The Misery of Your Valentine Chocolates

[Jamila]

Because I feel a responsibility to speak these children's pain and to hopefully help to alleviate their suffering:


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-chocolate14feb14,0,3028588.story?coll=la-opinion-leftrail



EDITORIAL

Child-labor chocolates

The cocoa industry is an important one for West African economies, but it also relies on children sold into slavery.

February 14, 2007



LEONARDO DICAPRIO hasn't yet turned up in a movie about Blood Chocolate, but as valentines from coast to coast open heart-shaped boxes of bonbons today, they might give some thought to an industry that is nearly as harmful to human rights in Africa today as the diamond trade was a decade ago.


About 70% of the world's cocoa is grown in West Africa, with Ivory Coast accounting for about 40%. Just as blood diamonds helped finance some of Africa's most brutal wars, cocoa helps subsidize political instability and bloodshed in Ivory Coast. But chocolate's bitter aftertaste comes from the fact that the industry is a magnet for child slavery.


One of the sad facts of life in West Africa is that poor parents sometimes sell their children into indentured servitude, in some cases selling a year of slave labor for about the same price as a large box of See's nuts and chews. Children as young as 9 are taken from their homes to work in the cacao fields, with frequent whippings, no schooling and no family contact.


A 2002 report by the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture said 284,000 children labored in West Africa's cocoa industry, 200,000 of them in Ivory Coast. Not all of them are slaves — some are just kids helping out on the family farm. The difficulty of identifying the bad guys complicates efforts to curb child trafficking.


There's no reason to throw away your Valentine's chocolates. Not only is a consumer boycott impractical, it would probably do more harm than good because West Africa's economy is reliant on cocoa, and anything that hurts the industry would just worsen the desperation that drives people to sell their children. One way to be socially conscious without going through chocolate withdrawal is to seek out Fair Trade chocolate.


There has been talk about certifying cocoa producers who agree not to use child labor, but it has gone nowhere. It's unclear whether confectioners are failing to make a good-faith effort or are simply stymied by the difficulty of certifying far-flung cocoa producers in countries as violent and unstable as Ivory Coast. Certification helped clean up the diamond industry and could be effective, but more pressure will probably have to be brought to bear on the big chocolatiers before it becomes a reality in the cocoa trade.


Meanwhile, those who already feel guilty enough about indulging in high-calorie treats without adding child exploitation to the mix can always go with vanilla.

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Please click on this link to learn more about this subject and find out where you can buy fair-trade chocolates:


http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/valentines2007.html



Please do this for the children of West Africa and elsewhere.

 

[Bonochick]

http://forum.interference.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=154147

 

[Jamila]

What's sad, Bonochick, is that this issue is still around a year later.


I think an issue of child exploitation and virtual child slavery isn't a bad issue to visit once a year in FYM.


In fact, I wish there were MORE threads that were informative on such serious issues here.


Enjoy your Valentine's Day - I wish these children could.

 

[Liesje]

In fact, I wish there were MORE threads that were informative on such serious issues here.

http://forum.interference.com/t172898.html

 

[Mr. Green Eyes]

That's very sad. Now whenever I have some chocolate I'll think of the children of West Africa, and how they were forced to make it for me. Thanks for sharing.

 

[financeguy]

In an article posted by Jamila
Just as blood diamonds helped finance some of Africa's most brutal wars, cocoa helps subsidize political instability and bloodshed in Ivory Coast.

How? Why?

 

[u2fan628]

seal skin,diamonds,ivory,sneakers,designer clothes,gold,whale skin,animal fur....things people want so bad they dont care where it comes from,as long as there is a demand nothing will change.

 

[Bonochick]

What's sad, Bonochick, is that this issue is still around a year later.

I realize that it hasn't gone away...I just figured I'd throw up your post from last year for additional reading, should anybody be so inclined.

 

[Jamila]

seal skin,diamonds,ivory,sneakers,designer clothes,gold,whale skin,animal fur....things people want so bad they dont care where it comes from,as long as there is a demand nothing will change.

I think that was the underlying point of the editorial...and of why I posted it.


I wanted to see the response that the editorial would get in this forum - and I wasn't surprised by the response.


Your response, u2fan628, gives me hope for the future.



Thank you - as I'm sure that the children forced to pick the cocoa beans to make our commercial chocolates would thank you.

 

[Liesje]

coffee too....

 

[Jamila]

More info on this topic:


While chocolate is sweet for us, it can be heartbreaking for the hundreds of thousands of child laborers that pick the cocoa that goes into some of our favorite treats.


In 2001, the U.S. State Department, the International Labor Organization and others reported child slavery on many cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, source of 43% of the worlds cocoa. Subsequent research by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture revealed some 284,000 children between the ages of 9 and 12 working in hazardous conditions on West African cocoa farms. Of these children, it was reported that some 12,000 child cocoa workers that had participated in the study were likely to have arrived in their situation as a result of child trafficking.


