You may have heard the expression “caveat emptor,” which, when translated from Latin, means “let the buyer beware.” It occurs to me that we need a new term—one that captures the outrage from parents, consumers and citizens in response to the parade of dangerous products we’ve seen over the last few months.
It’s not acceptable that lead paint-laden toys, toxic toothpaste, poisonous pet food and pot pies, and spinach tainted with E. coli made it onto store shelves and put us all at risk. Now that globalization has made the marketplace an entirely different arena to police, companies are cutting corners to cut costs. And they’re leaving our safety net badly frayed.
But I’m inspired by the outrage. In response to the recalls, people in Oregon and across the nation are getting organized, pressuring their elected officials, clamoring for corporate accountability, and making enough noise to put and keep this issue on the front pages. We’re starting to see some action.
Congress held hearings to grill toy manufacturers on their practices. And even China has now publicly stated that their quality control must improve. Let our government, the corporate interests and the world beware: We’re ready to organize and fight on behalf of the public interest.
Sincerely,
Laura Etherton
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