Let’s end labor trafficking in the seafood industry! 

As a member of the Coalition of Catholic Organizations against Human Trafficking (CCOAHT) we invite you to join our Labeling for Lent Campaign to combat trafficking in the seafood industry during the Season of Lent (February 26-April 12, 2020)

Send a Postcard

For this year’s campaign, we are reaching out to Sysco Corporation. See the postcard here. Sysco is a wholesale company that provides food services, including the sale of seafood, to over 650,000 schools, health care facilities, and restaurants around the world. In the United States, many of the schools and hospitals that purchase from Sysco are Catholic organizations. The message on the postcard says:

Sysco, we kindly urge you to better inform your customers (schools, hospitals, restaurants) about your efforts to ensure your supply chain is free of forced labor so they can make ethical purchasing decisions.

To order Labeling for Lent Postcards, complete the Labeling for Lent Post Card Order Form. 

CCOAHT will ship postcards out each Wednesday via priority mail flat rate option, which is guaranteed to arrive within 1-3 business days.

Sign an Online Petition

The U.S. Catholic Sisters against Human Trafficking (USCAHT) has created a matching online petition to complement the postcard campaign. Sign the petition here.

Learn More

 Here are links to educational materials and a story of a survivor to read and share to promote the Labeling for Lent Campaign. 

• Educational Materials:
  • Labeling for Lent 2020 Primer
  • Human Trafficking in the Maritime Industry
  • From Catch to Plate – How Slave Labor Feeds the Seafood Supply Chain
  • Trafficking in the Maritime World (Caritas Internationalis)
  • Slavery At Sea Video (8 minutes) produced by the Environmental Justice Foundation
• Story of a Survivor:
  • Seafood from Slaves: Former fishing slave, Myint Naing, returns home after being enslaved for 22 years. Video Credit:  Associated Press, Tortured Fish Slave Returns Home After 22 Years (June 30, 2015) 

According to the Center for American Progress, victims of seafood-related human trafficking are lured or forced into exploitative situations through deceit and violence. In many cases, recruiters entice vulnerable and impoverished unskilled laborers into crossing borders on the false promise of a well-compensated job outside the seafood industry. Instead of arriving at their expected workplace, however, laborers are forced onto boats where they work for little to no compensation for extended periods—sometimes as long as years. In other cases, trafficking victims voluntarily take up work aboard vessels or processing plants but find themselves saddled with excessive recruitment fees and other debt burdens that trick them into a state of perpetual servitude—a condition referred to as “debt peonage.”

Thank you!