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Coconut milk brands accused of using monkey labor dropped from Costco, other retailers

Costco is joining the list of retailers that are pulling products from suppliers in Thailand that use monkey labor to harvest coconuts.

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Costco recently stopped offering coconut milk from Chaokoh after an investigation by the animal activist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which found that farms in Thailand use chained monkeys to climb trees and pick coconuts, USA Today reported.

Aroy-D allegedly gets its materials from farms that use monkey labor, CBS News reported in June.

Other retailers like Cost Plus World Market, Walgreens, Giant Food, Food Lion, Stop & Shop and Hannaford also pulled coconut milk and other coconut products from shelves earlier this year, CBS News reported.

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The maker of Chaokoh milk said it used a third-party group to investigate the usage of monkey labor for harvesting coconuts. Sixty-four of 817 farms were randomly selected and monkeys were not found to be picking coconuts, USA Today reported.

The company said in a statement, “... we do not engage the use of monkey labor in our coconut plantations,” USA Today reported.