Join the Campaign for Slave-Free Seafood

The Congregation of the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word is proud to be participating in the Lentan postcard campaign to stop slave labor in the seafood industry.  We are collecting 250 signatures as we raise awareness and call for an end to slave labor in the seafood industry!  The campaign is sponsored by the Coalition of Catholic Organizations Against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT) which is a key leader in the Catholic struggle against human trafficking in the United States.

What's going on in the seafood industry?
The US imports about 80-90% of its seafood, and tens of thousands of people are exploited at every link in the seafood harvesting and production chain.

• Abusive Recruitment:  With little to no alternative, vulnerable people are deceived and forced/kidnapped into jobs that become trafficking situations.  
• Slavery at Sea: Once at sea, workers endure inhuman working hours and are compelled to labor under life-threatening conditions, including extreme and reckless exposure to danger and the elements, while being kept on the verge of starvation. Beatings and torture are routinely used to ensure submission.  The cost of noncompliance can be death.  
• Exploitation on Land: Conditions of slavery permeate seafood processing plants, and this seafood ends up on our plates.  

What is this campaign all about?
During Lent, many Catholics eat fish or seafood and abstain from meat in order to be in greater solidarity with those in need.  The Vatican has announced that is will "slave proof" its supply chain, and many major corporations are following its lead.

Catholics want slave-free seafood too, and we will be vigilant about this as we observe Lent.  That is where the postcards come in.  You sign a postcard which will be sent to both StarKist Co. and Costco Wholesale Corporation which states the background of the campaign and asks, "We therefore kindly urge you to do all in your power to ensure that your supply chains are free of the taint of forced labor."

How can I get involved?

1. If you are in St. Louis, please connect with Jennifer Reyes Lay, Assistant Director of the JPIC Office, to get your postcards.  You can contact the JPIC Office by email: jpic.office@amormeus.org.
2. If you are in San Antonio, you can connect with Sr. Jean Durel (at the Generalate) or Sr. Martha Ann Kirk (at the University of Incarnate Word) to sign some postcards.  Sr. Jean's e-mail is: jean.durel@amormeus.org and Sr. Martha Ann's e-mail is kirk@uiwtx.edu.     
3. Or you can also order your own postcards or download and print them off through the CCOAHT website.