Human trafficking, forced labour and carceralities in the wild berry industry

Focusing on the organizing practices by which vulnerable individuals are exploited for their labor, we build a model that depicts how human traffickers systematically target impoverished girls and women and transform their autonomous objection into unquestioned compliance. Drawing from qualitative interviews with women forced into labor in the sex industry, human traffickers, brothel managers, and other sources (e.g., doctors, nongovernment organizations, and police officers fighting human trafficking), we inductively theorize that organizing of vulnerable individuals for human exploitation involves four interrelated practices—(1) deceptive recruiting of the vulnerable, (2) entrapping through isolation, (3) extinguishing alternatives by building barriers, and (4) converting the exploited into exploiters—that together erode and eventually eliminate workers’ autonomy. We conclude by discussing implications of our research for theory—specifically, the literature on human exploitation and loss of worker agency.

In this article I put forward three lines of argument. Firstly, the current debate on trafficking in human beings focuses narrowly on exploitation in the sex industry. This has produced a stand-off between moralists and liberals which is detrimental to developing strategies to combat trafficking. Moreover, this narrow focus leads to missing out the large numbers of women who are trafficked into other industries. It also masks some of the root causes of trafficking. In this article I therefore compare the practice of trafficking for prostitution with forced labour in other industries in order to show that the sole focus on trafficking for prostitution is detrimental to the efforts to combat trafficking. This analysis is based on recent research and reports on its methodology as well as its outcomes. Secondly, I relate these findings in the article to the agenda for the women's rights debate. The women's rights literature has looked separately at the sex industry and labour migration. In the light of our research outcomes, it makes sense to have a much more intimate exchange between these areas, in order to discern the central role of root causes like globalization, patriarchy and other forms of discrimination. Thirdly, whereas a dichotomy between universalism and particularism has produced its own trenches in this field, I propose a balanced approach which addresses all forms of violence against women, including the central area of exploitation of migrant women in any sector or domestic context.

The issue of exploitative labour practices against migrant workers has been well established in previous work. Yet most research and policy focus on severe forms of exploitation, including types of ‘modern slavery’ such as human trafficking and forced labour. Research has paid less attention to ‘routine’ labour abuses that are less extreme than severe exploitation, but which are still exploitative or harmful. This article argues that a stronger emphasis is needed on routine labour exploitation, which risks being overlooked when contrasted with severe exploitation. Drawing on a qualitative study of migrant labour in the UK food industry, the article demonstrates that workers experience a range of mistreatment in the workplace, which is unlikely to fall within the scope of severe exploitation and remit of ‘criminal justice’ interventions. In order to achieve full ‘labour justice’, more consistent attention is needed on these routine and banal practices, not just the most brutal.

This article explores human trafficking for labor in Germany's meat industry. Journalists have often associated trafficking with Asia (above all Thailand) and with sex work. In fact, human trafficking for (non-sex) labor is more common globally, and it is endemic in the Federal Republic. The article argues that three features of the German economy make the country highly susceptible to labor trafficking: (1) its export-driven growth model reliant on low wages, (2) the size of its low-wage sector, and (3) its highly price-sensitive consumer market. German consumers want to pay less and less—and ideally nothing—for more and more.

Human trafficking is one of the most serious organised crimes in India as it occupies a unique position to be a source, transit and destination for the crime. The root cause of trafficking in India is poverty, illiteracy, lack of livelihood options, disasters and unemployment which has rendered men, women and children vulnerable to trafficking. Victims of trafficking are not only men and women but also the children who are highly vulnerable and are abducted, recruited and transferred mostly for sexual and labour exploitation. Trafficking violates child’s right and exposes them to dangers in their life. In India large numbers of children are trafficked not only for sexual exploitation but for various form of economic exploitation such as domestic labour, industrial labour, agricultural labour in various small, large scale industries and construction activities.Trafficked children are vulnerable groups who are socially excluded and get no income or less income for their employment. They are unaware of their rights and are exploited. Child trafficked for economic exploitation are compelled to do hazardous work in an unhealthy condition and are excluded from right to education and basic amenities which takes the form of forced labour.Therefore the scope of this paper is confined to combating child trafficking in forced labour with special focus on economic exploitation. This paper has been divided into five parts. Part I deals with introduction. Part II deals with the meaning and definition of child trafficking and forced labour as per different conventions. Part III deals with the relation between child trafficking and forced labour and how they are interconnected with each other. Part IV deals with the legal provisions and other instruments playing role in combating child trafficking in forced labour especially on economic exploitation. Part V deals with suggestions and conclusion.

