Bittersweet: Unwrapping the Hidden Side of Chocolate

1342 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Introduction of chocolates

People have always had a sweet tooth. In the mid 17th century, the sugar cane was introduced to the New World by the Dutch, who, using slaves, seized this opportunity to make a profit in the British West Indies. Sugar, as well as slaves, played a vital role in the Atlantic Triangular Trade among the Americas, Europe and Africa. Slaves were the working force in this trade network because they harvested the cash crops that circulated around the Atlantic Ocean. A form of slavery very similar to those in the sugar plantations of the Caribbeans is child labor in the modern cocoa industry. Cocoa trees only thrive in humid regions near the equator, which is why two West African countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, supply well over half of the world’s total cocoa. In order to keep up with the demand for cocoa, farmers in Africa have employed some 15,000 boys ages 12 to 16 who have been sold into slave labor to harvest and process cocoa beans “under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse” (Chanthavong 1). In Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, the process begins when businessmen called “locateurs” scout villages for lone children who appear to be lost or begging and trick them into a “great job” that is promised to bring them money for their families. Overnight, they are kept in a locked warehouse from where they are transported the next day and distributed to farmers for a low price of around $35. The boys, who at first are suspicious and uncertain that they have been sold, immediately begin working the next day, from 6 A.M. to 6:30 P.M., cutting cocoa beans from cacao trees, slicing them open, scooping out the beans, spreading them out on mats, and covering them to ferment. They are not properly paid, fed and up to 18 boys... ... middle of paper ... ...late should no longer be associated with something of the past, so child slavery, which is already illegal, must be acknowledged and be provided with a more effective means of labor. Works Cited Robbins , John. "Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate?" John Robbins Official Site. N.p., 19 Apr. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. . Chanthavong, Samlanchith. "Chocolate and Slavery: Child Labor in Cote d'Ivoire." TED Case Studies 1 (2002): 1-14. American University. Web. 23 Oct. 2011. < http://elib.unikom.ac.id/files/disk1/476/jbptunikompp-gdl-gunardiend-23777-9-chocolat-y.pdf> Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass. New York: Dover Publications, 1995. Print. Raghavan Sudarsan, and Sumana Chatterjee. "A Taste of Slavery." Knight Ridder Newspapers [San Jose] 24 June 2001: 1. Print.

Show More
Related

  • The Way We Lived: Essays and Documents in American Social History, by Frederick Binder and David Reimers

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    This text selection really opened my eyes to the extent of the entirety of slavery, slave trade, and the prime incentive for such – greed.

    Read More

  • Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off

    1474 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the book Bitter Chocolate by Carol Off, is found a passage on a boy’s account of being sold into slavery. At only the age of fourteen, he went looking for an opportunity to make some money. After being deceived by a child trafficker, and brought by night through the jungle, the author goes on to say, “…a stranger came for him. Money changed hands between the man who had taken him from the bus station and the stranger. The transaction completed, Malik and the other boy were told to leave with the individual. …for the next several years… Malik slaved on a cocoa plantation” (125). This is just one of many accounts that occur daily. To best understand this problem, which is very prominent in Cote d’Ivoire, a region that supplies about half of the world’s cocoa, the economy and those that influence it must be taken into consideration. Several issues must be addressed in order for cocoa farmers to receive more pay for their crop, which in turn will reduce slavery.

    Read More

  • Key Arguments in "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass"

    1143 Words  | 3 Pages

    Douglass, Frederick. “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave: Written by Himself (ed. John Blassingame) Yale University Press, 2001.

    Read More

  • Hershey Park Case Study

    1480 Words  | 3 Pages

    West Africa is known for their lucrative crop:cocoa beans. The cocoa beans are primarily exported and chocolate companies demand cheap chocolate,. As a result,the farmers had to use children so the prices could remain competitive. Many of the children who work on these farms because they are “sold” by their own families who are uneducated about the abuse and mistreatment. Most of these children are between the ages of twelve to sixteen, and about forty percent of them are females. These children work night and day, doing dangerous activities. In September 2012, Hershey announced an anti-slavery initiative in hopes of eradicate forced child labor by 2020.

    Read More

  • Major Chocolate Labour

    313 Words  | 1 Pages

    Major chocolate companies can refrain from child labour and child trafficking practices if they develop programs for child slaves, own the entire production chain of their product, and choose to boycott plantations. Developing and financially supporting programs to rescue and rehabilitate children who have been sold to cocoa farms will free child slaves and protect them from further harm. Therefore, investing in these programs will show the companies are considerate and are trying to eradicate child labour, even though, they have contributed to this problem the most by buying into this industry. In addition to, owning the entire production chain all the way back to the beans will help maintain and monitor all activities regarding the harvesting and farming of the beans.

    Read More

  • Biography of Frederick Douglass

    929 Words  | 2 Pages

    Douglass, Frederick. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. Boston: Anti-Slavery Office, 1845.

    Read More

  • What Is Victimhood And Agency?

    946 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Transatlantic slave trade is arguably one of the cruelest aspects of slavery. Slave trading began when people were plucked from their homes and villages to be shipped abroad to work for the rest of their lives. This process was gruesome, inhumane, and undoubtedly dangerous. Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke, co-authors of Inhuman Traffick wrote, “Over time, the average rate of mortality fell, from 25 percent in the early years of the trade to 14 percent in the eighteenth century” (15). Slaves rebelled against their oppressors by refusing to dance, and leading armed rebellions which gave them agency in their situations which otherwise had been removed. When considering agency, victimhood plays an equal role in the battle for equality. An example of victimhood and agency functioning equally is in Neirsée affair.

