By Coop Newspaper, Switzerland, Feb.2020

Max Havelaar never lived.

Yet he exists twice: as the main character in a Dutch bestseller from 1860 that denounced colonialism, and today as a symbolic figure for fairly produced and traded products.

In 2020, Swiss consumers spent around 860 million Swiss francs on goods with the Max Havelaar label. This makes our country one of the leaders in the trade of fairly produced products. The Swiss Max Havelaar Foundation was founded in 1992, and Coop, a Swiss Supermarket company, has been a partner of the foundation for 30 years

But who is Max Havelaar, really?

1. The novel Character

In the 1860 book “Max Havelaar or the Coffee Auctions of the Dutch Trading Company”, Max Havelaar is a humanist colonial official who fights for the rights of the natives of Java and against exploitation by the Dutch.

2. The Author

Eduard Douwes Dekker (1820-1887) wrote under the pseudonym “Multatuli” (roughly: “who has suffered much.”) He was himself a colonial official and became a sharp critic of colonialism in Indonesia.

3. The Injustice

Indonesia was exploited as part of the Dutch colonial empire for 350 years. Peasants were forced to grow coffee and work 66 days a year for the colonial masters. The coffee was sold in the Netherlands with great profit.

4. The Foundation

In 1988, an initiative for fair trade coffee was founded in the Netherlands, which gave itself and its label the name Max Havelaar. Four years later, the Max Havelaar Foundation was established in Switzerland. Coop was one of the first retailers to include coffee with the new label in its product range.

5. The New Max Havelaar

The fact that the foundation is named after the character in the novel has a special reason: around 1990, the price of coffee sank to rock bottom, and small farmers were barely earning anymore. Like Havelaar in the novel, the new organizations also aimed at fair payment for producers in countries of the South.

6. Coop and Max Havelaar

Over the past 30 years, Coop of Switzerland has expanded its food and non-food range to include 1300 products bearing the Max Havelaar label. Coop thus has the largest Fairtrade range in the world.

That’s what it’s all  about

• Around 140 kilograms of cocaine were found in banana boxes in several Coop branches.

• According to an expert, the dealers made a mistake: The cocaine should have been taken out of the boxes shortly after arriving in Europe.

• It is completely normal for cocaine to be shipped with common goods such as coffee or bananas.

• Overall, experts assume that around 3.5 to 4 tons of pure cocaine is consumed in Switzerland each year. Frank Zobel, how do 140 kilograms of cocaine get into Coop branches in Switzerland

Cocaine is mainly produced in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru.

In the large ports in Brazil and Venezuela, the drug cartels bribe port workers who ship the coke in shipping containers to Europe, for example to Antwerp, Rotterdam, or Hamburg. There, in turn, bribed port employees to receive it. The cocaine is resold and reaches the whole of Europe from the port cities. It is known that the drugs are shipped with goods such as bananas. The owners of the containers do not normally know that drugs are smuggled into their containers. However, the cocaine should never have reached the Coop branches. Apparently, the dealers were prevented from getting it out of the banana boxes in time. It is conceivable that the cocaine was not intended for the Swiss market at all, what could be the reason why the coke ended up here anyway?

These drugs are valued at several million Swiss francs, so there must be a valid reason that the dealers did not take the cocaine out of the box. It is possible that the drug dealers could not cross certain national borders due to the corona measures and therefore could not get the drugs in time. The freighters are on the road for several weeks, which makes planning difficult.

Does it happen more often that drug dealers cannot get their substance?

Such safeguards exist every few years. Large quantities of cocaine have also been seized in Germany and Basel. If you consider that between 3.5 and 4 tons of pure cocaine is used on the Swiss cocaine market each year, the 140 kilograms are not particularly important.

How does cocaine usually get to Switzerland from the major European ports?

After the cocaine arrives safely in Europe, it is sold. After that, there are different ways how it can get to Switzerland. It is often couriers who bring the drug here in small quantities, i.e. one to two kilograms, overland or by plane. The cocaine is then distributed to various negotiators.

Why is cocaine no longer confiscated?

In large ports like Rotterdam, several containers are processed every second. It is simply impossible to control them all. As soon as a delivery arrives, the cocaine is usually taken out of the containers and they are given new seals. Then the cocaine is distributed further by land, in trucks or cars. From the moment cocaine reaches Europe safely, it is difficult for the authorities to find and seize it

EUROPE IS FLOODED WITH COCAINE

Consumption is increasing steadily

The coke consumption has been increasing slightly for years, says expert Zobel: «Cocaine is in, the drug hits the zeitgeist, and there is a wide range. This trend can also be seen in Switzerland. In a European comparison, Switzerland is at the top of the list, but more is consumed in countries such as Spain or France. Wastewater studies have recently shown that a lot is consumed, especially in large Swiss cities.

Do you have a drug problem? Sucht Switzerland’s free hotline offers help on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on 0800 104 104

Daniel Graf-20 min.

Moorhead’s are made of a Marshmallow type,

foamy mixture mounted on a wafer biscuit and covered by dark chocolate couverture. Not ever did I think I would be insulting a black person by eating this traditional Swiss specialty when I was a kid! Racism never came to my mind. I think if someone, while buying or eating a Mohrenkopf, has any racist or prejudiced thoughts, then they definitely have underlying serious other problems, to begin with.

