For 20 years, Big Chocolate (Hershey’s, Mondelez, Mars, Nestlè to name a few) have done everything in their power to thwart legislation which almost happened in 2001. Now that rampant child labor including trafficking and horrific deforestation are still rampant in their industry, they can no longer claim that their tactics (or lack thereof) are working. The following is an excerpt from the 4th article written by Peter Whoriskey of the Washington Post Click on this link to take you to the full article.
Chocolate companies ask for a taste of government regulation
The announcement by Mars Wrigley, Mondelez and other companies is a departure from current reliance on voluntary measures.
By
Dec. 31, 2019 at 1:05 p.m. CST
Some of the world’s largest chocolate companies are acknowledging widespread child labor on cocoa farms and calling for regulations to discourage the practice, particularly in West Africa, the source of most of the global supply.
The announcement marks a significant departure from previous attempts to eradicate child labor that relied on voluntary measures, not legislation.
The companies’ statement also acknowledged that cocoa is a “major driver” of deforestation, an environmental abuse linked to global warming.