SUBSCRIBE NOW

SIGHT

Be informed. Be challenged. Be inspired.

Human vending machine dispenses “slave-made” food in UK

Thomson Reuters Foundation

On a crisp morning in central London, a large vending machine has caught the attention of shoppers and commuters.

Behind the glass sits a bruised and weary slave ready to dispense fresh tomatoes, lemons, avocados and eggs at the touch of a button.

Slavery vending machine 1

A ‘human’ vending machine highlighting modern slavery in Britain, launched by the Wilberforce Institute at the University of Hull, is seen in central London on 10th December. PICTURE: Lin Taylor/Thomson Reuters Foundation.

The confrontational campaign, which used actors and a custom-built vending machine, highlights the plight of the estimated 136,000 people in Britain currently trapped in slavery.

“As consumers we’re often concerned about the provenance of our food. But many of us are unaware there may be human costs involved in bringing food to our tables here in the UK,” said Cristina Talens, a researcher from the University of Hull in northern England.

“The areas of our lives affected by modern-day slavery…are widespread with forced labour existing in the hospitality, domestic, beauty and construction industries to name a few,” said Talens, who assesses slavery risks in businesses.

Britain’s 2015 Modern Slavery Act requires firms whose turnover exceeds £36 million to produce an annual statement detailing the actions they have taken to combat slavery in their operations, but does not include public bodies.

Just over half of the about 19,000 companies required to comply with the law have issued statements to date, according to Transparency in the Supply Chain – a public database.

Raising awareness among consumers can also be a challenge.

In a report on Monday, a third of British adults quizzed in a YouGov poll were not aware that slaves were used to produce fresh foods, according to research from the Wilberforce Institute at Hull University, which commissioned the survey and organised the street campaign.

Slavery vending machine2

The ‘human’ vending machine. PICTURE: Lin Taylor/Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Aral, 20, one of the actors inside the vending machine, said he was not aware of the issue before he joined the campaign.

“I had no idea that it was happening in the UK, I thought slavery was something that happened a hundred years ago,” he added and declined to reveal his full name for privacy.

One in five Britons surveyed did not believe that slavery happens in the country now, the report added, with one in 10 saying that though slavery existed in the past, it no longer happens today.

Yet more than 40 million people are estimated to be trapped as slaves in forced labour and forced marriages, most of them women and girls, according to the International Labour Organization and rights group Walk Free Foundation.

Nearly 25 million work in factories, on construction sites, farms, fishing boats and as domestic or sex workers, says ILO. 

 

Donate



sight plus logo

Sight+ is a new benefits program we’ve launched to reward people who have supported us with annual donations of $26 or more. To find out more about Sight+ and how you can support the work of Sight, head to our Sight+ page.

Musings

TAKE PART IN THE SIGHT READER SURVEY!

We’re interested to find out more about you, our readers, as we improve and expand our coverage and so we’re asking all of our readers to take this survey (it’ll only take a couple of minutes).

To take part in the survey, simply follow this link…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

For security, use of Google's reCAPTCHA service is required which is subject to the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.