Tag Archives: ethical supply chain

Slave Free Chocolate at Georgetown

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I just got back from doing a lecture at Georgetown U. as part of their Lecture Fund Series.  It went well and now that I have this speech and presentation, I am going on the road with it.  I also had a few meetings on capitol hill where I  met with Harkin’s office, Engel’s office and the head of Africa for the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

     Both Harkin’s office and Engel’s office clearly explained that as far as legislation, the public needs to push for the “No Slavery Here” stamp. Continue reading →

Nestlé and the Cynical Use of Certification via Jeff Ballinger

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This is a blog by Jeff Ballinger.  As the Fair Trade movement is the best thing we have to date to count on, it’s not without its problems like everything else.  Here is the article:

Nestlé and the Cynical Use of Certification; “Fair Trade” for Some Tiny Percentage Gives Reputational Boost By Jeff Ballinger

Do we debate Fairtrade (Ft) labeling and marketing in the U.S.?  No, not so much – at least not compared to Britain, where it is something of a blood sport (some links below).  It may be somewhat unfair to lump Ft in with Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), but that’s the direction in which I’m presently leaning – especially since I started researching issues related to TransFair USA’s imminent launch of a pilot factory standard for clothes. 

Nestlé strategy with Kit Kat – the largest-selling candy bar in the UK – is to spend less than a million dollars annually for a Ft premium to cocoa growers so that all KK’s sold in the UK + Ireland get the Ft logo.  This amount is less than 2% of the advertising budget for Nescafe/UK and, indeed, should be viewed as part of that advertising spending. 

Cocoa strategy, then, closely follows Nestlé behavior vis a vis sourcing ethical coffee (0.2% of total purchases).  Why bother?  There’s an opinion from Mike Brady, Campaigns and Networking Coordinator at Baby Milk Action here: “In evaluating Nestlé’s motives, we shouldn’t forget that the Chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathé, has said that Nestlé should only support charities if it will benefit his shareholders and the reasoning here [Kit Kat] will be the same.”  Many other relevant views expressed here in 2007 BBC magazine story: How fair is Fairtrade?

For comments on a fine opinion piece in the Guardian 10 days ago, see Andrew Chambers’ “Not So Fair Trade.” Just yesterday, Prof. Daniel Jaffee (Washington State University) cleared up what he saw as a misrepresentation of his position – very interesting (& includes this insight: “If TNCs such as Nestlé and Dole are allowed to dabble in fair trade at token proportions of their overall volume – without being held to firm minimum percentage levels and being forced to raise those volumes steadily over time -fair trade runs the risk of serving to sanitize the image of corporations with poor human rights records, of becoming a “fair-washing” device…”)

International Cocoa Initiative Statment in 2008

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Keep in mind that the missed milestones of 2005 were moved to 2008.  The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) is the NGO that was created to re-mediate the situation.  Although they’ve done a lot of work and set up a structure, they only have received enough funding to date to reach about 4% of whom they needed to.  Given that they are dependent on big candy for most of the funding, they’ve been put in a tight spot.  Here is their official statement they gave in 2008.

