In the week leading up to Halloween 2022 90 million pounds of chocolate will be sold in the US alone. The vast majority tied to child labor and slavery. Not only has the industry known of this for 21 years now, but they also promised to remedy this situation when they all signed the Harkin Engel Protocol in 2001. The first milestone was set for 2005. I founded Slave Free Chocolate.org just a few years after the 2005 milestone was horrifically missed and no one seemed to know anything about this situation. Chocolate is a treat; therefore, we the consumers have all the power to change this. Though we’ve caused a lot of flurries, the only news that isn’t fake is that the dial hasn’t moved in the right direction. Sadly, the last report sponsored by the US Department of Labor has the number of exploited children increasing. When Slave Free Chocolate was started the number was estimated at 800,000 it is now 1.6 million.
Before I delve deep into this State of Halloween Address, I feel I must first clarify what the activist community is referring to when talking about child labor in the cocoa sector. Especially in the developing world, it is normal to help your parents. This could be a part-time job after school or perhaps helping them with the corner market they own before and after school or having a big list of chores on the family farm after school and on the weekends. The operative word here is “school”. The children we are fighting for aren’t going to school as their parents can’t A. afford to send them, and B. can’t afford to replace that child with a paid adult laborer. These children fall under what the UN has defined as The Worst Forms of Child Labor. In the case of cocoa, these children aren’t going to school, don’t have access to medical care, work with toxic chemicals, and machetes that are illegal for children to use, and lift weights too heavy for their growing frames. Additionally, a percentage of these 1.6 million children are trafficked in from poorer countries like Burkina Faso and Mali. These children are coerced and trafficked with the hope of getting paid for their work and sending money home to help their families. This is not the case; they aren’t getting paid. They are slaves.
Why are there 1.6 million children illegally harvesting our cocoa? The simple answer is that the farmers haven’t received a price increase for their beans since the late 70s. In The Ivory Coast, they are reported to be making $.75 cents a day, and in Ghana just a bit over $1. This is less than 1/2 of what is considered the poverty line. Not only has this 21-year cycle of abject poverty resulted in horrific child labor problems, but there is also a large negative environmental impact as well. The planet has lost 90% of an important rainforest.
The question of why the industry hasn’t paid a living wage is the $64,000 question. True, dealing with governments in developing countries is plagued with challenges. But industrial cocoa is the biggest client of Ghana and The Ivory Coast. When you add to that, we are talking about a $100 Billion-dollar industry, it seems the power is there. The problem is that the intent isn’t. It must really boil down to profit over promises. Promises not only made to these children but to the world.
The industry has responded to consumer outrage with various initiatives and more promises while the goalposts continue to move into the future. Perhaps some of these initiatives could have merit but only if they are on top of paying the farmers a living wage. Without that, they are just marketing ploys to protect their brands. Even this week one chocolate company issued a report card, of course putting them on top. None of this is verified. It’s all a case of the fox guarding the hen house. I think you can safely claim that since the dial hasn’t been moved in the right direction, everything tried to date has failed.
One thing that I consider to be good news is that the generic claims of “sustainability” and “traceable” have started to run their course. Consumers are waking up to the fake news associated when they see either of these words on websites and/or packaging. Remember that everyone in this industry is monitoring themselves. “Traceable” is a verb, not a guarantee that good things are at the end of the line. Journalists of the UK’s Channel 4’s piece Cadbury Exposed followed Cadbury’s traceable line to a farm where no children were going to school and horrific cuts from machetes weren’t treated in a clinic. Why? The farmers couldn’t afford any of that. Of course, we all want everything to be “sustainable” but what does that really mean? Currently, the definitions are set by individual corporations. More of the fox guarding the hen house. There is good news in this regard. Consumers are getting wise to the emptiness of these claims and there is now an opportunity to introduce labeling that defines what “sustainable” means and how that product ranks.
Additional good news is that there are lawsuits filed that need our awareness of and support. International Rights Advocates is the place to immerse yourself with this information and ways you can help.
In the meantime, we need to keep pressuring the industrial chocolate companies to pay a living wage and open themselves up to independent auditing when they make their claims of doing all they can. Basically, fulfill the promises they not only made to these children but to the world.
For ways to get into action, visit slavefreechocolate.org. Have a Happy Halloween!
Ayn Riggs
Director
Slave Free Chocolate
Slavefreechocolate.org