Chocolate - the truth is not so sweet.
Chocolate is often described as “the
Food of the Gods”. In Australia we consume around 120,000 tonnes of chocolate products each year, that’s a
staggering 6 kilos of chocolate per person in Australia! At Magic Starfish we are committed to fair labour work
practices so it is very upsetting to hear that thousands of children are still being forced to labour in the
production of cocoa, chocolate’s primary ingredient.
Over 35 million tonnes of Cacao beans were produced globally in 2008/2009 with around 70% of that total grown in Africa. The West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is the world’s leading supplier of cocoa, accounting for more than 40% of global production. In 2001, reports surfaced worldwide about highly abusive conditions in the West African cocoa industry, particularly Cote d’Ivoire, including the use of child labour, forced labour and trafficked labour. Children on these farms cocoa typically work as many as 80 to 100 hours a week.
Low cocoa prices and thus the need for lower labour costs drove many of the farmers who run the Cote d’Ivoire 600,000 cocoa farms to use children labour as a means to survive. The US Department of State estimates that more than 109,000 children in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa industry work under “the worst forms of child labour,” and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement. Humanitarian groups including Global Exchange, Save the Children and the International Labour Rights Fund are adamant that “without minimum pricing to ensure a steady income, farmers are not likely to make major changes in pay and labour practices on their farms”.
Revolutionary Change:
2007 marked the 200th anniversary for the abolition of slavery in the British
Empire. A movement which began in the late 18th
Century and was
so influential that it shaped the way Australia was colonized. Before leaving England in 1787, Governor Phillip took
the revolutionary stand of insisting that there should be no slavery in Australia. However, even after such
declarations against slavery there are now over 27 million slaves in the world today, over 9 million are children.
It is estimated there are 179 million children exploited by hazardous work; 246 million children aged 5-17 are
child labourers. Gratefully between 2000 and 2004 the number of slaves
worldwide decreased worldwide by 11%, however during the same period the number of people used as slaves in Africa
increased by 49%.
Two hundred and two years after Governor Phillips amazing anti slavery decision the UN Convention on Children's Rights was ratified. It is the first legally binding international instrument to incorporate the full range of human rights—civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights; clearly spelt out the basic human rights that children everywhere have: the right to survival; to develop to the fullest; to protection from harmful influences, abuse and exploitation; and to participate fully in family, cultural and social life. Australia, by agreeing to undertake the obligations of the Convention has committed itself to protecting and ensuring children's rights and they have agreed to hold themselves accountable for this commitment before the international community. Yet our government still allows child slave labour produced chocolate (and other products) into the country. Why?
A Consumer Driven Problem:
With customers looking for bargains and companies seeking increased profit have we forgotten the people behind the products we buy? The time has come for us to ask why they are so cheap. By always looking for the best cheapest deal, we may be unknowingly choosing slave-made products.
The Alternative:
In the late 1800’s 26 'slave-free produce' consumer action groups joined together and began what is thought to be the first ever consumer boycott in Britain, persuading over 400,000 people to refuse to buy and use slave produced sugar. This was a significant step forward in the success of the abolition of slavery campaign. With digital media sites including facebook, youtube, blogs and twitter the possibilities for creating consumer awareness of the plight of the cocoa slaves and encouraging people to buy slave free produce is phenomenal.
The key is not to stop buying chocolate as this could have a damaging effect on
these nations economies, instead choose to buy ethically produced chocolate. Increasing the demand for slave free
chocolate will create the change we want to see. Chocolate manufacturers and importers who buy Fair Trade cocoa sign a
contract with the Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International committing to pay the co-op farmers the Fair Trade
price, the world market price plus a premium, that guarantees a living wage and extra money to go back into the co-op
community. The process is designed to be transparent, and the right is reserved to inspect tracking and product
documentation. Farms are inspected once each year and abusive labour practices are not tolerated.
Many boutique chocolate manufacturers support and use fair labour cocoa; if you are not sure if your favourite chocolate is slave labour free ask them. Thankfully some major chocolate companies are getting on board and supporting fair trade; 1 in 10 chocolate bars now sport the fair-trade logo; the latest addition is Cadbury Australia who are actively promoting their dairy milk bars as being made from only Fair Trade cocoa.
You Have the Power:
The chocolate business worldwide is worth $50 billion dollar-a-year. As consumers, we have the purchasing power to 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 (clothing, food) we buy.
If you are interested in finding out more about the beginnings of the Anti-Slavery movement in the late 1800's take a look at the movie "Amazing Grace".
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