China’s “Xinjiang Tomato War”

Image: Pixabay

Just as the world is coming to grips with the Xinjiang cotton war, there is another conflict looming on the horizon: the Xinjiang tomato war! 

Dr. Adrian Zenz and CBC Marketplace have reported that several major brands — Nestle, Del Monte, and Unilever — have purchased tomatoes from Chinese companies in Xinjiang. They have then processed them in intermediary countries and sold them internationally. 

For their investigation, CBC interviewed Adil, an Uyghur witness. “The local government has forced his extended family to plant, harvest, and process tomatoes in Xinjiang. Uyghurs face fines and retribution if they refuse to attend”, Adil testified.

The revelation has sent shockwaves to the global tomato-processing industry. The Chinese state media and the country’s top officials have already gone on damage control. They have noticeably accelerated their Xinjiang tomato propaganda, as happened with Xinjiang cotton. The Beijing-controlled propaganda factories have created hundreds of ingenuine accounts for Xinjiang tomato defenders. 

The global food industries must re-examine their ethical standards. They must not value profit over the well-being of field labourers. (Opinion) 

*The article uses the name Xinjiang only to expose the propaganda. Most Uyghurs prefer to call their homeland Uyghurland (a.k.a East Turkistan)

Image: Public Domain