![]() Animal welfare laws don’t applyįollowing PETA’s allegations last summer, Chaokoh-a major coconut milk manufacturer that supplies U.S. Representatives from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation and the Ministry of Commerce did not respond to requests for comment about PETA’s claims of monkey labor in the coconut industry and the government’s response to these claims. ![]() Some government departments claim that monkeys aren’t used for coconut harvesting, others say they’re working to eliminate monkey labor, and still others say using monkeys to pick coconuts is part of the culture, Baker says. Unauthorized use is prohibited.Īfter PETA’s investigation published last summer, the Thai government’s tourism website removed pages promoting monkey schools but otherwise took “no meaningful steps” to eliminate monkey labor, according to PETA Asia’s senior vice president Jason Baker, who led both investigations. He says he believes that about half the monkeys used by coconut growers have been captured from the wild and therefore are kept illegally. Violators can be fined or sentenced to two years in prison, although such a sentence has never been handed down, Wiek says. Pig-tailed macaques are protected by law in Thailand, where it’s illegal to own them unless they’re captive-bred. Wiek, who is also the director and founder of Wildlife Friends Foundation, a sanctuary for wild animals, estimates that as many as 3,000 monkeys are used on coconut farms in southern Thailand, the main source region for the coconut milk industry. PETA is “right in stating nothing changed” since its first investigation, says Edwin Wiek, an animal welfare advisor to Thailand’s parliament. Some were missing their canine teeth, removed to prevent injury to handlers, farmers told PETA. The investigators found monkeys alone and in distress-screaming and pacing repeatedly, a sign of anxiety. Many were likely illegally captured from the wild as babies, PETA says. When the monkeys aren’t working, they’re often kept chained and transported in cages too small for them to turn around in, according to PETA footage. PETA has documented how pig-tailed macaques are trained, sometimes in “monkey schools,” to climb trees to pick coconuts. Consumers expect coconut milk to be cruelty-free since it doesn’t come from animals, but in reality “there is a lot of cruelty involved in terms of using monkey labor.” “There is a paradox here, right?” Desamangalam says. Meanwhile, retailers such as Target and Costco have announced that they’ll no longer stock products from companies found to use monkey labor. He says the industry’s growth rate is expected to nearly double in the next five years.īut since PETA’s first investigation, some retailers of coconut-based products have reported a decrease of up to 30 percent in sales, Desamangalam says. The popularity of coconut milk as an alternative to dairy milk has grown steadily during the past five years, says Avinash Desamangalam, research manager at Mordor Intelligence, a company based in India that studies the market for alternatives to dairy products. Thailand is the world’s third largest exporter of coconuts, after Indonesia and the Philippines, exporting more than 500,000 tons in 2019. ![]() The report spurred coconut product companies, supermarket chains, and the Thai government to give assurances that monkeys would no longer be forced to harvest coconuts. This comes about six months after the animal rights organization released findings from a 2019 undercover investigation. There are no bad reviews available at this time.Farmers in Thailand are still using monkey labor to supply coconuts to the international market, according to new information from the Asia branch of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). ” Harmless Harvest is the best ! Totally worth it. ![]() “Sooooooo good!! I got super excited when I saw them!” “I LOVE this coconut water!! It’s so good.” It tastes like the coconut in my backyard in Thailand”. – Below are some comments and reviews on these Harmless Harvest Organic Coconut Water from other Costco members: Even though it is organic and the only ingredient is “organic coconut juice* ” with an asterisk…hmmmm…well, it doesn’t taste as coconut-y and as sweet as fresh coconut juice. It’s good but it doesn’t compare to fresh coconut juice. Here’s my personal review on the Harmless Harvest Coconut Water. Be sure to check with your local Costco for availability.ĭisclaimer: This page is not in any way affiliated with Costco and all opinions are of my own. Products also rotate throughout the year to make room for new products so items may no longer be sold at the time of your visit due to it being discontinued. Please note that each location carries different items so it may not be sold at your local Costco and some items are only sold for a limited time. This product comes from the Garden Grove, California location. ![]()
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