In 2001, this unacceptable practice caught the attention of the media and the government, and the American public began to voice their abhorrence of the use of child slave labor in the production of one of their most beloved treats: chocolate. In response, the US chocolate industry agreed (via the Harken-Engel Protocol) to voluntarily take steps to end child slavery on cocoa farms by July of 2005.


Unfortunately, this deadline has now passed, and the chocolate industry has failed to comply with the terms of this agreement. As a result, Global Exchange is spearheading a campaign that will provide an opportunity for communities nationwide to voice their concerns about the chocolate industry's abuse of children's rights.


The solution to unfair labor practices is FAIR TRADE (denoted by the "Fair Trade Certified" or "Fair Trade Federation" labels). Fair Trade guarantees producers the income they need to send their children to school and pay their workers fair wages, and provides consumers with a trusted guarantee that no forced or abusive child labor was used in the making of their products.

Since 2002, Global Exchange has been demanding that the US chocolate industry end labor abuses by selling Fair Trade chocolate. Consumers also need to take action to ensure that their favorite products are free from child labor. In larger numbers, we can make it clear that we will accept nothing less than Fair Trade from World's Finest Chocolate, Nestle, M&M/Mars, and rest of the US chocolate industry.

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http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/


I hope that this info is helpful for those who are especially concerned about children and fair trade with Africa because these are the areas that this issue is closest to.


And some of the issues closest to my heart.

 

[u2fan628]

GOOD LUCK!

 

[u2fan628]

In todays paper it says that the Hershey Co. is moving a large portion of their operation to Mexico. 1500 people will lose their jobs.I hope the kids in Mexico are ready to work!

 

[europop2005]

i feel guilty honestly

 

[Jamila]

i feel guilty honestly

europop2005, thank you for your very honest response to the info provided in this thread.


I truly appreciate it when people take the time to really not only understand an issue intellectually but to FEEL that issue emotionally.

And that what you've done.


I have felt this same way too about eating commercial chocolates after first learning about these children's plight years ago and have had to make a lot of changes to my behavior because of it.



For one, although I love chocolate, I have cut my intake of commercial chocolate tremendously.


I also have taken up eating more fair trade chocolate when I get the need for the taste of it.

That is much more expensive than commercial chocolate but I feel much better when eating it.



Lastly, here is a bit of a "cheat" trick that I picked up from one of the sites regarding fair trade chocolates:

if you really need that chocolate fix, then wait until AFTER the holiday (Halloween,Christmas, Valentine's Day,etc) to buy SMALL quantities of commercial chocolates.


WHY?

Because after the holiday, when the chocolates are marked down, the supply chain actually will not make the profit on the product that they originally intended to.

This will hopefully encourage a bit less of the product to be manufactured for the following year.



Anyway, these are just some ideas, but I TRULY APPRECIATE those who have cared enough about the future of these children to learn more and to DO MORE about this issue.


europop2005

 

[cardosino]

It's not only chocolate, if you broke it down, we all colllectively would buy a lot less if the people making it were not slave labor and/or were paid fairly. I'm not talking about the laptop on which I type, or the components thereis, for the most part things like electronics, ipods, etc are made in real factories with real regulations with employees making fair local wages in decent conditions, I visit those kinds of places regularly. Things like chocolate, shoes, clothes, coffee, etc is what i mean.

http://www.sojo.net/index.cfm?action=magazine.article&issue=soj0703&article=070340


And you do NOT want to see me boycotting clothes.....

 

[Jamila]

The complexity of globalization and the modern marketplace doesn't mean that we shouldn't make the changes in our buying habits that we can to make the marketplace a bit fairer for all.


This is really NOT a complex issue - what becomes complex is our rationalization not to make the changes that we can....and that we know that we should.

 

[Liesje]

This is really NOT a complex issue - what becomes complex is our rationalization not to make the changes that we can....and that we know that we should.

It's definitely complex. Sure, we can stop eating or purchasing things that were harvested or made by people who are basically in slavery, but where does that leave them? I'm not advocating for exploitation, but if you think about it from their perspective, it's not as simple as we think. For example, when I was in Africa we drove by some coffee plantations. Here, we would say "oh those people are basically being held as slaves, working from sun-up to sun-down, only getting paid enough to put food on the table but not enough for proper health care, etc" but when we asked them, they said the coffee plantations were a great thing because they brought at least some kind of job to thousands of people who would otherwise be living under a sheet of scrap metal in the shantytown down the road. It's not like they have much choice. You either work under conditions the West has the luxury of labeling "exploitative", or you starve. Another example is when we visited a Masaai tribe, they showed us their marketplace where the women and children sell jewelry. Everyone was saying "oh don't buy this stuff, it's not even that nice and this place is just a tourist trap." But I bought as much as I could because the government has taken land from these people and also told them they cannot farm the way they used to so they are now like slaves to the tourism industry and make their money by selling cheaply made accessories. I don't feel guilty about buying that stuff because at the moment, this is the only way they can make money and survive and until we can help with a better alternative, we can't be shutting them out completely.

