sell their brands as nutritious and delicious when evidence has shown that aspartame, phosphoric acid, food dyes, other additives and toxins are not conducive to good health.  Yes, it is the consumers obligation to ensure they understand the consequences of their actions but Coca Cola has to take some responsibility – just as the tobacco industry has done.  Should they add more labelling in addition to their caloric values?  I believe so – as I mentioned, the tobacco companies have all included ‘warning labels’ on their cigarette packages such as how addictive they are, links to cancers and chronic respiratory illnesses.  Is it so difficult to have a label indicating that some of their products are addictive and may cause obesity and diabetes?

According to the group Killer Coke – they have claims that Coca Cola Corporation is responsible for many human rights violations not to mention tax evasion and breaking environmental laws.  Here are some examples of their crimes listed on http://killercoke.org/about.php:

India:  Pollution of water sources, deception and cover-ups and pesticides in Coca Cola beverages.

Kenya:  Public health fears and pollution.

Mexico:  Breaking laws, defrauding Mexican workers and government.

Pakistan:  Extortion/blackmail, abductions and death threats.

Philippines:  Smuggling, tax evasion.

Tanzania:  Worker health and safety issues and child labor.

Turkey:  Workers fired for organizing union.

You can review all of the above issues and more on this groups website.  These allegations are serious and if true, Coca Cola should be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.  Just because you amass such outrageous profits – shouldn’t exempt you from violating human rights, environmental and federal laws.  I am grateful that I do not support this company and any of its softdrinks including; Vitamin Water (which has no nutritional value), Coke Zero (which includes aspartame – proven not to be good for our bodies) and Dasani Water.  Stop filling landfills with these products and look to other healthier beverage choices.  Support local business that are organic and water depots that award you for being environmentally conscious and give you safe and clean water.

McDONALDS – Who’s LOVIN’ IT?

Many people have complained about the lack of proper nutrition that fast-food chains serve, what did they expect?  Here are some facts about the most noticeable fast-food chain in our existence:

• 179 restaurants in India, where most people don’t eat either beef or pork.
• 24 billion in revenue, yet they pay their workers minimum wage.  (Most workers employed by McDonald’s don’t make enough money to eat there).
• 700,000 workers in the USA, with 150% turnover rate.
• Americans consume one billion pounds of beef at McDonald’s in a year.
• Next 3 years, McDonald’s plans to open one restaurant everyday in China.

So what is wrong with McDonald’s?  Well, like Coca Cola – they have been known to exploit children by offering toys to eat their food that lacks any sort of nutrients for their bodies.  They have been in the public eye for the inhumane treatment of animals – McDonald’s is responsible for the mass genocide of five and a half million head of cattle each year, not to mention the environmental implications that factory farming has on our planet, water and food supply.  We all know that McDonald’s isn’t serving healthy and nutritious meals or beverages to their consumers – they depend on this fact to keep them raking in their mass profits so that they can continue their abuse on their workers, the planets animals and the planet itself.  I am so glad that my addiction to fast-food was suppressed so long ago.  There was a time where my health was directly affected by consuming unhealthy burgers and beverages from McDonald’s.  I strongly believe that the mind-numbing migraines I used to get was from eating this processed food.  So glad those days are behind me.

More detailed information can be found on the following site:  http://www.mcspotlight.org/campaigns/translations/trans_uk.html

WAL-MART – The lowest price is the law (and it’s greedy).

Here is what is know about Wal-Mart:

• 2.1 million full-time employees.
• 405 billion dollars in revenue.
• Sold more bananas than any other item (most-likely, non-organic).
• Largest overall employer in the USA.
• All Wal-Mart parking lots would make up the size of Tampa, Florida.
• Battling 1.6 million employees in the largest class action discrimination law suit.
• Walton Family has given away about 2% of its net worth to charity.  Bill Gates gave 48% and Warren Buffet (78%)

Not only is Wal-Mart an eyesore – it is allowed to build in small towns rendering local business useless.  Now that it is selling food items – many local farmers are forced to file for bankruptcy. 

These corporations hide behind the mask of tolerance and compassion and would like us to believe that they care for their consumers.  This could not be further from the truth.  The shareholders and CEO’s of these mega corporations don’t support their workers, their products, the environment, the humane treatment of animals, the laws of other countries, human rights issues and they certainly do nothing to promote positive change in the world.  We know the truth and we have to stop making the following excuses;  “I’m too busy to shop anywhere else”, “I can’t afford organic food”, “it’s so convenient to buy everything in one store”, “the products are cheapest here”……When we keep telling ourselves these things, we buy into their brainwashing tactics.  If we continue to be fooled and leave our ‘blinders’ on – this world is going to be one that supports corporations that will continue to force small businesses into bankruptcy, they will continue to promote a world that supports obesity and diabetes, they will support a society where we allow mass genocide, economic inequality, discrimination based on gender and sexual orientation, environmental disregard and human rights violations.  If this is a world you want to be part of – they keep your blinders on because as they say – IGNORANCE IS BLISS!  Personally – I can’t be part of this and will continue to do my best to inform people of the injustices of BIG CORPORATIONS because without exploiting this negative energy, there can never be a positive outcome.

Together, we can make the world a more positive one! 

INSPIRING QUOTES

Here are some inspiring words from some of very inspiring people:

NELSON MANDELA

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a South African anti-apartheid revolutionary and politician who served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination”

“It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur.  You take the front line when there is danger.  Then people will appreciate your leadership”

“If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head.  If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart”

DR. WAYNE DYER

Wayne Dyer, PH.D., is an internationally renowned author and speaker in the field of self-development. He’s the author of over 30 books, has created many audio programs and videos, and has appeared on thousands of television and radio shows.

