Taste for chocolate is gone (Some African cocoa farms use child slaves)

Atlanta Journal Constitution ^ | 10/24/05 | DAVID SMITH

[nickcarraway]

I love chocolate as much as anyone. In moderation, chocolate is good for your body and soul.

But I have a nightmare that this Halloween one of my daughters is going to pull a piece of chocolate out of her candy bag and ask, "Daddy, is it true that child slaves made this chocolate?"

Gulp.

If the chocolate is from one of the major U.S. brands, I'll have to say, "Yes, it's possible, sweetheart. Whether this particular piece of chocolate was made by slaves, it's impossible to tell."

The West African country of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) is the world's leading producer of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate.

In 1998, a U.S. State Department background report on the country acknowledged the existence of child slavery there. In 2001, Save the Children Canada reported that 15,000 children between 9 and 12 years old, many from impoverished Mali, had been tricked or sold into slavery on West African cocoa farms, many for just $30 each.

This summer, a Birmingham civil rights law firm filed a federal class-action suit against chocolate-maker Nestlé and several of its suppliers on behalf of former child slaves.

The suit's three teenage "John Doe" plaintiffs allege they escaped from Cote d'Ivoire cocoa farms after they were forced to work 12-14 hours a day, six days a week, without pay, given little food, beaten often and guarded at all times. They say some who were caught attempting to escape had their feet cut open or were forced to drink urine.

There seems to be no dispute that "the worst forms of child labor" (code for child slavery) exist in Cote d'Ivoire. The burning question is: How widespread is it? A Cote d'Ivoire government report says 7 percent of child cocoa farm workers it surveyed this year could be forced laborers. But the survey covered only 240 of the 600,000 cocoa farms in the country.

In 2001, after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to study requiring U.S.-sold chocolate be labeled "slave free," the industry agreed to develop a certification system to "identify and eliminate any usage of the worst forms of child labor in the growing and processing of cocoa beans."

This system was supposed to be in place by July. Now the industry says the best it can do is certify half of the world's cocoa farms by mid-2008.

My guess is that with so many tiny farms in remote locations and thousands of middlemen, certifying all cocoa is proving to be a nearly impossible task. Complicating the job is Cote d'Ivoire's political situation: Rebels rule half the country, its government is reportedly one of the most corrupt in the world, and October elections were recently suspended.

So what is a conscientious parent to do this Halloween? Or Christmas? Or Valentine's Day?

I've bought a stash of Fair Trade-certified organic chocolate, most of which is from democratically run co-ops in Ecuador and the Dominican Republic. It costs about 40 percent more than the big-name stuff.

I'll offer to trade this Fair Trade chocolate ounce-for-ounce for all the big-name possibly tainted chocolate my kids collect on Halloween. I'm not sure what I'll do with the questionable stuff. Maybe I'll just throw it away.

Probably my kids will discover what I've learned: You can not only enjoy Fair Trade chocolate with a clear conscience—some of it actually tastes way better.

Meanwhile, I'll root for the chocolate industry to find a way to clean up its act. When that's done, maybe we can figure out how to free the estimated 26.9 million other slaves on the planet today.

David Smith is a Decatur software developer.

[raybbr]

Pretty soon corporations, who now have factories in China, will get wind of this and move to Africa. I can't wait for the stock dividends to rise.

[mdmathis6]

There must be something amiss here...USA corp Hershey was not sued...a EUROPEAN corp was sued instead? Amaaaaazing!

[A. Pole]

"estimated 26.9 million other slaves" Is this credible?

Either way the slavery and slave trade is consistent with the Free Market ideology. Slave trade is a natural part of free trade.

[Little Ray]

Just wait for John Edwards to get ahold of this...

In the meantime, If I can buy plastic stuff made by slaves in the PRC, then I can buy chocolate with cocoa made by slaves in Africa. Ain't my job to police them.

[astounded]

Black on black slavery? Who knew? Where are the race pimps - Jesse Jackass and Al Sharlatan - on this one? How about Farrakook? They should be swinging from the branches, screaming about it. Nary a peep....hmmm,could it be they don't care about real Africans, because they don't make political "contributions" to their "ministries" or vote democrat?

[ghitma]

The race whores only come out when they can blame whites and then shake down Uncle Schmuck for a few bucks. Black on black slavery doesn't pay off.

[dsc]

"Either way the slavery and slave trade is consistent with the Free Market ideology. Slave trade is a natural part of free trade."

That is the most eggregiously wrong-headed thing I've seen in a long while.

[exile]

If anyone out there is upset that chocolate may be picked by child slaves, you can fight back. You don't have to eat the food of the oppressors anymore. Please send your chocolate to Exile c/o FreeRepublic.

