Seafood from slaves

Shrimp is the most popular seafood eaten in the US. Americans consume 1.3 billion pounds of it each year, which amounts to roughly four pounds per person. Very little shrimp eaten here comes from local waters: Thailand dominates the market and half of the country's shrimp exports end up on American tables.

Two years ago, a team of Associated Press reporters discovered forced labor and human trafficking in the supply chain, and the AP has been publishing the findings since in a remarkable multimedia series called “Seafood from slaves.” The project recently won the 2015 Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting and the George Polk Award for Foreign Reporting.

Martha Mendoza, a national writer for the AP, takes us back to the moment when she and her colleagues decided to focus their collective investigative reporting lens on the Thai shrimp industry. LA listeners can learn more about “Seafood from Slaves” from Martha in person at USC over lunch on April 15. RSVP for the luncheon here.

Music: "Cañamo Medico" by EarthRise Sound System and "Green Arrow" by Yo La Tengo