14 Worst Corporations of 2005

We think a yearly update of the worst corporate entities is so important to share that we decided to read the list put together by Global Exchange. Listen to show #20 for details, or visit the Global Exchange website to read their full list of the Most Wanted Corporate Human Rights Violators of 2005.

Caterpillar
Chevron
Coca-Cola
Dow Chemical
DynCorp
Ford Motor Company
KBR (Kellogg, Brown and Root): A Subsidiary of Halliburton Corporation
Lockheed Martin
Monsanto
Nestle
Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International (a.k.a. The Altria Group Inc.)
Pfizer
Suez-Lyonnaise Des Eaux (SLDE)
Wal-Mart

Coffee Piece

This week we premiered Coffee, the first in a series of experimental pieces on many topics thread together by a theme, in this case, coffee. Let us know what you think!

Coffee is heavily based on Stuff: The Secret Lives of Everyday Things by John C. Ryan and Alan Thein Durning (1997). Their website has a bunch of neat and informative resources on product lifecycles and sustainability.

Fascinating overview of the history of coffee

Fair trade coffee is coffee that is traded by bypassing the coffee trader and therefore giving the producer (and buyer) higher profits. Fair Trade does not necessarily mean that the extra money trickles down to the people who harvest the coffee.

Selections from Mamdou Habib’s affadavit on his torture in Egypt and Guantanamo:

Phillip Ruddock, the Australian Attorney General on Habib’s physical condition after release from Guantanamo

Testimonials from Gemima Mukashyaka on Rwandan fair-trade coffee cooperatives

War on Drugs info

In vitro and ex vivo antihydroxyl radical activity of green and roasted coffee. Daglia M, Racchi M, Papetti A, et al. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Mar 24;52(6):1700-4.

Effect of roasting on the antioxidant activity of coffee brews. del Castillo MD, Ames JM, Gordon MH. J Agric Food Chem. 2002 Jun 19;50(13):3698-703.

Comparison of the antioxidant activity of commonly consumed polyphenolic beverages (coffee, cocoa, and tea) prepared per cup serving. Richelle M, Tavazzi I, Offord E. J Agric Food Chem. 2001 Jul;49(7):3438-42.

Antioxidative activities of fractions obtained from brewed coffee. Yanagimoto K, Ochi H, Lee KG, Shibamoto T. J Agric Food Chem. 2004 Feb 11;52(3):592-6.

Does caffeine intake protect from Alzheimer's disease? Maia L, de Mendonca A. Eur J Neurol. 2002 Jul;9(4):377-82.

Coffee consumption and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Salazar-Martinez E, Willett WC, Ascherio A, Manson JE, Leitzmann MF, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):I17.

And, finally, yes, you really can get your own civet coffee. We totally missed another bizarre coffe variation, "Weasel Coffee":

"Wild Weasels roam the coffee plantations and eat the ripe coffee beans, but rather than digest them the weasel regurgitates them and vomits them up! Due to the fact the cherries have been in the weasels gastric juices, it seems to dramatically alter the taste of the coffee once brewed."