 

[Vincent Vega]

That's completely right, Liesje.
We can't just stop buying these products, because we cannot stop exploitation, child labour and all that overnight.
It helps to consume more fair trade products, so that more and more jobs gets created there. But if we refuse to buy the other products, these people are in fact worse off.
This change has to come, but it takes time. And in the meantime these people, and children, rely on that kind of work.

 

[redhotswami]

That's completely right, Liesje.
We can't just stop buying these products, because we cannot stop exploitation, child labour and all that overnight.
It helps to consume more fair trade products, so that more and more jobs gets created there. But if we refuse to buy the other products, these people are in fact worse off.
This change has to come, but it takes time. And in the meantime these people, and children, rely on that kind of work.

In an ideal world, awareness about fair trade products would grow as well would the demand for them. Then these free-trade markets that profit from human exploitation could see the trend, notice the decline in their sales, and then change their labor policies to match those of their fair trade competitors.

I am, however, very ignorant in the field of economics. I took my courses many years ago. So I'll leave all the complexity up to the experts...meanwhile, I do what I can here in my little circle with bringing forth the issues and encouraging conversation among my students in colleagues.

 

[Jamila]

I am, however, very ignorant in the field of economics. I took my courses many years ago. So I'll leave all the complexity up to the experts...meanwhile, I do what I can here in my little circle with bringing forth the issues and encouraging conversation among my students in colleagues.



Thank you, redhotswami - that's all this thread was highlighting.


Do what you can to make this world a better place and that's what you're doing.


But to sit around and not do what you can to make the world a better place - even if it's one chocolate bar at a time - is unconscientious.


Thank you for your comments, redhotswami.



It's not what you're dreaming. But what you're gonna do. - Bono

 

[financeguy]

But to sit around and not do what you can to make the world a better place - even if it's one chocolate bar at a time - is unconscientious.

I think the point Liesje and Vincent Vega were making is that actually we are not necessarily in agreement as to what precisely we can or should do to make the world a better place.

I'm sure we can all agree on some vague generalised ambition to make the world a better place - when it comes down to tactics and actions, it becomes more complex.

The original article you posted claims that when we in the West buy chocolate, it is actually financing wars in Africa.

If that is indeed the case, why is that happening? And is it really 'our fault' (i.e., the fault of the western consumers) that SOME of the cocoa producers are choosing to spend their hard earned cash on buying weapons rather than feeding their children?

 

[Liesje]

It's "uncontentious" to consider the possible consequences of everyone in the West simultaneously boycotting all goods from Africa that we believe were harvested or produced in an exploitative manner? Talk to some native Africans who are keeping their babies alive with these jobs and you'd probably feel a bit differently. For many, the coffee plantation is the only option between prostitution or starvation.

 

[Dreadsox]

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #1
Life is like a box of chocolates... you never know what you're gonna get.
Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #2
There are four basic food groups: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, white chocolate, and chocolate truffles.

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #3
Make a list of important things to do today. At the top of your list, put 'eat chocolate.' Now, you'll get at least one thing done today.
We believe this is from Gina Hayes

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #4
I never met a chocolate I didn't like.
Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis) in Star Trek: The Next Generation

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #6
And above all... Think Chocolate!
'Betty Crocker'

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #7
The 12-step chocoholics program: NEVER BE MORE THAN 12 STEPS AWAY FROM CHOCOLATE!
Terry Moore

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #8
All I really need is love, but a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt!
Lucy Van Pelt in Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #9
Chemically speaking, chocolate really is the world's perfect food.
Michael Levine, nutrition researcher, as quoted in The Emperors of Chocolate: Inside the Secret World of Hershey and Mars

Favorite Chocolate Quotes #10
I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process.... It may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?
Unknown

 

[redhotswami]

It's "uncontentious" to consider the possible consequences of everyone in the West simultaneously boycotting all goods from Africa that we believe were harvested or produced in an exploitative manner? Talk to some native Africans who are keeping their babies alive with these jobs and you'd probably feel a bit differently. For many, the coffee plantation is the only option between prostitution or starvation.

Perhaps too another consequence of boycotting goods from one place could lead to a demand of goods produced somewhere else? Latin American countries produce chocolates, perhaps under similar policies of exploitation. Boycotting goods from Africa and then investing in goods from Latin America can still perpetuate the same suffering.

