HelloFresh has been suspected of using coconut milk produced by unethical monkey labour in Thailand, PETA calls for a boycott of the meal delivery service.
The multi-billion dollar company is the largest meal delivery service in the US, with operations in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Europe and Japan. HelloFresh, the Berlin-based firm is also listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since its IPO in November 2017.
The monkeys are allegedly whipped, beaten and forced to spend long hours picking coconuts as per an investigation by PETA Asia. According to findings released on Monday, the investigation was conducted for eight months from December 2021 to July 2022.
The report states that “Thai government and companies that make coconut products have claimed that monkeys are no longer used in the making of exported products, but PETA Asia’s new investigation has confirmed that rampant abuse of primates is still going unchecked—and that Thai coconut industry insiders are deliberately hiding monkey labour in their supply chain.”
In a statement to CBS, HelloFresh said that the company ensures to receive written assurances from suppliers that its coconut products are not produced using monkeys.
“HelloFresh strictly condemns any use of monkey labour in its supply chain, and we take a hard position of not procuring from suppliers or selling coconut products which have been found to use monkey labour. We have written confirmation from all of our suppliers — in the U.S. and globally — that they do not engage in these practices.”
“PETA is calling on everyone, including HelloFresh, to stop buying canned coconut milk from Thailand until moneys are no longer used and abused for profit,” Tracy Reiman, PETA’s executive vice president told CBS in an emailed statement.
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