Who loves chocolate? Or should I say who doesn’t love
chocolate? Have you ever thought about where your chocolate comes from? I’ll
give you one hint, Hershey or Nestle is not the right answer. It is estimated
that over 70% of the world’s chocolate comes from plantations off the West
Coast of Africa, commonly known as the Ivory Coast. Although some of you may
know that the cocoa bean is largely harvested in Africa, what is surprising is
who harvests it. According to UNICEF there are 200,000 children trafficked into
forced slave labor on these cocoa plantations YEARLY. Most children are between 12-18 years old,
even more shocking, roughly 15% of children are under the age of 10. Sadly,
these children are trafficked, abused and forced to work in these plantations.
The children suffer harmful effects of pesticides they are forced to spray,
have constant neck and back pain, hernias and spinal injuries from carrying
large loads of cocoa, and frequently the children are scarred from the use of
machetes. Most of the injuries are rarely treated as most of these “slaves” are
refused health care. The children are not free and are severely punished for
attempting to leave or not finishing their work. Most of the children have
never tasted chocolate; they do not even know what the cocoa bean is used
for.
On September 19, 2001 the issue of child slave labor on
the Ivory Coast was brought to the attention of the US government. This led to
the institution of the Harkin-Engel Protocol, also known as the Cocoa Protocol.
The protocol was made to align the production of chocolate within the United
States with the International Labor Organization (ILO). The goal is to stop the
production of chocolate that comes from child slave labor.
The Cocoa Protocol has brought about some improvements in
the last ten years. However, one of the most well-known companies that has been
the slowest to respond is Hershey. Hershey produces 42.5% of chocolate goods in
the US market. As of now, Hershey only has 1-2% of their products certified through The Rainforest Alliance (see below on different certifications). This means, almost all Hershey chocolate you buy comes
from children off the Ivory Coast that have been refused their freedom. After a
lot of pressure from many anti-slavery and non-profit organizations, Hershey
announced on January 30th, 2012 that they are putting $10 million
towards improving their trade with Africa and combating child slave labor.
This is a great start, but it’s not enough. They need to know YOU care and YOU
are going to take a stand on the issue until 100% of their chocolate is certified by the Fair Trade.
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
-By purchasing chocolate that has been certified you can
take a stand to stop child slave labor on the cocoa plantations. Below is a
chart of seals and the companies that use those seals to certify that their
chocolate did not come from plantations run by child slave labor:
Fair Trade Certification:
This is the best certification a product could have; they provide products that
are 100% free of forced labor, child labor and discrimination. Certifying products of Ben & Jerry’s, Cadbury.*
Rainforest Alliance: This is
a good start for a seal, but does have some problematic areas. They grant
certification for products that are only
30% free of forced labor, child labor and discrimination. Certifying products of Mars, Kraft Foods, Hershey.*
UTZ Certified: A seal that
represents products are free of forced labor, child labor and discrimination.
It does not state how much of the product is certified and is classified as
certification with some problematic areas. Certifying products of Mars, Nestle.*
*If it does not have a seal on the wrapper it is NOT certified.
-Sign a petition that will be sent to Hershey, Nestle and
other chocolate companies that are not 100% compliant with the Fair Trade. http://www.stopthetraffik.org/takeaction/chocolate/
-Click on the link below to send a letter to your local
senator or government official letting them know that you are protesting
chocolate not backed by the Fair Trade. http://www.stopthetraffik.org/takeaction/chocolate/
-Tell your family, your friends, your co-workers…just
tell someone. The people that know and are willing to stop supporting Hershey
and un-certified chocolate companies/products, the bigger difference we’ll
make.
-Download the Fair Trade Act App on your IPhone so you know
what products you can purchase with their seal backing them. http://www.fairtradeusa.org/
-See what products you use that may come from child slave
labor and then go to the second website listed below and learn about where
those products are produced:
Sources: http://www.laborrights.org/stop-child-forced-labor/cocoa-campaign/resources/12395, http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com,
http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/17/how-to-help-slavery-in-the-supply-chain-2/
Photo sources: http://www.endslaverynow.com/?goto=gallery005§ion=galleries, thefrogblog.org, International Labor Rights Fund, www.forbes.com