    Read More

  • The Inequality of the Cocoa Industry in Ecuador

    655 Words  | 2 Pages

    Being a descendant of cocoa farmers and having had contact at the International Cocoa Organization with representatives from African countries, I know from first hand that children aged between 5 and 14 years, are work...

    Read More

  • Child Labor In Sub-Saharan Africa

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    In reality, many Sub-Saharan countries lack a registry of birth certificates which is vital for school enrollment, graduation, and social services for the children (U.S. Department of Labor). Without proper documentations, families are exposed to consequences that can turn their child away from a proper education. This illustrates how officials are not able to monitor those within their countries, and the nations are not able to provide safety nets for their citizens. Furthermore, Sub-Saharan Africa relies heavily on the traditional uses of cheap child labor, which constitutes a vicious cycle. With a lack of education, poor adult wages, and the desire to reach old age, many households favor large families to secure longevity (Basu). If unrestricted, the short-term planning is most likely passed on to the next generation, encouraging the use of child labor. On the other hand, child labor can be a factor out of families’ control. Often enough, young children are abducted by traffickers and neighboring countries (Food Empowerment Project). With the continuation of secret operations, it’s difficult to find the source of child labor and to shut it down. Moreover, child labor is seen as a social norm (Basu). Despite the dangerous working conditions and the lack of education, such traditional beliefs do not justify the use of child labor because it can turn children away from

    Read More

  • Child Labor in Agriculture

    1377 Words  | 3 Pages

    Worldwide, 61% of child laborers are in agriculture. Child labor slaves in agriculture range from the age of five to seventeen. Child labor in agriculture is hazardous for minors. About 59% of children work in these hazardous situations. There are 61% of children in agriculture slavery in Asia, 32% in Africa, 7% in Latin America stated by the International Labour Organization. While, people would say the U.S. to be a land of freedom even the childr...

    Read More

  • International Business Ethics Case Study

    1367 Words  | 3 Pages

    More than 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown in the region, and the vast majority of that supply comes from two countries: Ivory Coast and Ghana, which together produce 60% of the global total. The two nations have a combined GDP of around $73 billion, according to the World Bank—or significantly less than Nestlé’s $100 billion in sales in 2015. Yet the global chocolate business would be thrown into chaos without them. Last year, Ivory Coast alone exported nearly 1.8 million metric tons of cocoa, or two-fifths of the world’s production. And demand for chocolate is going up, as a growing number of consumers in countries like China and India have more disposable income. The price of cocoa surged 13% in 2015 even as prices for most raw materials were dropping. Meanwhile the average farmer in each country still lives well below the international poverty line.(Fortune Investigation, Brian O'Keefe, march, 2016). It is notoriously hard to get accurate figures on trafficking. The International Labor Organization has estimated that about 21 million people in the world are victims of forced labor, and that some 5.5 million of them are children. Around the time of the Harkin-Engel agreement, it was frequently reported that some 15,000 children from neighboring West African countries were being held as slaves on farms in Ivory

    Read More

  • Child Labor In James Kofi Annan's Fishing Villages

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    “60% of the world’s 215 million child laborers work in the agricultural sector (agriculture, livestock-raising, forestry, and fishing). In Ghana one in six children aged six to 14 are involved in child labor. 88% work on farms and 2.3% work in fishing.” Although a small portion of children in Ghana are sent to work in the fishing sector of agricultural work it is clearly creating a problem. A majority of the children brought to work at Lake Volta are trafficked from surrounding areas in Ghana. Poor famili...

    Read More

  • African Slave Trade

    1179 Words  | 3 Pages

    "Life as a Slave." Life as a Slave. Tony Pace, n.d. Web. 02 Jan. 2014.

    Read More

  • Modern Day Slavery Essay

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    The word “slavery” brings back horrific memories of human beings. Bought and sold as property, and dehumanized with the risk and implementation of violence, at times nearly inhumane. The majority of people in the United States assumes and assures that slavery was eliminated during the nineteenth century with the Emancipation Proclamation. Unfortunately, this is far from the truth; rather, slavery and the global slave trade continue to thrive till this day. In fact, it is likely that more individuals are becoming victims of human trafficking across borders against their will compared to the vast number of slaves that we know in earlier times. Slavery is no longer about legal ownership asserted, but instead legal ownership avoided, the thought provoking idea that with old slavery, slaves were maintained, compared to modern day slavery in which slaves are nearly disposable, under the same institutionalized systems in which violence and economic control over the disadvantaged is the common way of life. Modern day slavery is insidious to the public but still detrimental if not more than old American slavery.

    Read More

  • Cocoa Production Essay

    693 Words  | 2 Pages

    The production of cocoa in the chocolate industry has a long history of trafficking and child labor. Children are exposed to chemicals, long working hours and are often taken from home to work in these harsh environments. The low prices in the cocoa industry have left farmers with poor incomes and with no choice but to pull their children from school and have them work on the plantations. Because of this little chance of educational access, “families in the cocoa sector are caught in a vicious cycle of poverty”(International Labor Rights Forum, 2014).

    Read More

More about Bittersweet: Unwrapping the Hidden Side of Chocolate

Open Document