“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours”

“If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change”

“What we think determines what happens to us, so if we want to change our lives, we need to stretch our minds”

LOUISE L. HAY

RECENTLY DUBBED “the closest thing to a living saint” by the Australian media, Louise L. Hay is also known as one of the founders of the self-help movement. Her first book, Heal Your Body, was published in 1976, long before it was fashionable to discuss the connection between the mind and body.

“I find that when we really love and accept and approve of ourselves exactly as we are, then everything in life works”

“If you are willing to do the mental work, almost anything can be healed”

“All the events you have experienced in your lifetime up to this moment have been created by your thoughts and beliefs you have held in the past. They were created by the thoughts and words you used yesterday, last week, last month, last year, 10, 20, 30, 40, or more years ago, depending on how old you are”

MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed spiritual author and lecturer. Six of her ten published books have been New York Times Best Sellers. Four of these have been #1 New York Times Best Sellers. A Return to Love is considered a must-read of The New Spirituality. A paragraph from that book, beginning “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure...” is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers.

“Forgiveness is not always easy.  At times, it feels more painful than the wound we suffered, to forgive the one that inflicted it.  And yet, there is no peace without forgiveness”

“The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world”

“Love is what we were born with.  Fear is what we learned”

BILL CLINTON

William Jefferson “Bill” Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001.

“If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes.  But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person.  It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you.  The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit”

“Let me say this as clearly as I can:  No matter how sharp a grievance or how deep a hurt, there is no justification for killing innocents”

“We must teach our children to resolve their conflicts with words, not with weapons”

WARREN BUFFET

Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely considered the most successful investor of the 20th century.

“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago”

“Emotional makeup is more important than technical skill”

DAVID SUZUKI

David Takayoshi Suzuki, is a Japanese Canadian academic, science broadcaster and environmental activist. Suzuki earned a Ph. D in zoology from the University of Chicago  in 1961, and was a professor in the genetics department at the University of British Columbia from 1963 until his retirement in 2001. Since the mid-1970s, Suzuki has been known for his TV and radio series and books about nature and the environment. He is best known as host of the popular and long-running CBC Television science magazine, The Nature of Things, seen in over forty nations. He is also well-known for criticizing governments for their lack of action to protect the environment.

 

“Education has failed in a very serious way to convey the most important lesson science can teach: skepticism”

 

“If we pollute the air, water and soil that keep us alive and well, and destroy the biodiversity that allows natural systems to function, no amount of money will save us”

 

“For the sake of our health, our children and grandchildren and even our economic well-being, we must make protecting the planet our top priority”

 

 

INGRID NEWKIRK

 

Ingrid Newkirk is an English-born British American animal rights activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the world’s largest animal rights organization.

 

“When it comes to having a central nervous system, and the ability to feel pain, hunger and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy”

 

“Being asked to support humane meat means being asked to support the suffering of animals in transport, to approve of treatment that causes them palpable fear, their bodies shaking and their eyes wide as saucers, as they are slung by their legs into crates that are slammed onto the back of a truck”

 

“I think if you are against cruelty and you look at what happens to animals in slaughterhouses and on factory farms, you have to be completely against eating meat”

 

JOHN LENNON 

 

John Winston Ono Lennon, was an English musician, singer and songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as a founder member of the Beatles, the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed band in the history of popular music.

 

“Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans”

 

“I believe in God, but not as one thing, not as an old man in the sky.  I believe that what people call God is something in all of us.  I believe that what Jesus and Mohammed and Buddha and all the rest said was right.  It’s just that the translations have gone wrong”

 

“If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there’d be peace”

 

WOODY HARRELSON

 

Actor, environmental activist, ethical vegan and raw foodist and supporter for the legalization of marijuana and hemp.

 

“The war against terrorism is terrorism”

 

“I think my best skill in this whole deal is as a conduit to try to bring people together, because I think it’s in our unity that we’ll have the greatest strength”

 

“The common man or women, whether they are Israeli or Palestinian or Catholic or Iraqi or American, the common man just wants to live in peace and justice in a clean environment.  When we look around the world and we see that is not the case, we know the will of the majority is not being listened to, that’s the first sign that our system is broken”

 

“There are a helluva lot more of us who care about our environment in the world than we realize.  We’re the majority, and we can do something about that” 

 

HARVEY MILK

 

Harvey Bernard Milk was an American politician who became the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.

 

“Hope will never be silent”

 

“If a bullet should enter my brain, let that bullet destroy every closet door”

 

“It takes no compromising to give people their rights.  It takes no money to respect the individual.  It takes no survey to remove repressions”

 

“Coming out is the most political thing you can do”

 

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN LEWIS

 

John Robert Lewis is an American politician and civil rights leader. He is the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district, serving since 1987, and is the dean of the Georgia congressional delegation.

 

“I say to people today, ‘You must be prepared if you believe in something.   If you believe in something, you have to go for it.  As individuals, we may not live to see the end”

 

“When I was 15 years old in the tenth grade, I heard Martin Luther King, Jr.  Three years later, when I was 18, I met Dr. King and we became friends.  Two years after that I became very involved in the civil rights movement.  I was in college at the time.  As I got more and more involved, I saw politics as a means of bringing about change”

 

“If you’re not hopeful and optimistic, then you just give up.  You have to take that long hard look and just believe that if your consistent, you will succeed”

 

These quotes and words come from people who were and continue to be passionate about what they strongly believe in, whether that is our environment, politics, animals, human rights and freedom – they have all been and continue to be conduits for positive change.

 

Together we can make the world a more positive one!