Cassandra Scott-Laffey
When we think of child rights, chocolate is not the first thing that springs to mind. But, when you stop and consider how that chocolate got on our shelves, you will find that child labour plays a large role.
Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa comes from West Africa where thousands of children are forced to work on plantations. These children, most of whom are under 14 years old, work 12 to 14 hour days in harsh conditions; they are often beaten and abused, fed one measly meal a day and paid just a few cents.
They are being denied a proper life, an education and a chance to have a say in the matter. They are being denied their rights!
Why is this allowed?
There is a huge demand for chocolate – we LOVE the stuff. Billions of dollars are spent on it worldwide every year!
Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) is the biggest producer of cocoa, with over half a million cocoa farms. Every year, thousands of children are forcibly taken from their homes and sold into slavery to work on the plantations. This problem is particularly bad in Ivory Coast as years of corruption and civil war have resulted in two factions fighting each other, the breakdown of families and increasing poverty.
While I am happy munching on a piece of chocolate, the children working on the cocoa plantations clearly do not receive a standard of living that anyone would be happy with.
What is being done?!
Major companies in the chocolate industry, such as Cadbury and Nestlé, have been challenged about child slavery, yet have been slow in responding. In the past, they argued that little could be done because there was no way of telling where the cocoa originated. But this was just an excuse!
Attempts have been made to improve the situation. For example, in the US, legislation was passed that tried to implement a labelling system for chocolate, which then led to the establishment of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). One of the ICI’s responsibilities is to ensure children are not being exploited, thereby eventually ending child labour in the industry. Although good in theory, it has yet to have any real impact.
There are some positive things happening though - Cadbury’s dairy milk chocolate in the UK will be fairtrade certified by the end of the year. With your help things can only get better from here.
Guilt-free chocolate
Fair trade ensures that communities get a decent percent of the money earned from selling their produce, and therefore the producers get to live happier and healthier lives. By receiving a decent wage, people can provide food for their families, and the whole community becomes wealthier, meaning they are able to provide for and develop future generations.
The rising availability of fair trade products has been raising awareness about issues like human rights abuses and child slavery. As demand increases for things like fair trade chocolate, it becomes even more accessible, meaning people actually get a say in where their chocolate comes from. Fair trade provides consumers with a choice, so buyers can take a bite out of their chocolate without the bitter taste of guilt.
Want to take action Check out the ideas in That’s not right! also by Cassie Scott Laffey.
