NYT’s Kristof calls for Bud boycott, decries brewer’s greed
by: Pamela Mejia
posted on Friday, May 11, 2012
According to The New York Times, Anheuser-Busch’s business model is “based on violating tribal rules and destroying the Indians’ way of living”, and the paper is taking them to task for it — again.
In his most recent column, Nicholas Kristof explores the underhanded corporate practices that have contributed to alcoholism and exacerbated health inequities among the Oglala Sioux tribe on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. He admonishes brewers — particularly Anheuser-Busch — for “pour[ing] hundreds of thousands of gallons of alcohol into the liquor stores of Whiteclay, knowing that it ends up consumed illicitly by Pine Ridge residents,” and calls for a Budweiser boycott.
Responding in a letter to the editor, Luiz Edmond, president of Anheuser-Busch’s North American operations, says that his corporation wants to be part of the solution. “We care about the people of Pine Ridge and hope that together we can make a difference in addressing these problems,” Edmond writes. Yet he gives no specifics as to how Anheuser-Busch plans to do this, and pins responsibility for Whiteclay’s excessive alcohol supply on wholesalers.
We hope The New York Times will continue to highlight the role of industry in its coverage of this evolving public health story. And we hope other media will do the same.
View our other coverage on health equity at Pine Ridge:
New York Times coverage of alcohol lawsuit lets major brewers off the hook
NYT exposes alcohol industry efforts to stall important health legislation