I just don't know what to do, you know? I don't like that it is the way it is...I don't know how exactly to change things though. There is a group I'm in now, and we are brainstorming ides for sustainabiity and investment in a community in a developing nation, that is what made me realize how complex this all is. I'm not clever enough to get into the Policy field, nor am I to get into Economics or Development. I get stuck in circles of thought, then feel overwhelmed and need to take a nap.

 

[trevster2k]

I think the subsidies issue should be addressed by governments but I don't see anything changing in my lifetime. I would also like to see the salaries of CEOs and executives reduced dramatically. Recently, a Canadian CEO of a bank received a $12 million dollar bonus and $750,000 added to his pension for the company having a record profit last year, to me that is beyond obscene.

I would like to see more of the money I pay for my meats, fruits and vegetables go to the producer, not the supermarket. But these are all systemic problems with our society.

Like many problems in our world, I view it as a big ball of tangled yarn which we would love to roll up neatly but after tangling it up for so long we don't know wear to start and untangling it will unravel the ball so much that the it take away the good yarn which gives the ball it's shape.

Also, I think life is so stressful now that most people don't seriously consider the tragedies afflicting people of the third world. We live on a strange planet where while some are dying of obesity related problems, others are dying of malnutrition problems. Some are depressed because they got a B on their exam in college while others don't even get primary education. Some people complain they waited to long in line for a latte while others don't even have access to clean water. It blows my mind some days. We have exploited the poor of the Third World for so long that it is has become the norm. We exploit the poor of our own society too and in the long run, it could be the end of us as a species.

I don't do nearly enough myself to affect change so I am ashamed to admit I am as guilty as anyone in making a real difference.

 

[Liesje]

Perhaps too another consequence of boycotting goods from one place could lead to a demand of goods produced somewhere else? Latin American countries produce chocolates, perhaps under similar policies of exploitation. Boycotting goods from Africa and then investing in goods from Latin America can still perpetuate the same suffering.

I just don't know what to do, you know? I don't like that it is the way it is...I don't know how exactly to change things though. There is a group I'm in now, and we are brainstorming ides for sustainabiity and investment in a community in a developing nation, that is what made me realize how complex this all is. I'm not clever enough to get into the Policy field, nor am I to get into Economics or Development. I get stuck in circles of thought, then feel overwhelmed and need to take a nap.

Agreed. It's enough to give one a permanent migraine.

I think one of the problems is that here in the West we have the luxury of being able to say "these goods are not fair trade, therefore we should boycott them" without considering how we got to where we are now. Not too long ago we had 8 year olds working in factories all day everyday. Now I'm not advocating for this by ANY means, but it's just the truth about economic advancement and how it actually gets played out. Africa's never been given the chance to really come into their own, so to speak, and as much as we want to coax that along smoothly, it just doesn't happen that way in real life. The most developed countries didn't get that way because of canceled debt, eradication of disease, or fair trade; it came through decades, if not hundreds of years of blood, sweat, and tears. Now we are in a position where we'd like that type of thing not to happen to anyone else, but we can't afford it (or don't want to be able to afford). It's not so much the money (canceling debt and increasing aid) we can't afford, but the entire concept of fair trade. TRADE means TWO parties, not one party stops doing one thing but then does nothing to actually help or reciprocate. Like you were getting at earlier, it really makes more sense to stop buying the bad goods and at the same time buy as many (if not more) fair trade goods.

 

[trevster2k]

You are correct about the development of an economy, Liesje. Our societies had children, women and people in general working in factories, fields and other jobs in deplorable conditions without any regard for the effects on the environment, safety, well-being, etc and it took us a couple of centuries to achieve our economic structure. Remarkably, it seems that no one has come up with a way to develop economies without resorting to the archaic methods used by the Western world or is willing to sacrifice our comforts to allow others to have basic human rights.

Yet at the same time, western companies complain about competitive advantage of these economies because of cheap labour, no environmental policies or safety practices. So instead of changing their policies, our society decides to take advantage of the emerging economy with all it's faults instead of guiding it through an economic and resource management policy. It is all very bewildering at times.

 

[Jamila]

It's amazing how a thread started to remind people of the exploitative conditions that the children who pick the cocoa beans to make commercial chocolates can create such controversy.


I was simply suggesting that people make the changes in their buying habits that they can to help make the world a fairer place.


Where is the big controversy in that?

 

[anitram]

I was simply suggesting that people make the changes in their buying habits that they can to help make the world a fairer place.

Is anybody going to address the prohibitive cost of a lot of these fair trade items? It's akin to organic foods and Ali Hewson's ridiculously priced Edun line.

What ends up happening is that the upper classes can go shop at Whole Foods and pat themselves on the back, while say, a crowd which is probably most likely to be progressive (students) have $120K of loans to their name and their last priority is to pay double or triple for coffee beans or chocolate. It sounds harsh, but I know people who are that broke and they are not in a position to change their "buying habits" - as it is they owe $ to multiple institutions.