Better known in the US by its grocery chains Giant, Stop & Shop, and Topps, Ahold is an international food giant.

Ahold's annual profits may suggest success, but the company has a history of fraud, discrimination, and labor abuse. Scandals that have received widespread public attention involve such things as false advertising and inflating earnings by the hundreds of billions.

Giant has responded to increased consumer demand for organic food by introducing the store brand organic label "Nature's Promise," however Giant's regular brand items still contain unlabeled genetically engineered products.

While these misdeeds warrant criticism, Ahold's most severe offense is its lack of action regarding the plight of agricultural workers around the world. Every food-oriented conglomerate bears some responsibility for gross inequities in the current system, and Ahold's sheer size and volume of sales mean that it could make a revolutionary impact on producers' lives.