London, 1-2 April 2008     ICI Conference Recommendations    “Sharing Lessons Learned – Developing Ways Forward”    Introduction     The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) hosted child labour experts from across the globe at an event at the London School of Economics. The conference, “Sharing Lessons Learned – Developing Ways Forward”, focused on efforts to eliminate child labour in agriculture with a particular reference to the cocoa sectors of Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire. The participants included senior Government representatives of Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire, the cocoa trade, the chocolate industry, members of international agencies, civil society from producer and consumer countries, as well as internationally acknowledged experts on child labour.   The first day of discussion focused on lessons learned from the programmes underway and the efforts in different commodity producing countries, while the second day challenged the conference participants to set the agenda for future direction. After two days of intense discussion a number of themes emerged which, while not necessarily reflecting a consensus of all present, were the product of thorough debate, strongly support and, most importantly, recognised as critical to future success. On the morning after the full conference deliberations, a working group of participants, representing governments, industry, local and international NGOs, reviewed the conference outputs. Drawing on these outputs, this group identified the need for a compelling vision, along with key themes and concrete recommendations, for consideration by all those with an interest in the elimination of child labour and the sustainable future of the cocoa supply chain within Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire.  Outlined below are the key findings.     A Vision for cocoa   The elimination of child labour and the future of sustainable cocoa growing in Ghana and the Cote d’Ivoire must be based on thriving cocoa growing communities. This challenges us to work towards conditions that will support healthy, appealing and economically viable communities where children are safe and in school. Promoting the profitability of cocoa farms, using improved tools and methods, is the best way to ensure a sustainable supply of quality cocoa while at the same time encouraging investment in the farm, the family, the community and the future of their children.    ICI Conference Recommendations, 1-2 April 2008 Page 1 of 4 The conference participants recognise and agree these conditions are not widely met in the two countries at this time. To achieve this vision will require the leadership of these producer governments and effective collaboration with the cocoa industry, international agencies, civil society and other development partners over the long term to achieve this vision. The approach must ensure that children inform and influence their own future and that child labour is not displaced to other sectors.     Themes for action     Bearing in mind the many experiences and lessons learned to date, this conference suggests that there are compelling reasons for all parties to commit to a vision of thriving cocoa communities. The conference deliberations produced the following key themes that should be given serious consideration for individual and/or collective action.    • The governments of cocoa producing countries are central to providing the overall leadership and coordination of efforts for the development of cocoa regions. This places upon them the responsibility for providing appropriate plans, mechanisms for engagement and cooperation, appropriate data collection and transparent reporting, while remaining open to effective collaboration with others.  • The cocoa industry including local buyers, transporters and processors, manufacturers of cocoa based products, with the related trade and retail sector, bear a key part of the shared responsibility for the future of the cocoa supply chain. The industry should support the evolution of an efficient, transparent and sustainable cocoa supply chain that significantly contributes to the needs for a decent living for farmers and their families and actively supports efforts towards the elimination of child and forced labour. • Effective progress towards this vision can only be made by drawing on the expertise of the international development agencies and the unique role of civil society. In partnership with governments these organizations are vital to ensure that improvements in infrastructure and farm profitability are matched with social development. Civil society can ensure a real voice for farmers, communities and especially women and children in their own progress. • Underlying all development efforts and in particular the efforts to eliminate child labour, must be substantial investment in quality accessible education for all. Recognising that many positive lessons have been learned, there are innovative and cost effective solutions that need to be extended in support of the formal education system, to reach those children who are out of school and illiterate adults. The vision of thriving cocoa communities requires immediate action to improve education in the producing areas.     Concrete steps forward     To build on the energetic engagement at the conference and the themes recommended above, concrete action is needed. This conference did not aim to be prescriptive but encourages all, including those not represented, to consider these outputs, learn from the lessons shared and put into action those recommendations that fall within their field of responsibility and influence. The conference encouraged the proposal of actionable items which can stimulate both engagement and common commitment.  The actions below are in no way exhaustive but are drawn from those conference outputs where there was significant agreement and energy to move forward in the short to medium term. Those actions which are considered urgent are indicated.     ICI Conference Recommendations, 1-2 April 2008 Page 2 of 4 Producer government leadership & coordination:     • Urgent: Disseminate widely National Action Plans and ensure a regular national coordination mechanism that allows all partners to contribute to these plans, share information and build on lessons learned.  • Urgent: Engage fully with civil society as unique partners of government to support the national action plans especially at community level. • Urgent: Extend the regular cocoa sector studies envisioned under the “child labour certification” system currently being implemented, to drive effective policy, remediation and corrective action. • Urgent: Complete and disseminate the national lists of hazardous activities in compliance with ILO convention 182. Dissemination must be in forms that are easy to access by all. • Integrate the broader development needs in the cocoa sector, including specifically those of children, into national development plans and secure relevant concrete support from international agencies and development partners. • Establish a fully operating system of response and safe rehabilitation for identified cases of trafficking and exploitation.     Evolution of the supply chain:     • Urgent: Undertake a comprehensive review of the current knowledge that can support the development of a sustainable cocoa sector and ensure that this is widely disseminated. • Urgent: Increase the investment in relevant extension-services to ensure that smallholder cocoa farming is properly supported, including access to market information. • Urgent: Promote the organisation of cocoa farmers for collective action to enable them to work together for their common self interest and ensure a fair price.  • Develop and apply improved technology, methods and tools to raise productivity, improve quality and create proven replicable models for the future of profitable cocoa farming. • Improve the efficiency and transparency of the cocoa supply chain ensuring that the farmers are fully represented in such changes.     The role of international agencies and civil society:     • Urgent: Local civil society shall ensure that they effectively coordinate with national governments in their efforts to reach out to communities, promote equitable development with an emphasis on women and children. • Urgent: Actively incorporate key international agencies, including but not limited to ICCO, UNICEF, ILO, IOM, UNDP, World Bank into the national coordination structures. Their support of the efforts of Governments should be sought to promote broad development in the cocoa sector. • Urgent: Improve the identification and safe rehabilitation of trafficked and exploited children, with international agencies and civil society playing an active role under the leadership of government. • Increase significantly the outreach of programmes that foster and build-on the capacity of local civil society. These programmes must seek to create community level capacity to lead their own development and ensure that the child is at the centre of their development efforts. ICI Conference Recommendations, 1-2 April 2008 Page 3 of 4 • Incorporate lessons learned into existing programmes for effective action to create awareness of and combat child and forced labour. New programmes translate into concrete support of national action plans.     Investment in quality accessible education for all:      • Urgent: Incorporate the lessons learned in the provision of accessible quality education for all into the national action plans for development efforts in the cocoa regions. Lessons learned must specifically include the efforts needed to ensure all girls attend school. • Urgent: Develop appropriate education support programmes to ensure basic education can be provided in cocoa growing areas including those which are remote. • Expand significantly programmes that can effectively reach children who have dropped out of school, who have never attended school or who would better benefit from “life skills” based education. All such programmes should as much as possible aim to reintegrate children into and support the formal education system. • Launch innovative projects to provide appropriate and meaningful approaches to vocational education. Projects must aim to provide older children with real choices for a livelihood in their community or the means to eventually seek work beyond their community without making them vulnerable to exploitation.       ICI will produce a full conference report which will contain specific recommendations in all these thematic areas and further add to the areas of action for consideration.     

