Thai Fishing Industry’s Dirty Secret: Human Slavery

OB-XQ573_Thaila_E_20130529153407.jpgAn eye-opening new piece from NBC News exposes an extremely disturbing detail of the fishing industry in Thailand, America’s second-largest seafood supplier.

Men who come to Thailand from bordering countries in search of work are tricked into lives of slavery on fishing boats, where captains subject them to horrific brutality. Those who resist are often murdered.

“I once saw a captain grab a metal spike used to mend nets and stab a fisherman in the chest,” said Moeun Pich, a Cambodian ex-slave, recounting a fairly typical story shared by former victims. “The crew pulled a sleeping bag over his corpse and rolled it overboard.”

Although already exposed by Human Rights Watch, the International Labour Organization, and most recently, the Environmental Justice Foundation, the slave trade shows little sign of stopping in Thailand for a variety of reasons.

But humans aren’t the only ones being exploited. Sea animals are routinely plundered and tortured by this inhumane industry. And not just in Thailand, but the U.S. as well.

Think human slavery and animal cruelty are unethical? Then it’s time to stop eating fish. For more information on a healthy and humane vegetarian diet, visit ChooseVeg.com or order a free “Vegetarian Starter Guide” today.