Latest news from Ethical - with top story the battle against McDonalds at Tecoma

Update. July 2013 No to McDonalds! Palm oil slavery Animal testing Tax Havens Quick bites

Say No to McDonalds! Fast Food giant McDonalds has taken their move to build a store in the leafy Dandenong Ranges township of Tecoma in Melbourne's east to a new level. They are now suing 8 local residents. See the Age article McDonald's uses fear tactic, say Tecoma eight. Despite the community clearly not wanting the development, the CEO of McDonalds in Australia says "we can't see what the problem is". > Listen to mp3. This is corporate bullying of ordinary citizens. It's time to say enough. > Join the 'Burger Off!'community campaign. Sign these petitions (1) (2), join the Facebook campaign. Come to thepublic rally on Sunday 28th. Be inspired by people power with the 'Resitance is fertile' CD. Globally, the McCount is presently an enormous 34,392restaurants in 116 countries - 896 in Australia. Criticisms of McDonalds include: cruelty to animals, selling unhealthy food, targeting children in ads, exploiting workers and contributing to the destruction of rainforests. See more at  11 Things McDonald's Wishes You Never Knew About .   Slave labor linked to palm oil Businessweek has released a groundbreaking article connecting Indonesia's palm oil industry to widespread cases of forced and child labor (18/7/13). The stories include workers, many of whom are children, being defrauded, abused, and held captive on palm plantations. The investigation focused on Kuala Lumpur Kepong, one of the world’s most significant palm oil suppliers, a major supplier to agribusiness giant Cargill. > See full story >Take action at the RAN Campaign > More on Palm Oil > More on Agribusiness in Australia. Animal testing for cosmetics in China A Choice investigation has found that major cosmetic brands are failing to inform customers that their beauty products are tested on animals in China. Skin and eye irritation tests must be conducted on animals in order for cosmetic products to be sold in China, which are paid for by manufacturers. > ABC News (vid, 6/5/13). > Seecompanies list compiled by Choice. Also, in related news, India has announced that it will implement a ban on animal testing for cosmetics (1/7/13). See more on animal testing. Tax Havens for Australian companies exposed A Uniting Church report, 'Secrecy Jurisdictions', reveals 61 of the top 100 companies hold subsidiaries in 'Tax Havens' - countries that offer low levels of tax and regulation, and thick layers of secrecy. News Corporation, Westfield and the Goodman Group were among those holding more than 50 entities in low-tax jurisdictions each (25/5/13). > more > See this infographic on how Associated British Foods group (the brand owners of Tip Top bread and Don smallgoods) dodge their tax in Zambia - depriving the country of $27 million in lost revenue since 2007. Money that could be spent to help free people from hunger. > Find out more and take action at EndTaxHavenSecrecy.org Quick bites ... Excellent new ASIC report 'Labour and Human Rights Risks in Supply-Chain Sourcing' - looks at policies and disclosure of top companies in Australia (24/6/13). The Australian Federal Court has found Steggles engaged in false advertising that claimed its meat chickens were free to roam in large barns. (10/7/13)AusFoodNews International consumer products group PZ Cussons has acquired Australian premium baby food brand Rafferty’s Garden for AU $70 million. (10/7/13) AusFoodNews