2008 Joint Statement for Harkin and Engel about the Protocol

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This is a great piece to get an understadning of where things stood 7 years after the initiation of the protocol.

Joint Statement from U.S. Senator Tom Harkin, Representative Eliot Engel and the Chocolate and Cocoa Industry on the Implementation of the Harkin-Engel Protocol

Protocol Drives Number of Achievements; Industry Outlines Next Steps

 

WASHINGTON, DC, USA (June 16, 2008) – In September 2001, industry representatives signed an agreement, today known as the “Harkin-Engel Protocol,” developed in partnership with U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and U.S. Representative Eliot Engel (D-NY).  The agreement laid out a series of steps aimed at eliminating the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor from cocoa growing in West Africa.  An unprecedented effort, the Protocol marked the first time that an entire industry stepped forward and worked with governments, civil society and other stakeholders to address the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor in its supply chain.

The development of a system of public certification is a key part of the Harkin-Engel Protocol. In an agreement made in 2005, the industry committed that by July 1, 2008, a public certification system would be in place that would cover 50% of the cocoa farming sector of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.  In fact, the data collection element of the certification process covering an area that produces at least 50% of the cocoa farming output in each country has been completed, and reports detailing the preliminary results of these surveys by the respective governments are expected to be released by July 1.  However, independent verification, which is critical to establishing the validity of the results of the government conducted surveys, partially funded by the industry, will not be fully completed until the end of the year.   This robust verification process, which is underway, will improve data collection to ensure accurate reporting of the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor and strengthen remediation efforts.

