If you don't, you likely will end up unwittingly supporting child labor and slavery.
Part A
Before you bite into a chocolate bar or take a sip of hot cocoa, consider, where did it come from?
It may be that the treat is the product of someone else's hard labor. The person who may have sold it or who may have made it may not even be an adult.
The International Labour Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms. The seven largest cocoa-producing countries are Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameron, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Those last two together account for nearly 60 percent of global cocoa production.
And right now, you can still find children working in the cocoa fields as Romano and his crew did to film "The Dark Side of Chocolate."
So, what should you as a consumer do? First watch the 4 part BBC video above to educate yourself about the situation and the on-going remedies being developed.
"I'd like you to buy either a fair trade chocolate or a direct trade chocolate," Romano says. "I'd like you to buy something where you, as a consumer, can vote responsibly for better treatment of these farmers. And also with fair trade, you know that they're going to be at least on the road to being paid a decent wage. And with the inspections that go on, you know that their children aren't working and are getting an education."
When July rolled around, producers had failed to meet their deadline. After four years passed without follow-through on a protocol that they had created, chocolate companies wanted four more years to reach a lesser goal. Instead of eliminating child labor on cocoa farms, they promised to reduce child labor by 50 percent in two West African countries by 2008, and these companies continue to deny not only responsibility for conditions on the farms which supply their cocoa, but to deny producers the only aspect of the production process they most certainly can control -- a fair price. To put it simply, chocolate companies care more about profits than the fact that slaves are producing our chocolate.
Approximately 286,000 children between the ages of nine and twelve have been reported to work on cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast alone with as many as 12,000 likely to have arrived in their situation as a result of child trafficking. These children are often at risk of injury from machetes and exposure to harmful pesticides. With world cocoa prices so low, many farmers maintain their labor force through trafficking; West African parents living in poverty often sell their kids to cocoa farmers for $50-$100 in hopes that the children will make some money on their own.
Sadly, although these children work 80 to 100 hours per week, children working on cocoa farms frequently make little or no money and are regularly beaten, starved, and exhausted. Most of these children will never even taste the final product that results from their suffering.
How can consumers tell whether or not the products they consume are produced by slaves? The $13 billion dollar chocolate industry is dominated by two firms: Hershey's and M&M's/Mars. Both of these companies use mostly Ivory Coast cocoa; their products are almost certainly produced partly by slaves.
Although these companies have publicly condemned and expressed outrage at the use of child slavery, they admit their ongoing purchase of Ivory Coast cocoa.
Another major player in the cocoa industry is Nestle. Nestle recently made waves in the U.K. by introducing the first line of fair trade coffee from a major roaster in that country. But their continued refusal to extend a fair price to cocoa farmers and their children underlines the shallowness of their commitment.
As one of the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world and the third largest buyer of cocoa from the Ivory Coast, Nestle bears responsible for eliminating slave and child labor from the chocolate production processes. With processing, storage and export facilities throughout the Ivory Coast, Nestle is well aware of the tragically unjust labor practices taking place on the farms with which it continues to do business. The enormity of Nestle's profits (over $65 billion in annual sales) and its leveraged position in the food industry underline the company's culpability and capability to ensure a fair wage and fair labor practices.
Mars, Hershey's and Nestle argue that it would be impossible for them to control the labor practices of their suppliers, but a number of other large corporations have exemplified this possibility. These companies include Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Divine, Gardners Candies, Green and Black's, Kailua Candy Company, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma's Chocolates, Newman's Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company, Rapunzel Pure Organics and The Endangered Species Chocolate Company.
The Ivory Coast does not currently produce any organic cocoa, so organic chocolates are unlikely to be tainted by slavery. A solution to the problem of child labor and slavery in cocoa production is on the rise; fair trade chocolate ensures that farmers receive a fair price for their product and that their labor force is not comprised of children or slaves.
Unlike free trade, fair trade is designed to provide fair exchanges with farmers and artisans. Fair trade ensures better lives by providing suppliers with enough money for health care, education for their children, and sustainable production methods.
The major obstacle to a successful fair trade market is a lack of consumer demand. Fair trade chocolate (Fair Trade Certified and Fair Trade Federation labels) is now available at grocery stores and online, along with other Fair Trade products ranging from coffee to sneakers.
As consumers,our purchasing power can push major corporations to abolish child slavery; we can change the lives of children in West Africa beginning with something as simple as the type of chocolate we buy.
This Halloween, over five hundred households across the country will be offering fair trade Halloween treats. In addition, schools, churches and individuals will be calling and writing in to Nestle to demand a commitment to fair trade and an end to child slavery.
Don't take candy from strangers. Know where your chocolate comes from and ensure that it was produced in a fair way for a fair price. Start by buying fair trade Halloween candy this month.
To end producer poverty and child labor on cocoa farms, call Nestle CEO Joe Weller at 1-800-225-2270 and demand fair trade.
You can also send a handwritten letter to: Nestle USA, Joe Weller, Chairman and CEO, 800 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale, CA 91203.
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