Internet users have expressed bewilderment and amusement over a petition denouncing “racist” Trader Joe brands. The company has already admitted wrongdoing and claims it is in the process of discontinuing its “harmful” packaging.
The Change.org petition calls on the popular grocery chain in the US to remove the labels used for some of its ethnic food, claiming that the “racist” practice “perpetuates harmful stereotypes.”
The internet complaint listed “Trader Ming’s,” which is used to brand the chain’s Chinese food, and “Trader José,” the label used for Mexican foods, as examples of this purportedly inappropriate packaging policy.
Trader Joe’s name is itself racist, the petition argues, claiming that it was inspired by “the horrific legacy of trading companies as they exploited and enslaved the South Pacific in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
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