This certification process has been developed as a cooperative effort between the North American and European chocolate and cocoa industry together with their international affiliates and the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana.  These surveys, as part of the certification process, will eventually be representative of the entire cocoa sector, reporting the incidence of child and adult labor practices that are unacceptable.  This is not the same as product certification, whereby internationally recognized certifying organizations attest that particular products and their specific raw materials are produced according to labor practices that are confirmed by third party auditors.

The certification process being implemented will help governments, industry, and the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI), to focus their efforts toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor in the cocoa supply chain. Ideally, over time, subsequent surveys will indicate an improvement in the status of child and adult labor practices.

Since its signing, the Protocol has been a positive and important catalyst for change, driving a number of important achievements.  

Today, both the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana are working toward implementing detailed national plans of action, focused on child labor issues across all sectors of their economies, with dedicated senior level officials assigned to lead these ongoing efforts.  Both countries have invested in the implementation of certification, and will publicly post the results of their surveys.  In addition, each country has committed resources to address issues that are identified through the data collection / reporting process.  These efforts are to be acknowledged and applauded.

“I had a chance to see, first hand, the progress that is being made in Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire during a trip in January,” said Senator Tom Harkin.  “After that trip and meeting children who have already been affected by our work, I am more dedicated than ever to seeing through the commitments made by the industry and the national governments under the Protocol.  I am hopeful that the industry will redouble its efforts to increase its contributions to the ICI to effectively deal with remediation needs.”

Representative Eliot Engel added, “Since 2001, I have been firmly committed to working with the cocoa industry and the governments of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire to do everything we can to work in partnership to eliminate the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor. My trip to West Africa in January reaffirmed my commitment to this crucial process.”

 

“The certification process currently being undertaken is delivering an assessment of cocoa labor practices across ever-larger areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana,” said Larry Graham, President of the National Confectioners Association (NCA).  “Today, the ICI foundation is actively engaging communities to address labor issues and help children. And we have an ongoing, action-oriented partnership between industry, civil society and these governments, a partnership that will continue to drive change in the years ahead.”

The International Cocoa Initiative

The International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) was established in 2002, as called for under the Protocol.  A partnership among NGOs, trade unions, cocoa processors and major chocolate brands, the ICI is a unique initiative that combats the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor in cocoa farming.  To date, industry and individual companies have provided nearly $10 million in financial support for the ICI and its programs since its formation and will continue to support the foundation in the future. 

 

In 2008, the ICI is working in 104 communities in Côte d’Ivoire and 119 communities in Ghana. In 2006 – 2007 it organized 23 training sessions in Ghana and 17 in Côte d’Ivoire for government officials, local police, NGOs and media to sensitize participants with respect to child and adult labor practices.

 

“During my recent trip to Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, I was impressed by the work being done by the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI). The ICI is not only sensitizing communities about the hazards of child and forced adult labor, but is also working to promote the important role of quality education in childhood development,” said Representative Engel.

 

“But if we are to make real progress in eliminating the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor in the cocoa industry, I believe that the ICI must now substantially scale up its efforts in both Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. I look forward to working with all of the stakeholders to ensure that ICI efforts are deepened over the next year.”

 

 

Future Commitment:

 

Going forward, the chocolate and cocoa industry will continue to support efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor and forced adult labor on cocoa farms and to help cocoa farmers, their families and communities by continuing to work with the national governments to ensure that the certification process, including remediation and verification are fully implemented.   

 

“As an industry, we see this effort as a long-term commitment, one that reflects a shared responsibility for the cocoa farmers and their families at the start of our supply chain,” said David Zimmer, Secretary General of Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit & Confectionery Industries of the EU (CAOBISCO).  “It is not a commitment that expires with any one date but rather is an essential, ongoing part of how we conduct business.   While we focus on near-term milestones, they are in fact part of a longer, sustained effort that reflects our corporate citizenship in this and other areas.”

 

In the next 2-3 years, this long-term commitment will include the following:  

 

Industry will work with the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana to have a sector-wide independently verified certification process fully in place across each country’s cocoa-growing sector by the end of 2010.   

Industry will work closely with and assist the governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana as they target and coordinate remediation efforts, based on the results from the certification data reports.  

