
By Andrew Mark Miller 2-3 minutes
A Black Lives Matter activist suggested the packaging of American food manufacturing company Kellogg’s was racist, prompting a response from the company.
Black Lives Matter activist and former U.K. member of Parliament Fiona Onasanya criticized Kellogg’s earlier this week, asking why “three white boys” serve as the mascots of one the company’s signature cereals, Rice Krispies, and a monkey is displayed on boxes of Coco Pops in the United Kingdom, according to the Federalist.
“@KelloggsUK, as you are yet to reply to my email – Coco Pops and Rice Krispies have the same compòsition (except for the fact CP’s are brown and chocolate flavoured)… so I was wondering why Rice Krispies have three white boys representing the brand and Coco Pops have a monkey?” Onasanya, who was expelled from the U.K. Labour Party after a three-month prison stint for lying to police in 2018, tweeted earlier this week.
Onasanya also took a shot at the founder of Kellogg’s, saying, “Well, given John Harvey Kellogg co-founded the Race Betterment Foundation (the Foundation’s main purpose was to study the cause of and cure for “race degeneracy”), it would be remiss of me not to ask…”
Kellogg’s responded in a statement, arguing that it supports the black community.
“We do not tolerate discrimination and believe that people of all races, genders, backgrounds, sexual orientation, religions, capabilities and beliefs should be treated with the utmost dignity and respect,” the company said, adding that the Coco Pops monkey is also the same character representing the white chocolate cereal. “The monkey mascot that appears on both white and milk chocolate Coco Pops, was created in the 1980s to highlight the playful personality of the brand.”

The accusation against Kellogg’s comes as racial tensions across the globe were heightened following the death of George Floyd, a black man killed while in police custody on May 25.
Since Floyd’s death, household brands such as Aunt Jemima syrup and Uncle Ben’s rice have been forced to reexamine their packaging amid accusations of racism.