Much of our chocolate comes from the Ivory Coast, which according to the International Labor Organization (ILO) produces 43% of the worlds cocoa. According to the ILO, over 132 million children, aged 5-14 years old, work in agriculture around the world, they are just a segment of an the estimated 246 million child laborers around the globe. The US State Department estimating that there are more than 100,000 child laborers working in hazardous conditions on West African cocoa farms. These children are placed in hazardous working conditions in order to ensure that we have our sweet treats, it is truly a bittersweet story.
This Saturday is World Day against Child Labor and in response many advocates across the globe are taking action to call for an end to child labor and exploitation. Part of this response by many will include that of the cocoa industry. Many major chocolate producers have made significant strides in the last 10 years to ensure the source of the cocoa they use and and the production process is free of child labor, however child trafficking and forced labor continue in the production of cocoa in West Africa.
In September 2001, chocolate and cocoa industry representatives signed the “Harkin Engel Protocol” , developed by Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Eliot Engel, in an effort to eliminate child labor in the cocoa industry. The protocol has a six-point approach to solve the problem, including a time sensitive process to establish credibly and eliminate the use of child slavery in cocoa industry.
A number of companies like Divine, Equal Exchange, Ithaca Fine Chocolates, Sweet Earth Chocolates, Alter-Eco, and Theo Chocolates, have begun to make great strides, however Hershey has continued to fall behind and still does not participate in any certification programs to track its global supply chain and institute labor standards for its cocoa suppliers. You can learn more on Hershey from the International Labor Rights Forum and join others to call and demand that Hershey step-up and take action to protect children and ensure their products are slave free.
Additional Resources and Information:
Hear stories from the children who work in the cocoa fields from the International Cocoa Initiative, here.
Please also see previous posts on Child Trafficking, Child Labor and fair trade such as; Fair Trade Trick-or-Treating and don’t forget to check out the following resource pages:
