 Chocolate is one of life's greatest pleasures, but for the children working in slavery conditions in cacao fields across West Africa's Ivory Coast, the reality behind it is anything but sweet. Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate. The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween - 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season. So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family's Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away? Gene Tanski, a supply chain expert and CEO of Demand Foresight says that the most basic way to ensure that you don't purchase chocolate that is made with slave labor is to insist on organic. "There are no organic growing techniques, capability, or much interest in West Africa or the Ivory Coast or Ghana. Most of the trees there were planted about 25 years ago and they're on the downside of their productive life," Tanski says. "If you're buying organic chocolate or cocoa you're nearly ensured that there is no slave labor involved in the growing or production of that chocolate, and you can track the chain." Consider the origin Tanski says to pay attention to where the chocolate is grown and produced. Because of measures like the Harkin-Engel Protocol or "Cocoa Protocol" which was enacted in 2001 to enlist companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor, as well as some of the components of free trade, consumers are starting to be able to track where cocoa comes from. "If it comes from Africa, there is most likely slave labor involved. If it comes from South America or Asia, chances are that there is not. That's not to say there aren't poor conditions, but it's not the slave labor that's highlighted in the CNN report. The tracking is getting better and better all the time," he adds. Look at the label "You should be looking for chocolate that's a bargain for you, that's delicious for you, and that's good news for people who took part in the production," Stop the Traffik founder Steve Chalke tells CNN's Richard Quest. He says to look for a Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance symbol on the packaging, because it shows that there was no slavery involved in the production of the bar. Later this year, chocolate consumers will be able to purchase a new version of Hershey's Bliss brand, which will be 100 percent made from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms mostly in Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to a press release from the company. "It'll still make you fat," Chalke jokes, "But you'll be ethically fat." Go straight to the source Kristen Hard, the owner of Cacao Atlanta, puts her money where her customers' mouths are and travels to farms in places like Brazil and Venezuela to deal directly with the growers. For her, it's a matter of quality control - both for her product and the lives of her producers. "Whatever you're purchasing is funding something; it's a choice that you're making every day," she says. "Buying fair trade can benefit the environment and the social status of the farmers. Or, you can do the opposite and promote child labor." While Hard believes that fair trade is better than the commodity system, with the recent rise in small-scale chocolate production, direct trade is a better solution, and pays off for customers in the form of a better product. She says, "We purchase beans from farmers at a much higher price than commodity, so they can value what they do, stay happy, and not just put food on the table. What we negotiate is quality and a schedule, and all of the things that should be important to a consumer." Develop a taste Hard knows that people form a passionate bond with the flavor of chocolate early in life, and it's most often the inexpensive and widely available kind. Still, she believes, people will be willing to pay more once they taste the difference. "Once they taste the quality product, they'll understand," she says. "A lot of times when people are farming a commodity, they'll cut corners because they want to make their money faster and it can can destroy the flavor. But, if this more premium chocolate is not what you're used to, the initial reaction can be, 'Oh, I don't like that.' It's like having fresh juice rather than sugar water. Whatever you grew up with programmed to like, your body is going to say, that's unfamiliar; I don't like it. Once you try it, you'll wonder where it's been your whole life." More resources for buying ethically produced chocolate Stop the Traffik The CNN Freedom Project sent correspondent David McKenzie into the heart of the Ivory Coast – the world’s largest cocoa producer – to investigate what's happening to children working in the fields. Watch an excerpt of "Chocolate's Child Slaves" and see all Freedom Project coverage on the topic. Once you've gotten the goods, try these delicious recipes from iReport's Fair Trade Chocolate Challenge Watch CNN Newsroom weekdays 9am to 3pm ET and weekends. For the latest from the CNN Newsroom click here.
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Hershey's is making a rainforest certified chocolate bar, but that's their premium, "bliss", brand. They are going to charge extra for the no-slave stuff, but don't worry, because we will still sell you the slave made stuff for cheap too.
Wow... i would give up ALL chocolate if it meant that this slavery stopped. :( i don't like the idea of others hurting for my pleasure.
Just buy a different brandof chocolate or eat a lot of peanut butter, like i do!
Honestly, their PAIN and SUFFERING makes MY chocolate taste MUCH SWEETER!!!
KUDOS TO FREE ENTERPRISE!!! Vote Romney if you agree!
Heya i am for the primary time here. I found this board and I to find It really helpful & it helped me out much. I hope to give something again and help others such as you aided me.
Not to mention how much chocolate raises our global ecological footprint! Check out my health and wellness blog @ http://www.wellnessnetworkblog.blogspot.com
Slavery chocolate tastes better.
You know what? It DOES taste better!!!
HURRAY FOR MIT ROMNEY AND FREE ENTERPRISE!!!!
I thing Foxconn should move some factories there and start making chocolate. This way I can get fat on the cheap and no one will pay any attention to the issue because NPR will run a bogus story from a non-journalist. Wait... we actually have journalists in this country? I thought only government memo reading shills were left.
What do we suppose would happen to these children should everyone quit buying their chocolate production. It would make us feel better knowing they lost employment? Or would they then be paid the same for other employment opportunity? Or with zero income might a few of them die of starvation? Well, we would all feel better and some may also lose a few pounds as well.
I understand your point, but if more of us supported chocolate produced without slave or unjust labor, the working conditions would change. I purchase all my chocolate from 10 thousand villages or other organizations that support fair wages for laborers. As the demand increases, the labor pool increases and people's quality of life improves. Yes, it is more expensive. But I just justify having my kid's sweet tooths satisfied at the expense of other children.
If you don't buy the chocolate, then these families lose wages, and we have price inflation on cocoa. Waste of time to buy "fair trade" chocolate, and you are only hurting the economic situation of these children.
eroteme, you make a good point. i read an interesting article a while ago about "child labor" in i believe it was Bangladesh. these kids would stay w. their mothers who worked in these clothing factories, the kids would fold the clothes or trim the thread fr hems and buttons...you get the idea. as they got older they would get coveted jobs in the factories. well-meaning westerners (inc i think a senator?) got wind of the "child labor" conditions and the factories were forced to get rid of the "child laborers" and, often, their moms, since there is no childcare there. these moms were then forced to work for far lower wages, some of them recycling lead-acid batteries, i think it was, and the kids ended up exposed to all that lead and other dangerous chemicals.
by boycotting these cocoa producers it does not necessarily mean these kids will then return to their loving families, go to school and get paying jobs. so where do they go? do they just end up on the streets or trafficked to an equally bad or worse situation?
If it's any consolation, there's barely any real chocolate in cheap "chocolate" anymore anyway.
I am all for ending child slavery in West Africa, but is 'buy Organic because growers in Africa can't or won't grow organic" really the best way to do it? Somewhere in West Africa, a non-organic grower who doesn't use child slaves is reading this thinking 'greeeaaaatttt....'
buy some of my slavery pancakes or my uncles, uncle bens, slavery rice...or my aunt Sylvia famous hot sauce.
I have no sympathy because the kids should just come to the USA illegally like evryone else does.
i for one would like to acknowledge that slave labor SHOULD BE BANISHED! I would hope that eating choclate could become a luxry item consumed by the general population at the hands of young children. For all the unnecessary rude and unethical commentaters on this blog with the hateful comments pray because that could be you in the shoes of that child.
We still don't care. Mmmmmmmmmm yummy chocolate. We'll take it wherever it comes from. We're the sheeple of America. Blame us for all the world's problems. Nom Nom...mmmmmmmmmm.
I luv chocolate. I eat it all the time.
It's all good and well to say that there shouldn't be any kind of slavery in the world. But there's something else to think about, and it doesn't matter whether it's chocolate, coffee, or diamonds. Yes, these people are working for slave wages, but it's better than NO wages and them starving to death. As to children working, well in a perfect world there would be no need for them to, but the last time I looked, the world was far from perfect. Children have worked alongside their parents for as long as man has been on this planet, and that's not going to change, no matter how "outraged" Americans are at the thought. Despite the fact they know nothing about how people in the third world live, and yet they feel they have to right to dictate how they should live.
And before people say I'm just another hack who likes to dump on everything, I do care what happens, but the truth is that nothing is going to change by people switching to organically grown coco beans except that the demand in Africa will go down and more people will starve to death. So think about that before you get up on your soapbox,
Yes, you have a point, but the solution is not to give up. The solution is that we buy chocolate from organic/fair trade growers, and capitalism forces the companies utilizing slave labor to turn to better practices, keeping the same employees but making their working conditions better and more ethical. It's good for everyone except the owners of the chocolate farms, who will hopefully still earn a profit(though a lesser one). What is wrong with this idea?
Great article!
Real proper chocolate – with plenty of cocoa in it is what I buy. Fair Trade is the only thing to go for too – otherwise you just don't know whether the company producing – employs kids who should be at school.
I work with factories in India – they make my handbag designs and I make sure that they only ever employ adults. I have seen kids working in factories in India (15 – 20 years ago) and I don't ever want to be part of that culture. Hopefully it has now stopped (by and large) in India and we need to hope it will stop in Africa too! Kids need education and they need to be kids!
Why is anyone shocked that Africans are enslaving other Africans for forced labor? They've been doing it for decades – even centuries. Enemy tribes and warlords conquering weaker tribes and selling them to the slave market. How do you think the entire world got their black slaves? They bought them from the slave trade markets that held people from every nation. Plus, if you think that only blacks and Africans were slaves you're a moron that needs to go read a history book.
doesn't matter what the label says...you really still won't know where the chocolate came from.
I may have come from a cocoa farm owned by Witney Houston...oh nevermind I think that was a coke farm.
I support Hershey PA – 1 bar every nite watching TV. To ask me to take on all this moral responsibility when all I do is eat a candy bar is unreasonable.
Yeah, take this "story" to a place where someone cares. Quit trying to lay all the guilt of the world on the American consumer. We don't make the laws for the governments of other countries. This crap gets old...I'm not listening.
That's because the USA is the largest consumer in the world! So don't ya think we would be a target on this issue? Idiot.
Real ladylike...lol. I still don't give flying turd. Mmmmmmmmmmm chocolate! Nom Nom!
NAME COMPANY NAMES NOW!!!
Name, names NOW
Need to know who these companies are!!
I am in a world where there are stores and rows of Chocolate on every corner!
Fact is whether Africa, Asia, South America, realistically there is child slavery worldwide. Another fact is most are slaves to chocolate, and to sin, amongst other things. This world is a very sick place to a poor child. A child shouldn't have to go through that, they are innocent of the desires of greed, gluttony, and perverted appetites.
. The only permanent solution is found at Revelation 11:18. There the Bible states that Jehovah will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” Jehovah will not only eliminate the mismanagement of the earth and its resources but also ensure that the earth will produce abundantly for all its inhabitants. All obstinate disregard for God’s purpose and all exploitation of the earth for selfish personal advantage will be put to a stop. On the other hand, those who willingly support Jehovah’s rulership will experience the reality of the words found at Psalm 72:16: “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth; on the top of the mountains there will be an overflow.”
In his infinite love and wisdom, Jehovah has purposed that mankind will live in and care for their home—a paradise earth. (Genesis 1:28) Under his rulership, obedient mankind will learn to utilize natural resources wisely, without depleting earth’s abundant storehouse. How grateful we are for such a loving Provider, who will satisfy the desire of every living thing!—Psalm 145:16.
When should we be expecting this biblical justice to happen? And will it just be that passage, or will your god come murder all of the gays, atheists, and disobedient children as well?
Why is everyone worrying about avoiding slavery-free chocolate and getting organic stuff, when there are slaves working right now!! Do something about them! Lot of selfish American freaks talking about money, organics, a perfect chocolate-filled Easter! Think about the things that matter.
yeah....
Like I've heard this malarky a thousand times. The govt, the leadership, the party politics of whatever flavor they may be, manufacturers, managers, store owners, fathers, brothers – THEY ALL were treating the common working man like patooey BEFORE ever there was a global market.
Dump this bit of lie elsewhere. I'm tired of it, it is NOT the fault of the USA.
I agree with you completely. Why in the ever loving heck is the American consumer blamed for how every fricking commodity around the world is produced and distributed? We're blamed for how citizens of other countries are treated in their own country. Ridiculous! It's impossible to navigate the daily insurgence of bull dookie guilt that is put upon us. Listen up! America is not responsible for how other backwards ass countries choose to govern their own citizens. They make their own labor laws. We just buy the crap if it's on our grocery shelves. I'm not taking responsibility for how it got there. What a crock!
Way to @#$% on the one thing left in the universe that hasn't already been @#$% on, CNN. Thanks for that.
If every consumer in America does what you advocate for then every consumer in China, India and every other part of the developing world will get cheap chocolate. When the U.S. plays fair and everyone else doesn't it merely means we pay for or even subsidize their market freedoms. Just like gas, we are developing more energy efficient cars and taxing ourselves to death while India and China use even more gas causing prices worldwide to increase.
Not everyone lives a good life in the U.S. and wanting to play fair merely means that people in the U.S. barely making it now have to struggle even more. Wanting the world to be more fair, more equitable, more nice, more of everything demonstrates that most Americans are truly ignorant of how the world operates.
Well Dick, I tend to agree with you. When I eat chocolate or drink coffee I truly think it tastes better when picked by the poor. It's almost as if you can taste the bitterness of their miserable lives mixed in with it.
Well Mary Smith, I just wonder what kind of life you live. Appearently you are an idiot! But I guess being taken advantage of is something you are not use to. But then again someone could be pimping you out but we will never see that in cyber world. Thanks for keeping prostitution alive! Save your money you might need it someday.
I think your sarcasm-meter is off
What's with all this Fair Trade press, lately? Someone at CNN is really pushing it. You can't reasonably track anything with a Fair Trade logo on it, or an "organic" label. They've, in fact, done research into these products, and like 95% of all Fair Trade labeled products are either non-Fair Trade, or less than 50% from Fair Trade sources. And nearly 80% of all "certified organic" products are GMO (i.e. non-organic) and large numbers have traces of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. In short, you accomplish nothing by buying Fair Trade and Organic products, except donate money to unscrupulous businesses for the same products that everyone else charges less.
Bitter much Drowlord? Did your character get snickersnacked by a +5 vorpel blade? Seriously, what you are saying is that because the system isn't perfect then no one should care. We should remain complacent until we reach perfection and not make a move until then. Tell me, does that *really* make a lot of sense to you? Or are you going to rely on your statistics of unknown provenance (did you roll a couple of d10s?) in order to justify your own lack of concern. That's it isn't it? You don't really care and you are trying to justify it. Kinda lame. If you don't care just say you don't. Hiding behind dodgy statistics is just the cowards way out.
I'm not saying "the system isn't perfect." I'm saying the system doesn't work at all. It's a complete failure. As in "nothing but illusion." It's like a car with neither engine nor wheels - not really a car. I'm not saying you can't or shouldn't care. I'm saying that "organic" and "fair trade" are complete fiction. Spending money on these things solves nothing. It doesn't even begin to address anything. It's empty ideology. Buy Hawaiian chocolate if you want chocolate that's guaranteed not to use any slave labor and pay workers a fair price. But don't be duped by "organic" or "fair trade" products. That's just ignorant.
BUNNY 2012
I'm voting for BUNNY 2012!
Pardon me but should not the responsibility rest upon the actual chocolate producers?? Cadbury, Hershey, Mars, whomever...why isn't someone sending them a message??? Why aren't these billion dollar western companies doing something to end this travesty? Perhaps I missed something- but I didn't see them mentioned at all. I don't know the article seems more like an adverisment to purchase organic chocolate than to *actually* do something about ending child slavery.
So you don't believe consumers have any control over what gets produced around the globe. Myopic much?
And why would Hershey care if the consumer doesn't care? That's what this article is about – trying to get the consumer to care because the *consumer* is the one that ultimately decides on the fate of a company.
Actually its the janitor. If yo space aint clean yo get no more green.
In the US, our money often speaks louder than our words. Stop buying chocolate that is not fair trade, and if enough of us do it, Hershey and other big companies will be forced to listen.
Sadly, large companies only listen if you speak their language; profits (I do believe that individuals in large companies can still have values and integrity but this is not as common as it should be). If their consumers talk seriously and back it by not buying products they are unhappy with, they will change. One letter can represent a large number of consumers so if you feel strongly about something, sure write it here in this little comment window, but chase down a real address of a company you disagree with and send THEM a letter. Same goes for politics. Write you congressman/rep and let them know what is important to you.
I thought there had been a law passed regarding this, and only Lindt and Ghiradelli were abstaining, but I guess I was misinformed. We eat a little chocolate after dinner and I'm now switching.
Slavery is bad mmnkay ?
If we get back to the true meaning of Easter (i.e. the crucifixion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ), we won't have to concern ourselves with slave chocolates.
If they didnt have children doing this harvesting we would just have more of them to shoot. At least they are doing something worthwhile, better than those in The US.
I hate slavery in any form. However, most of these children are helping support their families. If we all go organic we take away their livelihood and their support of their families. It's up to Hershey, Mars etc to insist on the changes, but their hunger for huge profits causes them to turn their backs on doing the right thing.
This CNN Eatocracy article; “The bitter truth behind the chocolate in your Easter basket” even though it mentions; “Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast” tends to lump all chocolate grown in the world all together with implied slavery of children.
It does a great disservice to the world’s best and most exquisite "single origin" chocolate grown exclusively on the North Shore of the Island of Oahu, Hawaii and other chocolate growers on the Big Island of Hawaii; the 50th state of the United States.
Child slavery should not be condoned anywhere in the world but proper reporting should also be at the forefront and not sensationalized to where it might injure your own country’s selling of goods, services and products.
CNN doesnt seem to have any ethical standards regarding their allegiance to the USA.
The article basically says that any chocolate NOT grown in Africa is slave-free. This is not an article that names every single place chocolate can be grown. The focus of the article is slave labor. If you want a focus on Hawaiian chocolate, write a press release and distribute it.
Here's the quote:
"If it comes from Africa, there is most likely slave labor involved. If it comes from South America or Asia, chances are that there is not. That's not to say there aren't poor conditions, but it's not the slave labor that's highlighted in the CNN report. The tracking is getting better and better all the time," he adds.
There is no need to write an article about Hawaii cacao as it has been grown in islands (only state in United States that can grow cacao) since 1850 when it was first planted. Hawaiian chocolate is well documented over the various decades by trade, candy, gourmet magazines and newspapers. Slavery of any kind has never been practiced in the history of the Hawaiian Islands (before and after admission into statehood).
Chocolate is like coffee, it is blended from different farms and tree species to develop a distinct flavor. So your child slavery African cacao can be mixed with South American cacao or Asia cacao to create Belgium chocolate or American Hershey’s chocolate. Cacao only grows in a narrow band around the equator and the 50th state Hawaii is on the fringe of that band being the most Southern state in the nation.
Chocolate from the Big Island of Hawaii is a blend of 30 cacao farms totally grown on that island. It is labeled “Artisanal Single-Origin Chocolate” and “Certified Made in the U.S.A.”
Chocolate from the North Shore of Oahu which has been internationally touted as the “Best Single-Origin” cacao in the world just simply labeled “Single-Origin” is only from one single estate and labeled “Product of USA”.
The CNN Eatocracy article mentioned Africa, South America and Asia as only sources of cacao and did not mention the U.S.A. as a source of cacao (poor research on their part) and in the article the quoted statement by " Stop the Traffik” founder Steve Chalke lumped all chocolate together if it did not have one of two distinct labels on the package you might purchase with the statement; "You should be looking for chocolate that's a bargain for you, that's delicious for you, and that's good news for people who took part in the production," Stop the Traffik founder Steve Chalke tells CNN's Richard Quest. He says to look for a Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance symbol on the packaging, because it shows that there was no slavery involved in the production of the bar.”
Implied that if the chocolate does not have either one of mentioned labels it was made with child slavery labor!
So – essentially, the Three Musketeers are slave-masters ?? I always knew it .............. !!!!
Next we're gonna find out the elves are slaves, and Santa is the biggest slave-master of them all.
Gotta give credit to CNN – they want to take the joy out of everything.
Oh, you learned that reality is dark and sad and people are exploited and live harsh miserable, short lives? How positively AWFUL that must be for you.
There is a common thread on this board: The idea of being ethically responsible for your personal consumption decisions infuriates many conservatives and cynics.
Don't worry guys, those candy bars you stuff down your fat gullets don't even contain real chocolate anyways.
Just another attack against Christians. Now the PC police are telling us what to do about our Easter baskets.
Funny that this "issue" wasn't brought-up before Halloween, or Valentines Day – when tons of slave-made chocolates are bought.
But the chose to wait and make it an issue at Easter.
Your post show the world that even God can have a bad day, making the likes of you.
Devout daily-service attending Christian here... who has no clue what you're talking about. This has nothing to do with religion or Easter. Are you trying to scorn the "PC Police", i.e. the ethical people pointing out that supporting companies whose profits rely on slave labor is not okay? If so, that's about the least Christlike thing I've heard in a very long time.
What a load of Brown BS-Why is there no story on my Ladies popping out truck loads of colored eggs for all the Little Bratty rich American kids to find in their lawns and gardens? My Ladies are enslaved in cages not large enough to turn around in and work seven days a week. This is a disgrace.
Dennis, This article is not about religion, it's about children being abused and exploited. Stay with the class!
Dennis, CNN has been running articles about "ethical chocolate" for like a year. All they did is patch together the old article and slap Easter in it a few times.
How do you know its not attacking Pagans? Easter means "Eostre" who is the Teutonic Goddess of Fertility and Dawn after all. All those rabbits are symbols of her, and eggs are an ancient symbol of fertility.
Really, though, Dennis your post is silly. I've saw an article on ethical chocolate around Valentines this year.
You do know there is absolutely no independent archeological evidence for the Oestre origins of Easter, right? There is a two line mention of it in there writings of the Venerable Bede and nothing else. Nothing. There are *no* other writings about it – which seems strange if her cult was so influential. There is no hard evidence either. No cultic images. No worship sites. Nothing. Heck, even other pagans think the whole thing is rubbish – google "adrian bott easter" and read what he has to say – Andrian Bott is a well known pagan author and researcher. Please do a little research – if this sort of thing means anything to you then you have an obligation to yourself to know the real information.
So how are you to know if the person who helped make the chocolate is forced to pay alimony? It seems impossible to stop slavery chocolate purchases if you don't end alimony.
We stop buying their products. They starve. No more slavery. Problem solved.
Impossible! Actually we end slavery, then taxpayers support them while they sit on their brains. Just like they do here. If a liberal feels good about something, its going to cost the rest of us!!!!!
I think that know that you know about this you should care and that every time you pick up a box of choclates that you think of that little slave boy or girl and boycott it its the right thing to do
I am not totally sure the children are slaves. Could it be that they have no other opportunities and they (or their parents) have decided to submit themselves to awful labor conditions. If they are deprived of this livelihood, then what should they do – turn to prostitution or starvation perhaps? I just finished reading a popular book on economics and it described the unintended consequences of these types of boycotts, which have happened in the past.
One heartless post!
It could be the last thing these children need is for some smug do-gooders to boycott their products and force them into starvation and prostitution. This exact thing happened in the 90's when boycotts were instituted for garments made in bangladesh.
kls – you have a good point. we need to not just boycott but insist on something else and institute other means of earning a living in these countries. that's why fair trade is so important. check out tenthousandvillages.com – they're a nonprofit who has been fairly trading for decades.
Reading the comments in here make me weep for my future children and humanity. The not my problem, out of sight-out of mind, ignorance is bliss mindset is the worst kind of human being. I hope you perspective and realize how fortunate you are to be born on this side of the world and give back one day.
I don't know, somehow the chocolate when mixed with the tears of underage slave children tastes just a little sweeter.
Your post reads like someone from a family of former slave owners. It's unfortunate that life is wasted on hate such as you!
My post was note meant for you Andrew, but the coward who posted before me on your post!
LOL
not if they are forced to smile while crying, that's the sweetness that was missing.
We give back everyday that our taxes are used to feed their incarcerated brothers, instead of using them for forced labor as they repay us "society in general'.
FYI, chocolate just like diamonds and the clothes you wear that don't say made in the USA are probably the product of slavery or some form of inhumane cheap sweatshop labor. Now here is an idea, how about US Trade commission made more strides to ensure all products imported from foreign countries were slave-free. Have quality control inspectors observe how each product is harvested. I know we have some people that already do this for individual companies that actually care. Hey, I just thought of a way to create more jobs! Imagine that! These government hired inspectors can make sure all of the products we consume are slave-free. If the powers that be (GOVT) are not willing to make that big commitment to quality control of our products then why should I care where I get my chocolate from? You can't boycott everything that is not harvested or manufactured in a humane manner. You can, but it's an individual choice and the select few individuals will never make a difference. I'll bet the only people that even know about slave produced chocolate are the only ones that clicked on this story. It's not like it was the biggest story feature on CNNs homepage.
sure thing ... I will buy more expensive chocolate but why stop there .... everything more expensive and eventually go bankrupt to prove a point ... do not think so
I must admit, never crossed my mind. I also admit that I read articles with doubt and I also admit when I see someone with a pet peeve I wonder if they tracked where the gold for their jewelry, where the clothe and manufacture of their cloting came from, where their ipads were manufactured, where the ores for these materials came from and ...the big one, if the sticker announcing these things is legitimate or not. Then, I read the comments here and see how we treat each other with such disrespect and wonder ...
Another moral dilemma... No slave chocolate, no blood diamonds. Find a way to make the ethical products cheaper and more widely available, then you will find some traction. I'm not driving 15 miles away to get chocolate for a recipe and paying 300x more for bloodless diamonds.
Hmmm, to lower the cost, maybe we could mix some of that pink slime in with the chocolate?
I'll stop buying slave chocolates, but only because I don't want any more of my food touched by Africans. McDonald's and Burger King are bad enough as it is.
Really LEE-ROY? Do the black people you work with or claim as a friend, know how you feel? Tell them and let me know how that works out for you. Why don't you just move to a country with no black people. Sorry, but we are everywhere. I would suggest Ireland, but I've seen many of us there too and that is the whitest place I've ever been. London,you may as well stay here. Any other country, you will still put up with being around us black folks and you'll just be known as the "Dumb American" because you don't speak thier language. But I totally understand how you feel about black people, because I'm a bigot too. You see, I hate trolls and the racist trolls are the worst.
Where did Lee Roy even say BLACK????? You said it!!! He said AFRICANS and there are WHITES in Africa so stop trying to make everything a race issue.....
Come on, come out and say it coward... You just hate those darkies! You Are Another exsample of God having a bad day when making a life!
I say, "Keeping eating regaular chocolate and send the difference in price of organic chocolate to the slaves".
OK Massa, another coward who can't come out and say he;s a bigot!
Ok, but when are we going to concentrate on the REAL problems of today, like getting the television series "Mannix" back on the air.
who cares.... Give me slavery chocolate give me blood diamonds. Go ahead and close down the chocolate slavery places they will just grow COCAINE instead as it is slightly more profitable..... enough is enough... do something about MADE IN CHINA first.... cut our addiction to being the chinese workforces empoyers... bring the jobs home then talk about this nonsense
Bu-bu-but my advisers said NAFTA would bring huge changes to the world .... oh, I see.
A HUGE Sucking sound from Mexico. Put down the cigar Bill.
While Clinton supported NAFTA, it was inacted under George HW Busch.
Dolores, doll, I signed the bill into law on Dec 8, 1993. Bush (note the spelling) was voted out of office before he could sign the bill to make it law. He did put it into practice, which is the definition of (again, watch that spelling) the word "enact."
Perot was right, there was a giant sucking sound and it wasn't coming from Monica.
Can you people PLEASE leave politics off a food blog???
Jeez, why do people have to bring politics into EVERYTHING?
I'm on vacation....don't include me in this.
Slave chocolate? Sweet!
The organic market has made slaves out of consumers, trying to market their product as better/healthier/more ethical. You know what? Jesus wouldn't give a d^mn about Easter chocolate or anything else you buy. He'd probably encourage people to not buy anything at all. That is, of course, if you live your life in the footsteps of a dead heretic.
If these children weren't making our chocolate for us they would just be getting into mischief like soaping windows or whatever they do in Africa to kill time ...
Soaping Windows?!?!?! How old are you?
Cut the BS, CNN. Name the brands that use chocolate from child slave labor to make their products.
ExLax. Try and remember that.
Someone wanted names, start with Hershey. I think some of you should do a little more study on slave labor,
and not come up with such curt answers about something you apparently know so little about.
Hehehe Hershey products don't even contain real chocolate. Most grocery store candy doesn't either.
At Equal Exchange we're proud to have been offering organic, Fair Trade chocolates since 2004. They're available online at http://shop.equalexchange.com/category.aspx?categoryID=21
Enjoy.
And at this link http://www.equalexchange.coop/farmer-partners you can read more about the small farmer cocoa & sugar co-operatives we work with across Latin America.
You'll want to click on the links to:
The Dominican Republic
Panama
Peru
& Paraguay
Rodney North
employee-owner
Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange chocolate is amazing – try it and there is no going back to something as bland as Hershey.
People who push Organic wares makes me want to buy MORE slave produce wares. keep up the good work!
I am nothing short of amazed by Mr. Gene Tanski's comments disparaging West African cocoa, and by implication, the 1.5 to 2 million farm families who grow 70 % of the world's cocoa there. To say that all cocoa coming from West Africa contains "slavery" is outrageous. Yes, there is poverty. Yes, there is lack of access to schooling and education for many children in rural communities. The answer is improved technology, education to improve growing practices, access to educational opportunities and improved farm family incomes. For a more realistic view of cocoa farming and development work to improve the lives of cocoa farm families readers can visit http://www.thestoryofchocolate.com or http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org. The World Cocoa Foundation, by the way, is an organization solely dedicated to improving the lot of cocoa communities around the world.
Susan,
The WCF doesn't promote fair-trade. Hershey, a founding partner of the WCF, refuses to certify its chocolate as Fair Trade. While the bliss-brand is rain forest certified, it does not ensure child labor is avoided. Tt certifies against using palm-oil and the related practices of that trade, but it does not really affect the cocoa harvesting situation in West Africa. Fair-trade seeks to have buyers pay above market prices for cocoa with the assurance that the supply is extracted ethically – this is akin to what Starbucks does with much of their Coffee bean supply.
WHile some children are undoubtedly contributing to their families sustenance and likely able-bodied to perform some more heavy labor tasks, there are many kids forced into this. Children are routinely kidnapped and placed to work on plantations. The kids suffer physical ailments more akin to people in middle age or older. At the same-time, the children are not in school and their potential to contribute and innovate is stifled.
Hate to get on my soap-box but there are many studies that back up all this information. Also check out the film "The Dark Side of Chocolate." Pretty eye-opening.
I agree with Susan Smith. What would not buying less expensive chocolate from Africa would accomplish? How would the people there make a living? What else can they do? Agriculture and farming is hard anywhere. Kids in America help their farmer parents, too. It is a hard life and I don't feel good when I ask these questions. Child labor is a 21 century plague. I know how lucky I am to raise my children in a country that protects our youth. Education, I think, is the only long term viable solution. People learn how to be more efficient, how to grow more using the newest science in the cocoa field. I can't see how buying organic, very expensive chocolate would help the Ivory Coast people.
I'm sick and tired of all this bleeding heart opportunist propaganda. I don't give a hoot of who built my ipad, stitched my sneakers, picked my cocoa, or mined my diamonds. Know why? Because we built our industry on the shoulders of workers and miners who were de facto, if not actual, slaves. That's how it works, that's the growing pains that the countries need to go through in order to develop. Alternative is for those kids to starve, and for those countries to forever remain in the middle ages, so when I buy cheap stuff from them, I expect a thank you.
I agree with you 100%. But don't complain when you get a 1% raise. That's so that you can learn to improve yourself through your menial labor, and if you don't learn from your crummy job and crummy pay that you should go back to school and get an advanced degree, it's your own fault. You should thank your bosses for whatever crumbs they throw you as an opportunity to learn and advance yourself. When you have a bad day at Wal-Mart, of whatever it is you do, I still expect you to thank me for giving you an opportunity to serve me. You should thank me for keeping you from starving. Now get back to work. Those shoppers won't greet themselves.
Your cynicism is heartening. Many people want to care, but if you had $5 to spend on chocolate would you buy 5 Hershey bars, or 2 organic truffles? I'd go for the truffles, but many cannot afford that luxery.
I feel sorry for you. You are such a souless piece of nothing. I trust in Karma so look out.
Wonder how you would feel if you were one of these kids? Ever put yourself in someone else's shoes?
...Political Correctness story. OH THOSE POOR ABUSED VEGETARIAN GAY ECOLOGICALLY-SUSTAINABLE PEOPLE WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!!! We caused all this ...WHITE GUILT ...WHITE GUILT ...WHITE GUILT ...WHITE GUILT ...WHITE GUILT ...
...(does anyone know a word that rhymes with 'Nicarauga'?)
Manaqua. The capitol of Nicaragua
See, American's did not invent slavery...we just imported it. Much more slavery in Africa then there ever was in America. So if blacks that want "slavery reparations" still have a chip on their shoulder 150+ years old they can just go back to Africa where there slavery is alive and well.
all u had to do was pick up a history book not sit here like a buffoon trying to correlate to nonsense.
Seriously, you need to educate yourself and not just rattle off some ignorant and completely misguided nonsense.
Maybe the pink slime company should mix in some of that chocolate. That would get the schools to put it back on their menus.
I can't trust tactics like this anymore! After learning how much money big oil companies such as Exxon and BP put into studies that support anthropogenic global warming theories, then they used that to increase the price of oil, what's to say the chocolate industry isn't using this to justify spiking the prices? How many products now hype "dark chocolate"? Who funded the studies (and the reporting) to state higher cocoa content is a good anti-oxidant? This is a age-old, tried and tested marketing strategy that works, and the hedge-funds are loving it! Create panic, make money.
Conspiracy much?
Oh Jesus, buying organic chocolate wont do sh!t. Grow up, liberals and realize slave labor will never go away, alright
That's a really productive and revolutionary way of thinking! Just don't do anything because "nothing will ever change" too bad for you women and people of color thought otherwise. Oh yeah and not to mention this country (I'm assuming your'e American) was founded on those very ideals! Oh.. wait..
This article gives me EVERY reason NOT to buy organic anymore.
So are we to ensure that the cocoa is truly slave-free? Try to remember how one is defined as a slave; what your definition is may be different from what a "so called organic farms call their workers/indentured servant
We will all agree that forced labor, especially by children, is an unacceptable practice that should be opposed with the goal of helping the victims. What this story lacks is any assurance that boycotting West African chocolate won't make matters worse by removing income from a very poor region. Working and eating is better than starving.
I WOULD RATHER EAT THE SLAVE CHOCOLATE
Slave chocolate is YUMMY. With every bite I take, I just imagine Toby getting whipped, and it's tastes that much better.
But nothing taste better than slave chocolate topped with the blood of the masters bludgeoned to death by their own slaves. Mm Mm... Sweet justice!
Children's tears make chocolate all the sweeter!
My first thought was surprise about slave labor being used in chocolate production. Had never even heard of this as an issue. My second thought was the same as yours–how does a boycott help those who are enslaved? The kids are still slaves, won't they just end up exploited doing something else? And then meanwhile, the region takes an economic hit that might make things worse. Other than soothing our own consciences, how does a boycott help?
Again, this is why civilization is a GOOD THING. Maybe there should be laws about this stuff? What if the US had a law that said you couldn't operate a business legally in the US if it used products made by slave labor? Sure some would find a way around it, but people find ways around murder it doesn't mean we need to legalize that. The truth is, with something as big as chocolate or ipads or or diamonds or whatever, just doing a drumbeat about "shopping smarter" won't change anything. Sometimes the law has to get involved, but on the same token, you can't let that be the sole instigator of change. It takes work on both ends.
Wait til they start telling us about jelly beans. Sigh.
Blood diamonds. Slavery free chocolate. Frankly I don't believe there is a natural raw resource on earth that is not exploited by someone.
Makes me wonder how many people posted responses on their IPhone, IPad or Mac. CNN ran an article a few weeks ago about the ridiculous working environments that create your favorite things. How soon we jump the train...
Yeah, but the horrible mac stories of Foxconn have proven to be false in some cases, and much more complex other cases than CNN and NPR initially reported.
Don't stop buying the chocolate it doesnt remove the need to work. All of you people that stopped buying clothes made by children have simply forced them to work in horrendous mines instead. Way to go!
Nothing wrong with a little hard work. It builds character!
That's a foolish statement that assumes that cocoa farms operate within a vacuum. They don't.
Farm owners will face a decision: suffer declines in sales or quit forcing that kid to work. Exploitative child labor is not imperative to farming and only happens when people think they can get away with it. Holding these folks responsible by not buying their slave wares means they can't get away with it and will have pressure to change.
Thank you Jason, for a voice of reason on this. Slavery is only permitted to exist in society because too many people are willing to look away.
I'm just going to eat white chocolate.
Who cares about African slaves anyway? They like it. Gimme some of that slave chocolate!!!!
I like knowing someone blood, sweat, and tears went into making my delicious chocolate. Knowing they put that kind of TLC into their product make it all the more tasty.
If this were really true, why is it just coming out now?? Why not in March or anytime in the past when there are no big candy holidays a few days away? Think about it. It's purely part of the slow political machine we are all being put through this year. The next holiday will bring some new atrocities we've never heard about either that effectively builds upon the last big issue, finding yet another way to make you feel even more guilty about living your life. Don't let your good natured sympathy make you fall prey to this kind of manipulation.
Yep. CNN sucks.
The CNN Freedom Project documentary on this came out in January, and it's an ongoing mission to end slavery: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/
They actually won a Peabody Award just today.
Did Peabody do that with the "Way Back" machine? Maybe we should ask Sherman.........
Because nobody eats chocolate for Valentine's Day or Christmas or Halloween or...
Unfortunately it is really true. I heard about it first from free the slaves, an organization dedicated to fighting modern day slavery. There are millions of people in modern day slavery meaning they are forced to work and not paid. The chocolate trade has lots of slaves. It's terribly sad. Free the slaves had video of some of them saying they have never even tasted chocolate. They work and are not paid and are treated horribly. It's disgusting and unfortunately very true. They printed the article now to get more attention for this issue.
How about going after the companies that use cocoa from these slave countries? If you make it harder for them to get their greedy corporate hands on cocoa from slavery then the average consumer who knows very little to nothing about this wont be subject to guilt like you're projecting in this article. We should be able to trust the companies we purchase from. Sh*t rolls downhill so start at the top if you want to put an end to stuff like this.
Wow this really a story..I want my chocolate made be slaves instead
Why do we always assume that this is a bad thing? lets quit holding other countries to OUR cultures standards. That picking cocoa job may support a family, and those families will be ticked off if we go and stick our grubby noses in their business. Lets worry about taking care of our own.
Slavery is a bad thing. No one wants to work and be treated terribly and on top of that not be paid anything. Are you seriously thinking there is a way to justify that and say it is OK? Don't care if you don't want to. I think you just don't want to feel guilty and want to not care by sticking your head in the sand.
Notice how fast "The Ivory Coast" became "West Africa"? Note the quote: "Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast" with *NO* reference to what percentage of production the Ivory Coast actually provides compared say, to their neighbor Ghana?
Ghana does not use slave labor, produces more cocoa than the Ivory Coast, and this writer would have us throw Ghana under the bus with this sloppy, poorly researched (or outright manipulative) story. So very quickly the poor slave children cause us to stop buying from *all* of West Africa??
One might suggest that those who want to take moral stands should research that which they are standing on to be sure that it will not collapse from under them and toss them on their face. Talk is cheap on the internet, and as a result everybode seems to be too lazy to check facts any more...including this writer.
+1
CNN writers don't care about facts, just sensational headlines. Research is for scientists and journalists, and CNN clearly doesn't employ any of those.
Good point. One fair trade chocolate company called Divine Chocolate uses cocoa from Ghana – all produced by fairly paid adults. PS, their chocolate lives up to its name.... it is truly divine.
I don't get it.
Christians created slavery.
So what if they buy this chocolate to celibate their risen christ?
Whats the point?
I don't get it...
What else are these kid's supposed to do?? Go off and starve like the other over breeders?
The more chocolate we buy the more they have to do and the longer they live – until mommy and daddy have 10 more kids..
BUY MORE SLAVERY CHOCOLATE!!!
Common get a grip people!!!
JPS, what a wonderful way to forget that in Africa, Africans were selling other Africans into slavery. They weren't Christian, and your anti-Christian bias is showing.
JPS,
You didn't get your history lessons (if any…). Here is mechanics of the trade. An ancient slavery was prevalent around the globe long before Christianity was born, a modern one was created by the Arab traders buying slaves from African tribe leaders who sold their own people and prisoners of the tribal wars. This business was eventually destroyed by the leading European (Christian…) powers – England and France, Then US lost hundreds of thousand Christian solders fighting the civil war to free the slaves. Disclosure – I'm not a Christian...
Regarding the article. CNN is irrelevant as a news outlet. It's a ministry of "soft" left-wing propaganda. Believe me, I've spent a half of my life in the USSR, and I can a smell the rat. This anti-Christian zeal (somehow I doubt their're going to object to any aspects of Islamic festivities...) is a hate crime. Chocolate is just a reason to lecture us, unwashed bruts, about high morality of the liberals, and low morality of underclass of the chocolate-eating ignoramuses. Hey, everybody here is commenting by typing on their laptops or tablets powered by lithium batteries. Do you know the source of lithium?.... And your jeans, shoes, etc... Made in USA? Right. Get real. Economics has no moral, as well as science, and infusing it with this sugary lib crap won't help anybody, including African children, Chinese iPad makers, etc.
Have a nice day.
Christians created slavery? Take a history course, they only continued what every ancient culture was already doing. Romans, Greeks and Egyptians all had slaves long before "Christianity" or the death of Christ.
In addition to your ridiculous comment, saying we should buy slavery chocolate to support "breeders" is like saying keep buying anything unethical because it doesn't matter. You taking the first step by not buying is what makes a small difference. Yes, it will take millions of people to stop buying, but your choice is the first step in the right direction.
So continue to buy your Wal-Mart products from China and have them double bag in plastic bags, eat your slave chocolate (I hope you choke on it) and wear your blood diamonds. It is you and your "I don't care" attitude that brought those other "ancient" civilizations to there knees and made them weak as they became slaves to their conquerors.
Duh! watch the most horrible slave movie this Sunday or next? with Charleston Heston and tell us who invented slavery, it was God!
Christians didn't create slavery. Slavery has been around forever in every race. And no, I'm not Christian. I'm atheist so this is not a biased opinion.
Who cares about the slaves... does not take place in this country anyway...
Plenty of trolls here, but having seen some of these selfish, thoughtless attitudes on other topics, I know some of these are real. People who spite others for pointing out their luxuries harm others, as if somehow the problem doesn't exist so long as they don't have to think about it. Do with this info what you will, but don't shoot the messengers because the facts they bring you put you off your clueless snacking. If you feel guilt, maybe that's because there's a bit of an intelligent, moral human being left in you.
The majority of organic chocolate bars taste like crap. If I wanted crap I'd consume carob chips. That's not because I prefer crappy chocolate – on the contrary I consume Norman Love and Bernard Callebaut – some of the most expensive chocolate out there. I don't care where their chocolate comes from, it's better than certified organic and rainforest bars. If theirs are then that's a plus...but I don't think they are.
Stand corrected – Callebaut is organic. Norman Love...gets his chocolate from five growing regions around the world so Iam guessing his chocolate is organic as well.
Whew ! Thanks Sandy. I was never going to be able to sleep tonight thinking that Callebaut chocolate might not be organic.......
Organic?? WTF?? As opposed to what inorganic chocolate? HAHAHAHA
BRAINWASHED!!
Without consumers willing to buy chocolate made by slaves there wouldn't be child slaves in the chocolate industry. What if it were you or yours forced to be slaves?
Oh ethical consumerism. The philosopher Slavoj Zizek talks about the liberal notion that if we buy more ethical products we become more ethical, which is of course absurd as the very nature of the capitalist system is one of selling and exploitation of a worker's labor for the benefit of the owner of capital. This is not to say that ethical consumerism is terrible persay, it is indeed a step in the right direction through fair trade wages and sustainable growing techniques, but American liberals should not fool themselves into thinking that ethical consumerism will save the world. Green, organic, fair trade are still just marketing ploys, the market system does not care about ethics.
A good YouTube video about the concept of ethical consumerism:
So's a guy like you willing to go on record as being pro-slavery? Seriously, the partisan smokescreen is really trite. Bash fair-trade all you like, this story is about slavery, not mere labor, bringing you a luxury item. Slavery. Child slavery. You cool with that? For a stupid candy bar?
Did you not read what I wrote? I said that ethical consumerism may be a step in the right direction, but as long as there is a market system where owners of capital exploit the labor of others there will always be slavery, so don't fool yourself by thinking ethical products will change a system which is by its very nature exploitative.
Actually, buying ethically made products WILL make a difference in how the system is run. As you pointed out, companies sell what people buy. They generally do not care about ethics, which is why people are being exploited. If people only buy ethical products, then that is what companies will sell. If the exploitation product is ignored in the market, it will disappear or reform.
It won't happen overnight, and it won't happen totally (there will always be somebody trying to take advantage of somebody else), but buying ethically on a large scale WILL sway the market. I can't imagine how you could argue otherwise. Partisanship again demonstrates itself to the antithesis of progress and civil well-being.
The point being that maybe we should think of a society not based in market/capitalist principles
Good luck! Part of my family is from China and survived The Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, etc in which the whole country was virtual a slave of Mao and during which many millions, probably 100 million or more died! So, I'm not too keen on these alternatives to capitalism ideas. In theory or on a small scale, yes, some can work. Kibbuts in Israel is an example. But humans are human and self interested and that isn't going to change. Human nature is not going to change. The horrors of what happened in the Soviet Union under Lenin and Stalin and in China under Mao and that are continuing in North Korea even now are something only someone totally naive about their history could hold up as an example of something better than capitalism.
Ok, I see your point now. I guess I don't really see why this story has people on soapboxes when simply checking a label once in a while is really all that's suggested. I don't think any great number of people are fooling themselves about being a part of some movement...but it does bother me that some people seem so determined to be anti about it.
Tell that to the children forced to work in the in the chocolate business as actual modern day slaves. Supply and demand. If people will not buy slave chocolate there won't be as much slavery. It's pretty offensive to actual slaves to compare workers who are paid and treated well to actual modern day slaves. Big difference. Yes, I can agree with improving workers conditions but not comparing people in some boring job with people who are actual slaves.
Those children who are forced to work as slaves are victims of the very same market system that liberals think can save them, which is an idiotic notion. You cannot cure the disease of slavery and labor exploitation simply through market forces, that is putting a band-aid on the cancer of capitalism. The failure of Leninist communism was the notion that simply through taking over the state that power could change, but instead a dictatorship of the party developed. Thus, the answer is not to simply destroy the very market system which allows for slavery and exploitation but smash the state that protects private property.
Chocolate has become quite expensive in the last few years while the quality has deteriorated. This is also true of so-called Fair Trade and organic chocolate. Chocolate is a commodity (like gold or oil) and is traded on the stock market. These markets are manipulated to increase profits. Human beings (including children) have always been exploited for gain or profit by the markets. Not just in Africa. I hesitate to use the word slave here because these are agrarian societies where children have always worked alongside their parents and that isn't always bad. The real issue is compensation. Are the children who harvest cocoa in West Africa sharing in the profits? I doubt it. I would be happy to buy chocolate that tastes good for a fair price and where the laborers are paid a fair wage, but as long as Wall Street has its hands in the kitty that isn't going to happen.
I feel like this is an ad for Hershey's Bliss. I buy Dove Promises and they already buy cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. The article makes no mention of this. Yes there are many brands out there and they couldn't mention all of them, but I was surprised that Dove Promises, a direct competitor to Hershey's Bliss is not mentioned. Mars is one of the largest chocolate brands out there.
Soylent Chocolate – It's people....PEOPLE !!!
How about we stop buying oil from countries that stone women to death for showing too much elbow? Oh wait too much money involved and CNN does not want to upset the corporate sponsors.
Good point!
buying oil from people who "stone their women" and also don't "force their women to work while giving birth to babies at the same time" is a good idea. because they use that money to buy back from us all those weapons of mass destruction that we manufacture here in America. So the money comes right back to us!!
Made in china after processed in Africa
- harvested by child labor in africa
- processed by low-wage labor in china
- sold by non-union min wage labor at walmarts
- enjoyed by high wage non-value adding pariahs (bankers, politicos etc) in america
Childrens tears makes chocolate taste sweeter. Thats why stolen Haloween candy is the sweetest.
If it wasn't morally reprehensible, I'd suggest that we track down all the people who say "Meh...enslaved children in Africa are no my concern, I'm American lol" and force them to live under slavery for a year. Enjoy being beaten, raped, and possibly killed. That's probably what it would take to teach you spoiled morons some empathy.
Masha, do you know I find to be morally reprehensible? The idea that if I buy an organic candy bar, then suddenly the lives of millions of child slaves will be that much better. Really? And how about the idea that if we all wear hoodies, then Trayvon Martin will be honored somehow. What disgusts me is that we distill serious issues into empty, nonsense statements and then adopt a smug attitude and pretend we're actually making a difference. Masha, you're a poser, just like most of the other people in the world. But it's disgusting when you pretend otherwise.
Maybe it's just enough that you think about not buying chocolate made by slaves once in a while. Seriously, this is hardly a left/right concept. Why is it that every time something comes up that involves utilizing a conscience, people talk about it like they're being forced to join an army?
What's wong hollywood? Someone drink your last Natty lite?
Hollywood, learn to read. See what she really meant when she said "morally reprehensible"? Geez, she was talking about enslaving morons like you for a year to show you what's it like being a slave.
I wonder if they ever really think about what they are doing. These people have found a way to make a living in a poor country. So now they want to take away the little bit of money they get, now that's real compassion for you. Meanwhile they sit back in their New York Penthouses munching away at organic chocolates which are probably made the same way.
But it's the human misery that makes the chocolate sweeter!
What is wrong with you ppl? It's that self-satisfied, callous attitude that makes the rest of the world look at us and shake their heads in disgust. 'Who cares about the poor slave kids as long as I get MY goodies, but then I'll throw it up and run around the block a hundred times 'cuz it's-OMG!!!-it's 100 CALORIES!!! And I don't want to get FAAAAT!!!' Sick, superficial idiots!
This how the 1% liberal rich spend their time and money and then pat each other on the back for caring more than other people.
They are never the ones that go to these places and get their hands dirty.
Hey, Kala, hate to break it to you but the 1% are not liberal. Liberals give away all of their money in taxes. The 1% are conservatives through-and-through. How else would they have become so successful?
By earning the money and not relying on the government for money
Someone with the name "hollywood" in the screen name is really stupid enough to think all 1%ers are conservatives?
Here's the problem Kala; chocolate is not a necessity. Maybe they are patting themselves on the back, or whatever, but the fact is you don't actually need to eat chocolate, so using that as an excuse to have slaves making it for you......is no excuse at all
Warren Buffet, Bill Gates, John Corzine, the Kennedys, Michael Moore, Nancy Pelosi, John Kerry, George Soros, and 75% of all actors/actresses are liberal.
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/walter-e-williams/2011/10/19/ever-notice-left-attack-wealthy-ceos-not-wealthy-liberal-celebrit
Saying the 1% are conservative/right-wing is willfully ignorant.
What about the slave-like treatment of the cows whose milk is used to make chocolate?
Oh, for Pete's sake. This is one of the stupidest things I've heard of in several days. This article just gives me another excuse to never buy anything WITH an organic label on it.
Yeah, pff, child slavery, what kind of stupid thing is THAT to talk about? And suggesting that people maybe think before they buy? Yeah, whatever Moonbats!
Self destruction for the sake of spite is the pinnacle of humanity.
Maybe a blood diamond for our anniversary this year as well.
LOL, look at the results... In a heartbeat 81.56%... what a BS.... this is the same people who made WalMart the #1 company in US... you people buy cheap Chinese crap rather than paying a little more to save American economy. Talk is cheap I guess.
There's a whole lotta things that you CAN'T buy any other place than from China.
Spoken like a true Union member.
I'll buy what I please from where I please, unless the government is stupid enough to ban it
which they tend to like doing
I just read this story and I've decided I don't give a flying F K. I will eat chocolate and use west african teams on Fifa12 while I eat it.How do you like them apples ? I would like them apples if they were dipped in chocolate.MMMMMM MMMM b!tc h.
Jesus! Not a single listing of what chocolate to buy that is slave free? Uhmm. I guess I'll have to stick with Hershey's since it wasn't mentioned that they used cocoa slaves. *shrugs* Great article, not.
They provided links, one of which has a list of companies that don't use slave labor, and Hersey's isn't on it.
Hershey's is a US based company they dont use slave labor ( its like illegal since the 13th amendment)
Yes, buy organic.Please give us $12 for an organic orange.It makes sense.Do It!!!!!
Did you know that every black person on earth is a victim and every white person on earth gets free cars,homes,money,and women feeding them grapes ? Yep.It's true.
Oh good grief, what are we supposed to worry about next? I make little enough as is. I will NEVER buy anything organic.
you don't need to eat chocolate....its not its one of the four basic food groups
It gives these kids jobs--otherwise they might starve. I was a PCV in Africa and know what I'm talking about.
Thank You... No one complains when child stars are acting?
Don't care. I mean genuinely feel-nothing don't care about this. No guilt, no remote interst in paying more. It's called the free market. Someone always has to be higher up the ladder, it's a waste of energy to foolishly assume otherwise. (Don't fight the one percent, work to join them – it will pay better in the end)
Do you buy stolen goods, too? They should be cheap.
I salute this fine attempt at trolling.
Maybe when they are done race baiting in Florida, both Reverend Al and Reverend Jesse will go bring "justice" to West Africa too. Hey Al, bring back a few Snickers Bars for me while you're at it....
CNN is the Colored News Network.They're also known as Crimes against caucasians Never News.
How is this article against caucasians? I don't get it.
Chocolate gives me the giggles and makes me attack my kitchen faucet with my mouth.I try to stay away from it.
Slave it up cuz I love my chocolate !!!!! It's funny cuz I could care less if little kids or Oomp-loompas make my candy... Have a nice day BCNN.... the B stands for Black cuz CNN is now Pro Jesse Jackson.... Hate Crime that CNN
Hey, the world is a sucky place for a lot of people. Sucks to be non-American. Oh well, too bad. Mmmmm....chocolate.
Maybe Obama can steal more of my paycheck to save the "chocolate slaves". Gosh I hope there aren't any "Pizza Slaves" out there in some god foresaken Third World country. Do slaves pick pizza too?
lets bring these jobs back to america!
I like this one!
I am not sure if I love the taste of cheap chocolate or the slave labor that is involved in making it.
I promise to never eat chocolate ever again if CNN agrees to admit they're an anti white news network who scours the country for black victim stories. They also must agree that they couldn't find a white on black story today so they decided to report on west Africa.Agreed ?
As a child I have seen child labors around where I grew up in Asia. If they won't work the family would go hungry. I would so same if my family was poor because I love my family. I agree forced labor is wrong.
Sad truth? Slavery and Prostitution have both existed since the dawn of mankind. I don't own any slaves, I don't use prostitutes, but I doubt there is a part of my life in this consumer lifestyle that does not enable slavery. It ain't going away by making a switch in chocolate either. You can buy a person for $2k in Bangladesh. Probably less in Africa. You can buy slaves in America today. You know which people are the biggest slave owners today? Africans. That is the truth too
Define slavery. Then we'll talk about price.
But I thought it was their tears that made the chocolate sweet and delicious?
@forcor
agreed. If you are pinching pennies to buy a bunch of crap, why not spend the same amount on good, fresh, organic. This is something I've been doing for the past year. Before, my grocery bill was about $100 for me. I was buying store brand, processed, etc. I now spend the same amount on fresh, organic and local foods and I'm certainly not starving and I'm much healthier. It's completely possible and all you need is to change your grocery list (and maybe your portion size from 'traditional American' [large] to normal [the size of your hand]) Like I said, I'm spending the same amount of money.
maybe it like everything else will be a race thing. maybe gay black people can harvest it. cant i even enjoy a friggin candy bar now!
As much as I would like to see this problem end, boycotting them won't fix this. Don't you think the local authorities should be the ones to stop this in their own back yard? It's simple. Knowing right from wrong is a universal language. Either Africa fixes their problem or this country should halt the import of all foreign products. It's all counterfeit or slave made anyway and we all know it.
I think America should focus on supporting Israel in attacking Iran, not helping the children in slavery.
Why would I want fair trade Chocolate for Easter? It is a religious holiday and slavery is condoned in the Bible.
Fair Trade chocolate, or other foods, are so well known, I don't see that this article really provides that much news. Overall, best to buy Fair Trade products. If it's more expensive, simply eat a bit less (that too has health benefits).
Great idea! I'll buy my sweetheart some slave labor free chocolate, plus a slave labor free IPhone, or better yet, some slave labor free chocolate made in China from slave labor free cocoa. I'll sleep so much better tonight.
I FOR ONE AM SO SICK OF THE NEWS MEDIA FINDING A WAY TO DRAG RACISM, SLAVERY AND EVERYTHING ELSE INTO EVERY STINKING SUBJECT THAT COMES UP.
The media didn't drag those children into slavery. I, for one, am glad to be made aware of the situation.
How about people getting A$$ Raped? Where are we on that?
almost done.
Yeah oh the outrage of exposing the effects of unlimited capitalistic greed. Really folks you expect dictators in Africa to get these rights issues done correctly when we cant even get healthcare reform for everyone in this country without the far right going apesh1t about it
You think people not getting free health care should be a HIGHER priority than ending slavery?
How much did the "Fair Trade" companies pay CNN to run this and/or how much influence did they have over this article? Life is hard and you can't always apply US standards to overseas labor. What is worse- a crummy job, or no job at all if the employer can't afford to hire more workers because of over-regulation and US paternalism?
This is such horribly wrong thinking! Talk about rich white privilege. If those children don't have a crop to pick, slave or not, they will starve. Boycotting the crop that helps them survive only means they'll be forced to find some other way to put food in their mouths. While you all debate about going to your corner confectioner so you won't be denied your favorite sweet, these kids just need to eat.
