End Human Trafficking

Is Fat the New Sex?

by Amanda Kloer

Published November 23, 2009 @ 07:00AM PT

• 4881 Views

Is there danger lurking for husky Peruvians in the form of fat trafficking? It seems some local gangs have heard a rumor that European cosmetics factories are willing to pay top dollar for ... human fat. Four gang members were arrested in Peru for killing over 60 people and supposedly selling their fat for thousands of dollars.

Does this mean human fat might replace guns, drugs, or sex as some of the most frequently-trafficked products? No way! The legitimacy of this story is about to get shot down more times than the unemployed Star Trek enthusiast who snuck into a party at the Playboy mansion.

Unlike commercial sex or forced labor, there is not a global market for human fat. Period. Here are some of the many reasons that fat will not be the new sex in the market of illegally-traded global commodities:

• Cosmetics are not made with human fat for a number of reasons, the least of which being that it would be incredibly gross if they were. If you found out the cream you were smearing on your face every night was made out of someone else's fat, wouldn't you be upset?

• Fat is really, really easy to get. Even if human fat had a sudden use, piles of it are readily available from liposuction and other treatments. It can be acquired legally and legitimately. No need to take the risk of killing people.
• Even if human fat had a cosmetic use, it would never go for "$60,000 a gallon," as this story indicates. The state of Mississippi alone would have thousands of willing fat donors accepting a lot less cash. I'll happily sell the five pounds I'll inevitably gain between Thanksgiving and New Years for $20.
• Traffickers sell things that make them money, things like guns, drugs, and human beings. For all the above reasons, human fat is not a cash cow. Pun intended.

Sure, it's possible that this gang killed some people, and even possible they thought killing people and selling their fat would make money. But this is not a new international criminal trend and it's certainly nothing to be afraid of. On the other hand, the rampant exploitation and slavery in the asparagus industry is a very real danger for Peruvian women of all sizes. Peruvian asparagus is often imported to the U.S. when it is out of season here. So if you're eating asparagus in the dead of winter, chances are it came from Peru.

If you want to spend time and energy worrying about Peruvian people, worry about asparagus, not fat trafficking.

My final analysis: sleep easy, chubby Peruvians. And big-boned Western tourists who have wanted to hike the Inca Trail, pull on your plus-sized hiking pants with pride. Your risks of being sucked into an actual trafficking operation -- like sex or drugs -- is much higher than being targeted for your generous gut.

Photo credit: Let Ideas Compete