Hollywood Actress Hits Minnesota To Talk Human Trafficking

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Hollywood actress was in Minnesota this weekend trying to bring attention to a disturbing problem.

Actress Julia Ormond met with Gov. Mark Dayton and top corporate leaders to raise awareness about the use of international slave labor. Ormond is the founder of ASSET, an organization dedicated to ending enslavement and trafficking in supply chains like mining and agriculture.

Raw goods that come from slave labor can make their way into many of the products we use or eat. Ormond says some Minnesota companies have been open to taking on this issue.

"You have companies like General Mills acknowledge the problem, that's the first step. What we need as a community is the opposite of boycott. We need people to stand by companies brave enough to talk about it," Ormond said.

Ormond spent about two hours with the Gov. Dayton on Friday. She said she hopes Minnesota will follow the California law passed in 2010, requiring companies to disclose where the raw materials come from for their products.

Gov. Dayton said tougher transparency laws are something he'd consider.