This research seeks to explain in a complete way the main causes and consequences of modern slavery in real life. This use mainly affects society; millions of people are subject to modern forms of slavery, mostly women and children. We cannot limit ourselves to African slavery because today slavery lurks around us: on the one hand, the other systems of services and services, on the other hand, the sale and illegal trafficking of people, Traffic where the main ones, although not exclusive, victims of children, the poor, women and immigrants. Its most frequent activities are forced labor in agriculture and industries, prostitution, pornography, drug trafficking, theft, domestic work.

Tourism industry is one of the world's fastest growing economic sector and largest employer of manpower helps in earning multi-billion dollar annually by attracting a billion of people from one destination to another. But it has a story too. Recent researches reveal that it has various social, economical, cultural, and environmental impacts on society. According to the International Labour Organization's (ILO) Global Report 2006, Tourism affects the lives of 218 million children. India has the distinction of the largest number of working children in the world today. According to Indian official statistics about 13 million children are engaged in tourism industry but unofficial estimates vary between 60-100 million. Throughout India there have been numerous studies which have shown the existence of child exploitation due to tourism. In the year 2006 the tourism and hospitality sector was added to the list of hazardous occupation under the Child Labour Act 1986. As the benefits from tourism industry is increasing day by day and attracting millions of foreign investment, the risk of child labour is increasing exponentially and along with greater demand for human trafficking. Various child labour laws have been enacted to protect the most vulnerable workers from unsafe and unhealthy work environment and to prevent minor children from being forced to work in ways that are considered detrimental to them. The main objective of this paper is to find out the reason why children work in tourism industry, to know the risk involved if they work with tourism sector, and to know the role of government and tourism industry in eradication of this serious problem. This paper also helps in measuring the effectiveness of labour laws and actions taken by the International Labour Organization, World Tourism Organization to mitigate this problem..To evaluate the actual situation of child labour in tourism industry ,in this paper information has been gathered through secondary sources like books, magazines (yojna) ,WTO report, report of Tourism Ministry, News paper etc. For this purpose two research questions were prepared (a) increasing economic benefit of tourism industry is attracting as well as exploiting the future of India. (b) Child Labour laws made to eradicate the problem of child labour has reduced the number of child labourers in papers only not in actual. After analyzing the facts and figures it can be conclude that the problem of child labour and commercial sexual exploitation of children can't be solved easily unless collective efforts have been made by Government officials, NGO's, Civil Society workers and Tourism Industry employers to eradicate it. Policies and legislations should not only formulate but implemented in right spirit. Government and all other institutions must join their hands together to stop all forms of exploitation of children otherwise we will fail to secure the rights of our children who are the future of our India.

A berry is a small edible fruit that is often pulpy. Berries can be juicy, round, colorful, pit-free, sweet, sour, or tart, and they can have a lot of pip or seed within. Blackberries, red berries, blueberries, bill berries, blackcurrant berries, and strawberries, among other berries. All across the world, berries are a popular ingredient in cakes, pies, jams, and preserves. Certain berries have substantial commercial value. The berry industry and the types of cultivated and wild berries differ from country to country. According to current clinical trials, berry fruits improve motor and cognitive capacities and help prevent age-related neurodegenerative diseases (NDD). Additionally, the berry fruits have the ability to modify signaling pathways linked to neurotransmission, neuroplasticity, inflammation, and cell viability. The neuroprotective properties of fruits and berries are associated with phytochemicals such as tannin, anthocyanin, quercetin, catechin, kaempferol, and caffeic acid. Blackberries, red berries, blueberries, bill berries, mulberries, blackcurrants, and blackberries Berries on neurodegenerative illnesses: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, ischemia diseases; raspberries; goji berries; acai berries; Cranberries; Straw berries. Scientists claim that berries are among the healthiest foods to consume for vitamins, minerals, and compounds that fight disease. Additionally, berries may reduce the risk of some age-related neurological conditions in society. We tried to succinctly illustrate the benefits of several berries for neurological disorders and neurological diseases.