That's exactly what I was thinking. Better to make chocolate than be prostitutes. But, I certainly can't speak to the children. Sad situation regardless.
What, it is ok for them to be used as slaves as long as they are being fed? How can that be?
Don't be naive. The children involved in these processes are often desperate for a job and will do anything they can to provide for themselves and their families. It may be wrong, but not buying the chocolate made from the beans these kids pick won't change a thing. The worst part is that everyone knows that, but they still continue to whine about the poor slave children. It's like Bono complaining about aids in Africa and then going for a swim in his vast hoard of money. Boycotting easter candy will only make you feel better about yourself and hypocrisy will only get you so far.
The slave children don't get paid a thing. Boycotting slave chocolate and chocolate that isn't certified slave-free certainly will impact the industry if enough do it. It has helped in the sugar industry although there is still a long way to go there. Doing nothing, that is what doesn't help.
In other countries, these families are supported by all members of their familiy working and have been doing so for centuries. What we believe to be horrible working standards and conditions, other places may value that extra money and responsibility their family has taken on. Many of these "slave camps" actually conduct school during working hours and the children work side by side with their family. We as Americans are spoiled rotten. I don't necessarily support this kind of working atmosphere, but who are we to tell them how to run their lives? I see plenty of children in the liquor stores with their parents, kids wandering around stores while their parents work, and kids helping their parents in fields at your local farmers market.
You're not getting the point. They aren't talking about kids working to support their families. Not working for little wages, etc. They are sold to these people and work for nothing their entire lives until the farmers essentially work them to death. The next time you are biting into that cheap chocolate (which is not a real food, and we don't need it anyway) picture a small child, about 6 yrs old working 16 hrs a day picking those beans for you. If you can still eat the chocolate, go ahead, you have no heart anyway.
The story is about abject poverty and the use of child labor in West Africa. Nothing is forcing the child to stay and work except fear of starvation. Horrible yes, but not slavery. The proper solution isn't to refuse to buy their chocolate (putting these people out of business means unemployment and possible starvation for the laborers) its to find a way to make these economically backwards nations more prosperous. The writers of this article should be excoriated for their use such loaded terminology, abject poverty is a moral evil, but it was not caused by the owners of this plantation, they do not have the right to keep these laborers against their will nor harm their person. Go back to journalism school.
EXACTLY!
No, these children are in actual slavery. I think you might read more about it .
I pay for the good stuff from a local chocolate maker. She makes this dark chocolate with pieces of candied ginger and pistacchios in it that's blow your mind good. It's expensive but it's a treat, and I don't eat garbage like Hershey's. That's for little kids.
Wow! You a clearly a very special man. Thank you for sharing that with us.
Oh, shut up.
Haha you trolls are dripping with jealousy!
We really need prostitutes that are certified slavery free. Not only are they slaves, they are being raped. Sounds a bit more important than certifying a commodity product.
Their misery makes the chocolate taste that much sweeter. If anything, I'd pay more for cocoa that was harvested exclusively using slave labor.
It's great being a white, middle-class male living in the USA. Luxuries abound.
I had a suspicion I'd find a post like this down here.
Spoken like a true overprivileged, cracker.
Thank God you are not president, and your opinion doesnt matter. Dont think for a second you will always be in that position. I seen people like you fall way way down because of your attitude. KARMA!!!!
Ain't you just wonderful – you are ignorant!!!
My sympathies that you're only middle class. But, on the bright side, you are a sad, miserable person.
i'm sure you can all see the sarcasm dripping from his comment...dont be so quick to judge people.
"it will either be chocolate of dubious or unknown origin or none at all." Seems like it shouldn't even be a choice to me.
I honestly would pay a *bit* more to ensure it was slavery-free, but the problem is that in today's economy, with everyone pinching pennies, it's not always possible to spend the extra amount. My grocery bill has gone up by over 50% since last year this time, and I'm buying the same items as before or even going for the cheaper store-brand or generic options in a lot of cases. I'd love to be able to buy all organic veggies and fruits, meat raised on small organic and natural farms, and ethically-responsible food items, but financially we just can't. I do have a small garden and try to grow as much produce as possible, but it's very dependent on weather, which in our area isn't always cooperative (my 6 tomato plants yielded almost nothing last summer, etc.). If producers of items like chocolate can figure out how to bring the cost of their slavery-free chocolate within reach of the lower-middle-class consumer, I'll buy it. If not, sadly, it will either be chocolate of dubious or unknown origin or none at all.
dragonwife, I hear ya. My grocery bill has sky rocketed. What used to be a $100 / week is now more like $150. My grocery store used to sell a large bunch of parsley for $.99, and now it's $1.79. I hope something changes soon or I'm never going to be able to retire.
I also had the same problem with my tomatoes last summer. The ones that I did have didn't even ripen until mid September.
dragonwife, if you're that concerned about saving a few pennies here and there, then you should not be buying chocolate in the first place. It's called a LUXURY. And seriously, an organic bar is just a buck or two more than a Hershey bar. If you're eating any more chocolate than that per week, then you can't be that financially hard up in the first place. Buy slave-free and send a message to chocolate growers. Maybe they can rethink their business practices, so that children aren't slaving away just so you can have your little treat.
forcor, I am concerned about saving pennies, which is why chocolate, like other things formerly in my shopping cart, HAS become a rare luxury (I think my last chocolate bar, like my last bag of chips and other nonessentials, was at least 6 months ago). In my first sentence I stated that I'd be willing to spend a little more, but that "just a buck or two more" you mentioned is a large amount in comparison to what I'd get, and could buy an extra loaf of bread or gallon of milk. It's not just chocolate, either – it's the whole problem of buying groceries that are healthy, organic, produced by workers who are paid a fair wage, etc. I try to buy local and responsibly, but it's not always possible given financial constraints and the difficulty of determining which products really are the best in those respects. When I do have a little extra to buy my "little treat" as you so snidely called it, I do try to find the Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance notice. Instead of slapping down those of us who have to deal with the reality of a budget stretched to the limit, why not ponder that maybe we're doing the best we can under the circumstances. And by the way – are you absolutely sure that all your clothing isn't made in sweatshops, that all your electronics aren't produced by workers in unsafe conditions, all your cleaning products aren't tested on animals, and so on? If not, don't begrudge me my rare noncompliant chocolate bar.
Just to answer dragonwife1's questions... Most of my clothes are bought second hand, because I am poor too. (I routinely make less than $20K a year. My wife, even less. And we DON'T take any government handouts, thank you!) Things like underwear, which I buy new, I buy from American Apparel and other American-made, sweatshop-free firms. (Slowly moving away from Chinese-made shoes and into Italian-made shoes, one pair at a time. More expensive, but worth it in the long run.) And I definitely make sure all my cleaning products, shampoos, etc. are not tested on animals. (I'm married to a vegan, it comes with the territory!) In terms of electronics, unfortunately there appears to be no choice to buy hardware that is not made in Chinese or Southeast Asian factories. But there are lots of options for slave-free chocolate, no matter how much money you have. Which is the whole point of this article. It's gloomy to see so many people bending over backwards to defend child slavery to make luxuries (diamonds and gold included – and yep, our wedding rings are slavery-free too). But then, this is the Internet. Trolls abound. Plop any of these dumb anonymous "I don't care about some African slave boy!" yahoos in the Ivory Coast, show them what really goes on in these places, and watch their fat faces go silent.
Why don't you stick to things that are your business and SHUT THE F*** UP about those that aren't? In case you're wondering, how other people spend their money is one of the latter!
Isn't that what this entire thread is about? Chocolate IS a luxury, but us spoiled Americans (I am one) want everything. We're a society of fat, consuming, spoiled brats where even the poor people have cable TV, electricity, and at least one car. And beer and cigarettes.
Poor us! If how to buy chocolate is a concern to us then I'd say we've ALL got it pretty good compared to most other regions in the world.
Here's a wild idea: If you cannot sped the extra cents on slavery-free, murder-free, rape-free chocolate, then don't buy chocolate. You won't die. I promise. Yes, we're pinching our pennies. Some of us are pinching them more than others. Those of us who are *truly* struggling with the economy know that we occasionally have to sacrifice some luxuries. "This is all I can afford" is a bad excuse when your actions cost people their lives. Just don't buy it.
Amen
Hey guess what? I don't give a crap about some african slave boy. Life's tough. Not my problem.
You A-hole, hope they come for you in the middle of the night and put you on that job detail-you slave!
Glad there are people like you.
Agreed!