Now that you mention it, I'm sure that coffee, cigars, and cheeseburgers are also made by slave labor. Feel free to send them too.

[Designer]

"In the meantime, If I can buy plastic stuff made by slaves in the PRC, then I can buy chocolate with cocoa made by slaves in Africa."

Paying for all of it with cash "earned" by a tax slave in the U.S.

Hhmmm...

[A. Pole]

"Either way the slavery and slave trade is consistent with the Free Market ideology. Slave trade is a natural part of free trade."

That is the most eggregiously wrong-headed thing I've seen in a long while.

I will prove it to you:

Free Market ideology asserts the freedom of contract.

Freedom of contract implies that people can use their freedom as a collateral for debt.

So people can become slaves or indentured serfs as a result of default.

This was demonstrated in the past several times. In ancient Rome many slaves came from the failed debtors.

Also this is from my home page:

The usury leads to the slavery

"[...]Before the introduction of coined money the peasant farmer borrowed commodities and repaid the loan in kind, and … was probably able to meet the obligation without great difficulty; but after the introduction of coined money the situation became decidedly more difficult…he must take a loan of money to purchase his necessary supplies at a time when money was cheap and commodities dear. When a year of plenty came and he undertook to repay the loan, commodities were cheap and money was dear", wrote Professor Calhoun.

Unable to get out of debt, eventually bad weather or a poor harvest would bring foreclosure on their land and even bind them into slavery. This enslavement grew to crisis proportions, when Solon came to Athens rescue with his "Seisachtheia" or "shaking off" of burdens. Personal slavery was no longer allowed as security for debts. He canceled such existing debt contracts; and gave back land which had been seized. Farmers who had been sold into slavery abroad by those to whom they owed money were "bought" back and returned to Athens. [...]"
(A Brief History of Interest)

[martin gibson]

what a pack of lies...EVERYONE knows the only people who kept and are presently keeping African slaves are white AMERIKLAN christian male capitalist gun owners.

[dsc]

"Freedom of contract implies that people can use their freedom as a collateral for debt. So people can become slaves or indentured serfs as a result of default."

A premise that is totally invalidated by our realization that slavery is wrong under any circumstances. If it is wrong under any circumstances, then any contract involving slavery is invalid. Check the doctrine of unconscionability.

[A. Pole]

A premise that is totally invalidated by our realization that slavery is wrong under any circumstances

And where this "realization" comes from? Not from the Free Market ideology. So are you putting the moral rules above the freedom of contract and market?

[dsc]

"So are you putting the moral rules above the freedom of contract and market?"

Of course. That and natural rights.

[knuthom]

This is from a message sent out by Gary Guittard (of Guittard Chocolate Company) and president of the Chocolate Manufactures Association

From Gary Guittard:
Unfortunately we do use West African beans in some of these products. They are blended with South American Cocoa such as Ecuador and Venezuela. We do not use Ivory Coast Cocoa in any of these products but from what we are finding out is that all of West African Cocoa including Ghana may have problems with Slave labor.

I am president of the Chocolate Manufactures Association and we have been extremely concerned about these reports and have just started to plan a survey with the help of USAID the Dept of Labor and some Children's agencies to find out the extent of the problem.

The Chocolate Manufacturers in the United States were in fact the only ones to act proactively on this problem. European Manufactures have not made a concerted effort to work on this but they are now coming around.

Unfortunately the economic success of these countries and the economic war torn catastrophes that surround them have created a situation that as attracted many immigrants and those that smuggle them into these countries. The new immigrants become indentured to pay back the smugglers somewhat as has existed in this country with some of our immigrants.

There are 600,000 small family cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and we feel that the biggest problem lay in the plantation type crops such as Cotton, Coffee and not Cocoa. We also feel an obligation to these small farmers as cocoa is their livelihood.

We will have a better idea when the survey is completed sometime this fall as to the extent of the problem with Cocoa. Then we will take the next steps indicated by the survey.

I might add not all chocolate companies are involved in the Chocolate Manufactures Association and the World Cocoa Foundation who are heading this up. I might add that the cost of this survey is well over $1,000,000 and unfortunately some manufactures are not playing their part. I might add that Hershey and Mars have been fantastic and have not only given monetary support but also scientific and Human resources. You should be proud of our country and the manufactures taking part in this.

[kublia khan]

No; what I am saying is that without a body the theory that Natalee Holloway was sold into slavery (as a sex slave not a cocoa farmer) is still viable.

[dsc]

"You should be proud of our country and the manufactures taking part in this."

And you should be ashamed of your English.