Increased commercial interest in wild berries in Northern Sweden’s resource periphery has connected places and people to a global berry supply chain that produces goods for world markets. As a part of a wider global food chain, every link in this chain is deeply insecure and partly marked by secrecy and mystification. Contemporary representations of the Norrlandic landscape tend to obscure and hide economic conflicts and power relations connected to resource exploitation and corporate concentration, neglecting workers and local communities. This paper examines how globalization, neoliberal policies and the development of supply chain capitalism drive changes in labour markets and migration policies, which in turn shape/and are shaped by both material and immaterial aspects of the Norrlandic landscape. While many studies of global food chains have focused on abstract patterns of chain governance, business economics and logistics, we analyse the wild berry industry by centring on migrant workers and the production of a distinct spatiality through interconnectedness and historical conjuncture, with a starting point in a particular place in the interior of Norrland. We thereby contribute to a different narrative of the Norrlandic landscape, making visible power and labour relations.

The article investigates the phenomenon of precarious labour within the Finnish wild berry industry, focusing on the socio‐legal dimensions that enable short‐term “just‐in‐time” migration, primarily from Thailand, for the berry season. Since the initial 2005 recruitment of Thai citizens to engage in forest berry picking for the Finnish berry industry, the industry has become heavily reliant on migrant labour. At the same time, the pickers’ situation exemplifies a case of unregulated labour, as pickers are categorised as a group outside of labour laws in Finland. By asking how this “non‐work”—berry picking without labour rights—has repeatedly been justified on a policy level, the article provides a case study that unpacks the creation of a racialised migrant labour force through a statecraft of differential inclusion, in an arrangement regarded to advance rural economies. Empirically, the article draws on an analysis of policy documents through which a particular kind of temporary migration corridor is administered.

Studies to advance the potential health benefits of berries continue to increase as was evident at the sixth biennial meeting of the Berry Health Benefits Symposium (BHBS). The two and a half-day symposium was held on October 13–15, 2015, in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. The 2015 BHBS featured new and emerging research further bolstering the positive biological effects of berry consumption on human health, performance, and disease prevention. The papers presented at the 2015 BHBS consisted of invited papers from an international group of leading berry researchers, as well as poster abstracts. Oral sessions were organized around themes including heart health, cancer prevention, gut health/gut microflora, brain aging, metabolism, and berry compositional chemistry. These thematic health areas, while not exhaustive, encompass the more prominent research success stories on berries, the vast majority of which are backed by published animal and human studies. Similar to the past meetings, the research findings at the 2015 BHBS primarily focused on blackberries, blueberries, black raspberries, cranberries, red raspberries, and strawberries. However, research on other berry fruits, including chokeberry (aronia berry), cloudberry, blue honeysuckle berry, bilberry, jamun berry, and elderberry, was also featured as was data on major classes of berry polyphenols/phytochemicals including anthocyanins and other flavonoids and their in vivo derived metabolites. The BHBS continues to be a leading forum for interactions between scientists and berry industry stakeholders. The cluster of papers in this issue represents a snapshot of presentations at the 2015 BHBS which support the positive biological effects of berries on human health and diseases.