Companies will deepen their support for the ICI as the foundation expands to additional communities in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana; further strengthens government capacity at the national level, and educates key stakeholders in the cocoa supply chain on safe, responsible labor practices.  

“Looking ahead, there is still much work to do and our commitment will remain firm,” remarked Bill Guyton, president of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), an industry-supported organization that plays a leadership role in improving economic and social conditions for cocoa farming families.  “We will build upon the achievements within the Protocol framework, as well as upon our ongoing support for the economic and social development of cocoa farming communities, to make a better life for children and adults on cocoa farms.”

 

Chocolatework.com

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The following is how everything got started for Slave Free Chocolate.  When we took this cause on, this was pretty much the only information on the web aside for a Tulane report.  Although Chocolatework.com is no longer a live site there statement is very succinct.

The Problem Forced labor is a problem affecting the entire world. Human beings are considered an expendable commodity. Children are being used and discarded. The information presented here is an attempt to bring about awareness of this problem. Based on existing surveys, documents and reports, it brings to light disturbing facts that many choose to just ignore.

The following is not about opposition to the manufacturing of chocolate, the boycott of chocolate manufacturers; or even what brand of chocolate to buy. Nor is it about instilling guilt in chocolate consumers. It is about creating awareness of our need for responsible and ethical purchasing of the chocolate we consume by providing information on which to base a decision. We are each bound by the consciousness of all and have a moral obligation to participate in the ending of such matters. Chocolate and slavery. You decide.  You act. 

The Politics In June of 2001 the US House of Representatives voted to consider a labeling system to assure consumers that slave labor was not used in the production of their chocolate. The US chocolate industry responded with an intense lobbying effort to ward off legislation that would require “slave free” labels on their products. The Chocolate Manufacturers Association hired two former Senate majority leaders, Bob Dole and George Mitchell, to lobby lawmakers against the labeling requirement.

The US Chocolate Manufacturers Association maintained that a “slave free” label would hurt the people in West Africa by leading to a boycott of all West African cocoa, and therefore, not contribute to the abolition of slavery in that part of the world. It was said that chocolate producers could not say absolutely that none of its chocolate was produced by slave labor because beans picked by free workers were mixed in with those produced by slaves. The chocolate companies maintained that they were not responsible for the slavery in Africa because they have no control over the cocoa farms. The US chocolate industry is heavily consolidated, with two firms controlling approximately two-thirds of a multi-billion dollar chocolate market.

After media articles, and with imminent federal regulation looming, the chocolate industry finally agreed to take action in 2001. In November 2001 the US chocolate industry released a Protocol and Joint Statement outlining their plans to work toward eliminating child labor and forced labor in cocoa-producing countries, particularly West Africa.

The “Harkin-Engel” Protocol, facilitated by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), and Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), aimed for the worst forms of child labor to be eliminated by 2005. It was signed by the Chocolate Manufacturers Association, the World Cocoa Foundation, Hershey’s, M&M Mars, Nestle, and World’s Finest Chocolate. It was also signed by Blommer’s Chocolate, Guittard Chocolate, Barry Callebaut and Archer Daniels Midland. The Protocol was then endorsed by the Cote d’Ivoire government, the child labor office of the International Labor Organization, Free the Slaves, the Child Labor Coalition, the International Cocoa Organization and the National Consumer League.

The “Harkin-Engel” Protocol commits the chocolate industry to work with the non-governmental organizations to monitor and remedy abusive forms of child labor in the growing and processing of cocoa beans. It has been said that this Protocol does not force the industry to change enough and that It addresses only the symptoms of child slavery,  not the causes, which include the pricing system for cocoa. Without such a system, there is now way to ensure that abusive child labor on cocoa farms will cease permanently.

The protocol has been criticized by such groups as the International Labor Rights Fund, which has said the Protocol “is inadequate alone to address the complex problem of child labor in the cocoa sector effectively. It has resulted in a privatized mechanism without binding and enforceable rights.”  Other critics have pointed out that the Protocol does not forbid the use of slavery in general, only the enslavement of children. The industry could effectively abide by the Protocol and still use cocoa produced with slave labor.