Coop, Migros, Manor, and Volg, the leading Swiss Supermarket retailers, take the Moor’s heads off the shelves now because of their name. Is that the right approach? In view of what is going on in the world at this time, It is good that all the retailers have taken the “Mohrenkopf” off the shelf. The name belongs to the garbage heap of language history, right next to the N-word for black people. In order to understand this, there is no need for historical research into the term “Mohr” or for racism investigations among customers.

It is enough to listen to a person who has no white skin. “When I was a child, the word ‘Moorhead’ always stung me,” Says Lukas, who is half Swiss and half Nigerian, It is not so much a question of the individual term, but of “the sum of discrimination that permanently gives you the feeling that you are worthless”. I can understand a black, or colored person to feel insulted by the name, my wife feels the same way, as she is of Indian heritage.

Those who are now distributing “Mohrenkopf” out of solidarity with the manufacturers should ask themselves whether it is really too much to call a candy “Schokokus”, “Schocoturm”, or  “Neigeturm”, ( Turm, meaning Tower) instead of “Mohrenkopf” if this means that blacks feel at least one less stitch in everyday life? 

Mr.Dubler,

the main manufacturer of Mohrenkopf’s and companions were also warned. Three years ago, an online petition asked for a new name for the “Mohrenkopf”. It is therefore fair and proportionate that traders should finally banish the name now that the topic arises with new urgency all over the world.

Migros, the largest Supermarket in Switzerland

made the start and removed the Dubler “Mohrenkopf” from its shelves, other retailers followed suit. This has little to do with the heroic fight against discrimination. Migros’ decision follows a different pattern: a multibillion-dollar company cuddles up to a small, but very noisy minority who cannot re-educate society quickly enough. Would a name change mean that Swiss people wouldn’t be eating Mohrenkopf’s anymore? Aren’t we eating it for what it is, not for what it stands for??

In the Dubler case, an outraged tweet was enough to bring Migros to its knees. “We no longer consider the name to be up-to-date,” comments a Migros spokesperson. In a mature society, such as Switzerland, every consumer should be allowed to decide for themselves. Migros does not have to relieve them of this decision. Especially since “Mohrenkopf” boss, Robert Dubler made his position crystal clear: “As long as I live, the name remains.”

If you think that is wrong, just avoid buying the “Mohrenkopf”, I don’t think there is another, compatible product on the market, but there are enough, other Swiss chocolate products to choose from.

Swiss Citizens can be expected to do that much, especially on sensitive issues such as racism and discrimination. Eliminating the product is not the right resolve, renaming it would probably be more logical. But then what about names such as “Schwarzkopf”, a German Company which has been producing Hair and Beauty products for the past 120 years, what about “Black Friday” isn’t that racism? Are we going to ask them to change the name? Where does it end?

Definition of “Mohr”

The title of this article is ambiguous. Further meanings are listed under Mohr (disambiguation).

Mohr is an outdated German term for people with dark skin tones. Historically (Old and Middle High German) it initially referred to residents of Mauritania (Moors), already in the Middle Ages also generalized people with dark skin tones, since the 16th century exclusively in this expanded meaning. [1]

The word has rarely been used since the end of the 20th century, and if so, in historical or literary context or as part of terms, e.g. B. as a coat of arms figure in heraldry. The name and the image of the Moor also found their way into numerous subsequent names, for example in the area of ​​fauna and flora. Pictorial representations of the Mohren served as a company logo and in advertising for certain products, but also in the context of different customs.

Since about 1960, there has been an ambiguity in the word between historical development and use as a stereotypical term, which arouses a certain idea of ​​a black person, which has led to discussions about its discriminatory character.

Whoever invented the Donat is unclear.

The American Captain Hanson Crockett Gregory (1832-1921) claimed to be the author of this famous sweet fabrication. The Dutch, too, because there is evidence that Dutch emigrants introduced a sweet, oil-baked dough donut in the USA in the 19th century, the “Oliekoek”. Even when it comes to the name of the pastry, there is no consensus. Correct was actually “Donut” (doughnut), but the spelling “Donut” is more common today. there are several to choose from these days, filled with chocolate, vanilla, creme brulee, praline, and marmalade.

Sweet Dreams!

The anchorage for organic products is growing,

and the organically cultivated area is growing. This is shown in the latest edition of the study “The World of Organic Agriculture” based on data from 186 countries for the year 2018. The Research Institute for Organic Agriculture (FIBL) in Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland, and the International Association of Organic Farming Movements “IFOAM- Organics International “presented the latest organic farming figures worldwide last week.
In 2018 there were 2.8 million organic producers – most in India (1.5 million), Uganda (210,000), and Ethiopia (204,000).

They manage a total of 71.5 million hectares

of the agricultural area according to organic principles, which is an increase of and three percent compared to 2017 and corresponds to 1.5 percent of the total area. However, numerous countries have a much higher proportion of organic land: In 16 countries, at least 10 percent of the agricultural area is being biologically cultivated.

In Switzerland and Lichtenstein it is 15.4 percent.
Lichtenstein alone commits to 38.5 percent and is, therefore, world champion – followed by Somoa (34.5 percent) and Austria (24.7 percent).
The data collection is supported by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO and the Coop Fund for Sustainability.

(Quoted by Coop Magazine- Feb 2020)

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