Berry fruits (such as strawberry – Fragaria × ananassa, raspberry – Rubus idaeus, blackberry – Rubus fruticosus, currants – Ribes sp., blueberry – Vaccinium sp., and many others) are known for their health benefits due to their richness in sugars, acids, vitamins, minerals, phenolics, and other nutrients. However, their contents are influenced by various factors, such as species, berry cultivar, ripeness, geographical origin, and growing conditions, and the type of extraction and processing of raw seed material. Generally, the berry industry for juice and fruit-wine production produces vast amounts of by-products (mostly seeds). Since berry seeds contain lipids, these by-products are very interesting as a raw material for oil production. As berry seed oil production generates certain waste, strategies towards reducing and valorizing need to be developed. Unlike beery fruits and berry seed oil, whose composition has been tested many times so far, berry seed oil by-products were the subject of a small number of published papers. Due to chemical richness and heterogeneity, it is expected that berry seed oil by-products to be promising natural bio-resource. Still, it is necessary to consider how many other biologically valuable compounds remain in seed waste.

Berry fruits (such as strawberry – Fragaria × ananassa, raspberry – Rubus idaeus, blackberry – Rubus fruticosus, currants – Ribes sp., blueberry – Vaccinium sp., and many others) are known for their health benefits due to their richness in sugars, acids, vitamins, minerals, phenolics, and other nutrients. However, their contents are influenced by various factors, such as species, berry cultivar, ripeness, geographical origin, and growing conditions, and the type of extraction and processing of raw seed material. Generally, the berry industry for juice and fruit-wine production produces vast amounts of by-products (mostly seeds). Since berry seeds contain lipids, these by-products are very interesting as a raw material for oil production. As berry seed oil production generates certain waste, strategies towards reducing and valorizing need to be developed. Unlike beery fruits and berry seed oil, whose composition has been tested many times so far, berry seed oil by-products were the subject of a small number of published papers. Due to chemical richness and heterogeneity, it is expected that berry seed oil by-products to be promising natural bio-resource. Still, it is necessary to consider how many other biologically valuable compounds remain in seed waste.

Migrant brokers constitute a substantial node in the industries that underpin contemporary global migration processes, including seasonal labour migrants in agri-food businesses. This article adds a translocal perspective to the role of migrant brokers, while emphasising the multi-sited embeddedness of brokers in sending and receiving countries, and their role in sustaining transnational migration flows. The example of the Swedish wild berry industry shows how two groups of translocal brokers operate in multi-sited space, first, Thai women brokers residing in rural Sweden, and second, local brokers, residing in rural Thailand. This article emphasises how translocal brokers are giving migration industries access to multi-sited embeddedness, both at the site of recruitment in Thai villages and at the site of work in Sweden. The translocal embeddedness is noticed in how moral economies and trust are at play in recruitment processes, and how moral economies are then transferred across space to the site of work. Also, it accentuates how translocal brokers are main subjects, in how their biographical histories are creating translocal relations across space. Lastly, we show how spatial divisions of labour are creating social hierarchies among workers, where the brokers themselves incorporate shifting, ‘chameleon’ roles in multi-sited space. The analysis brings the moral complexity of brokers to the surface, while showing how the social relations of their ‘moral economies’ are commodified within profit-seeking migration industries.

Agrarian industries in rural areas are increasingly relying on seasonal migrant workers, who arrive in transnationally organised settings. This paper focuses on the concept of transnational simultaneity in order to further analyse the dynamics that are sustaining low-wage, seasonal labour migration in transnational social fields. It is suggested that the concepts of seasonal livelihood diversification and biographical simultaneity contribute to explain this process, which is highlighted in relation to the empirical case of Thai wild berry pickers in Sweden. The ability of the workers to co-arrange life in the homeland with work overseas, together with a firmly institutionalised, transnational social network, lay the ground for the Thai-Swedish migration process. It is characterised by high circularity and frequency among the migrant workers, who oscillate on a seasonal basis between multi-sited work places, despite relatively low economic return. It is argued that simultaneity within the transnational social field, which is embedded in seasonal livelihood diversification and prospects of improved futures for their children, lowers the threshold for accepting exploitative work conditions, thus paving the way for precarious migrant work.