Shortly after the protocol was signed, the Child Labor Coalition, released a statement acknowledging the industry’s initiative but suggested that the industry commit to ending exploitative labor practices on cocoa farms all over the world, not just in West Africa but also in Indonesia and Brazil, where it is also reported to exist.

The U.S. government could simply enforce existing federal laws against the importation of products made with forced labor, such as Section 307 of The Tariff Act of 1930, which mandates that the U.S. Customs Service refuse entry to any product made “in whole or in part” by forced or indentured labor. Section 307 excludes from entry into the commerce of the United States any goods that it has reason to believe were mined, produced, or manufactured with forced or indentured child labor in a foreign country

Additionally, President Bill Clinton’s Executive Order No. 13126 in 1999 prohibited federal agencies from buying products made by enslaved children, yet the original list did not include cocoa. If it had, the Department of Defense would be obliged to stop spending $1.6 million per year for the chocolate included in soldiers’ ready-to-eat meals. The Department of Labor announced that it is “currently reviewing submissions of information received from the public on the use of forced or indentured child labor by the cocoa industry in Cote d’Ivoire,” and is considering including cocoa on a future list of banned items under the Executive Order. There are international laws as well; we already have a protocol addressing child slavery. It is called the UN Convention on Children’s Rights.

The Causes According to the Cote d’Ivoire Prime Minister, multinational chocolate manufacturers have encouraged more and more developing nations to grow cocoa, forcing down the price and driving cocoa farmers to take desperate measures just to save their land. He told chocolate manufacturers that they would have to pay about 10 times as much for cocoa as they currently do if they want to end the use of forced labor in cocoa production. West Africa produces over 67% of the world’s crop of cocoa beans. The Cote d’Ivoire grows 43% of the total world cocoa crop, where there are over 600,000 cocoa farms. Two-thirds of cocoa produced worldwide is thought to be grown by small holders. The economies of the West African governments depend on cocoa. Nearly 40% of the population of the Cote d’Ivoire is involved in cocoa farming, and 40% of the total earnings exported from the Cote d’Ivoire come from cocoa.

At the time the Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed, cocoa prices were at an all-time low. The Cote d’Ivoire’s government-run board had been protecting the country’s farmers since 1955 by setting a minimum price at which they’d export their product, but this government regulation was privatized in 1999. The resulting fall of cocoa prices in 1999 and 2000 greatly increased rural poverty and led to the cutting of salaries, a reduction in government spending for healthcare, and, according to a report by the International Labor Rights Fund, to “the widespread use of cheap child labor.”

Farmers with no concept of world market prices, free trade or commodities brokers were left to fend for themselves. Working mostly in isolation on their small family farms spread throughout the country, the farmers did not, and still do not, have the means to communicate among themselves about the prices they’re getting for their cocoa. They operate at the mercy of buyers, who pay cash and haul away their cocoa beans; the farmers being unable to afford trucks themselves

One half of the world’s 52 Highly Indebted Poor Countries have a high incidence of workers laboring under slave conditions. Debt repayments are taking money away from basic services such as health care and education. The US State Department and the International Labor Organization reported child slavery on Cote d’Ivoire cocoa farms. Research by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture indicated that though child slavery is limited, other abusive forms of child labor are unfortunately widespread. Hundreds of thousands of children work in dangerous tasks on cocoa farms. At least 12,000 child cocoa workers have come to their present situation through trafficking. The same investigation identified poverty as the cause.

Producer income remains low because there have been no steps taken to ensure stable and sufficient prices for cocoa producers. World cocoa prices fluctuate substantially and have been well below production costs in the last decade. Though cocoa prices have shown moderate increases in the past few years, cocoa producers remain mired in debt accumulated when prices were below production costs. Typically, producers also get only half the world price, as they must use the exploitative middlemen to sell their crop. Low payments made to the plantation owners contribute to the slave conditions.

Though poverty still remains the cause, civil war in Cote d’Ivoire has further served to disrupted the project to eradicate slave labor as well as reduce the supply and force up the world price of cocoa. But farmers have not benefited from the higher prices, as many are not able to get their product to port. Groups like Global Exchange, Save the Children and the International Labor Rights Fund insist that without minimum pricing to ensure a steady income, farmers are not likely to make major changes in pay and labor practices on their farms.

So in the end poor countries are crippled by debt and their people denied the basic necessities of life and are forced to suffer. We in the rest of the world enjoy the fruits (literally) of their labor. Consumers and companies look for bargains and don’t stop to ask why they are so cheap. By always looking for the best deal, we may be choosing slave-made products without knowing it.

It is said that poverty is the source of slavery.  The source of course is other human beings but poverty is certainly a contributing factor in the justification of slavery mind set.  Slavery itself is the source of poverty.  Those who exist in a world without the opportunity for education, health care, physical and social development and a sense of hope or of future will indeed become the next generation to fulfill the unrelenting human tradition and ritual of slavery.  And so it perpetuates.

Alternatives Outside the Cote d’Ivoire, there are some farmers who are guaranteed a minimum price for their cocoa. They belong to Fair Trade Certified producer groups. These are collectives made up of democratically managed farms. There are 20 collectives in nine countries: Ghana, Cameroon, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Belize and Peru, representing thousands of farmers.

Chocolate manufacturers and importers who buy Fair Trade cocoa sign a contract with the Fairtrade Labeling Organizations International committing to pay the co-op farmers the Fair Trade price, the world market price plus a premium, that guarantees a living wage and extra money to go back into the co-op community. The process is designed to be transparent, and the right is reserved to inspect tracking and product documentation. Farms are inspected once each year and abusive labor practices are not tolerated.

Fair Trade Certified licensees produce only a small amount of the chocolate compared to that produced by major manufacturers. Some companies choose not to buy from West Africa at all, believing that any cocoa from that part of the world may involve forced labor. Because organic farms are subject to an independent monitoring system that checks labor practices, organic chocolate is also considered slave free.

The amount of cocoa purchased by these companies is too small to take the place of the total amount of cocoa produced worldwide. Only a small percentage of cocoa farmed by Fair Trade Certified collectives is sold at the Fair Trade price.   Observations The following data is presented to illustrate the extent and degree to which this problem has been documented and is accepted as standard business practice. And not, as in the minds of some, a problem that does not exist. As human nature serves to confirm; the farmers themselves may not even be aware that they are supporting slavery; with the earnings of a small cocoa farm far less than the wages owed the workers. Forced or indentured labor is slavery. We fought a war over this. Remember?

There are over 27 million slaves in the world today.  Of them over 9 million are children.  At least 179 million children are exploited by hazardous work; 246 million children aged 5-17 are child laborers.  Between 2000 and 2004 the number of slaves worldwide decreased worldwide by 11% while during the same period the number of people used as slaves in Africa increased by 49%.

Mali * Thousands of Malian children were trafficked and sold into indentured servitude on Cote d’Ivoire plantations. In September 1998, a private Abidjan daily newspaper exposed the widespread practice of importing and indenturing Malian boys for field work on Ivorian plantations under abusive conditions. Mali was not the only source of forced child labor used in the country. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 1999, 25 February 2000)

Benin * Children from Benin have been taken to Nigeria, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Gabon. There they are sold into servitude in agriculture, as domestics, or as prostitutes. (US Dept of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 1999, 25 February 2000)

reliefweb map

Cameroon * Children are trafficked from and through Cameroon to other West African countries for indentured or domestic servitude, farm labor, and sexual exploitation. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001)

Togo * Togolese citizens are trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire, Gabon, Nigeria, the Middle East (specifically Saudi Arabia and Kuwait), and Europe (primarily France and Germany) for indentured or domestic servitude, farm labor, and sexual exploitation. (US Dept. of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, July 12, 2001.)

The Profession The chocolate manufacturers claim that they were not aware of the human issues of cocoa production until the late 1990’s. Yet in 1994 I personally was informed by the representative of a premium Swiss chocolate manufacturer that, they, being aware of abusive labor practices for some time and sensing a moral burden, had made the ethical decision to use only free market cocoa in their chocolate production.

As poverty has been found to be the major underlying contributor to slavery, the present conditions serve to further aggravate the situation. Poverty is not just a conceptualized figure cowering under the cloak of an admonishing literary holiday specter, it is a very real problem affecting the daily survival of people all over a world where despair and desperation dictate the circumstances. In the instance of chocolate the solutions seem eminently achievable. However, as is often the case, the truth is easy to see, living it, altogether different.

Activist organizations have trumpeted the cause against slavery in cocoa production for many years; and still it continues. Representatives from major chocolate companies have personally told me that the problem does not exist. Others acknowledge that it does exist, but that it is not their problem and respond in irritated disgust that the issue just intrudes into their business. How unfair.

Similar responses have come from professional chefs and pastry chefs. Sometimes derived out of a conflicted deference to a favored purveyor relationship, often because of the price that they are willing to pay and sadly on occasion, because they simply don’t care. Or upon the sobering realization that they are in fact using slave grown cocoa and have absolutely no intention of making a commitment to the contrary; they then become defensive or revert to deluded denial. It seems we are often willing to go to far greater lengths to avoid what makes us uncomfortable than to do what is responsible. The putting aside of superficial self-interest is implicit in any decision for the benefit of others.

Ironically, it is professional chefs who perhaps have the greatest opportunity to affect change. Particularly the pastry chefs among them, who have the greatest vested interest in the use of chocolate, and now incidentally, enjoy great celebrity from the use of chocolate. In that celebrity lays a conflict. The conflict arising out of the sponsorship provided by the chocolate manufacturers and distributors of the activities and towering arcane displays for fellow chefs and admirers that gained them their newfound celebrity. How does one navigate the fine line between survival in that world and moral obligation? There is a name for that. It is called personal conviction.

If chefs can summon the fortitude to sign declarations of their convictions and parade them down the thoroughfare and in the press, proclaiming their commitment for or against: preferred vendor relationships, organic produce, dolphin free tuna, beer fed hand massaged cattle, 99% cocoa mass chocolate, genetically engineered salmon, and the artificially enlarged livers of geese and ducks; it stands to reason that they are capable of showing the same commitment and passion for other human beings.

When professional chefs decide that it is important enough to them, whether due to their personal value set or because it eventually becomes politically desirable; that is when change for the greater good will be effected in the food service industry.

Things You Can Do Learn more. Educate yourself regarding this issue.

Write a letter to the chocolate companies; to the company that you buy from, and ask them what they have done to ensure that proper ethical practices are in place in their companies. This includes ensuring that farmers in poor countries get a fair price for their cocoa beans. If in the profession, let your vendor know of your intention to use only chocolate derived from free market cocoa. Chefs are known for their affinity for proclaiming their amount of time spent, and the pleasure they derive from sourcing food. Spend the time to source free market chocolate and let your peers know of your efforts. Then, espouse your convictions to the press that you so longingly seek. If you are a chocolate aficionado, you will find links on this site to organizations that refer you to companies that offer retail size portions of chocolate. Professional chefs and vendors will find links to bulk suppliers.

Make other people aware of this situation.

As a consumer of chocolate, and knowing these facts about chocolate, slavery and debt, I am personally challenged to question the use of chocolate which may be contributing to the enslavement and abuse of other human beings. I am therefore compelled to communicate with chocolate companies to inform them of my concerns and to request their action for the ethical and responsible production of chocolate derived from fair market cocoa. Ultimately this is achieved in the open market through what brand of chocolate I choose to purchase. I invite you to do the same.

In Conclusion Circumspectus Orbit. Look around you. If you accept that which you are aware is intrinsically wrong and have influence over, have you not contributed to its existence? You are what you do. You do what you know. Your heart is in your mind. Willful blindness will not buy divine absolution. That which is ignored will not cease to exist.  Closing ones eyes serves only to feed the rabid, gaping maw of indifferent, self-serving greed, the continued existence of harsh injustice and the exponential growth of dehumanizing inequality; and in the process, …..makes us, responsible accomplices.