On July 1st, people all across our town will be going out of their way to buy more chocolate—a chocoholic’s dream, but it will be fairly-traded chocolate. This is the best way and the only way to eat your chocolate slave free.
July 1st is a very important day around the world.
It’s the day when the chocolate industry promised to make sure that no children were being used as slaves on cocoa farms.
It’s the day when we could eat a bar of our favourite chocolate such as a Mars, Kit Kat or Dairy Milk knowing that no child has been used in the harvesting of the cocoa beans that went to make the chocolate we love to eat.
Sadly there will be no celebrations on July 1st.
Industry has failed to keep its original promises.
Today, children as young as 12 are still being used as slaves on cocoa plantations. Here are the words of one child after being rescued from a farm. “I will tell you how I lost my arm. I tried to escape, but I could not. They caught me and tied me to a papaya tree and they beat me and broke my arm. I used to dream horrible dreams that they were beating me and about many other things: the hard work, my family …I still have these dreams today”.
Although the majority of farmers would not treat children in this way, there are some who do, and there are an estimated 12,000 children trafficked onto cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast into a life of slavery.
In our community, thousands of people are buying chocolate without knowing that these children are suffering for our sweet tooth to make fat profits for an industry that hasn’t delivered on its promises.
In 2001 they said they would certify that farms were slave free. Now they are saying that they are gathering data on some of the areas where cocoa is harvested.
This is not what they promised.
This is not good enough after 7 years of waiting for the freedom, safety and protection of these children.
We have to choose which chocolate bar to buy, at little cost to us when our chocolate is costing some children their lives.
We have to choose which chocolate bar to buy, little cost to us when our chocolate is costing some children their lives.
4 comments:
Did you know that slavery is not the biggest problem, it is a symptom. Third world debt is the cause. More children die because of it than any other cause.
Did you know that third world debt is not the cause, but first world lenders with another agenda?
But then did you know that events are so interconnected that you cannot point to a linear chain of cause and effect?
Did you know that greed exists in every heart and that not only are we all part of the problem, but we're all part of the solution?
I think you might be onto something there David! It seems like such a huge monster to tackle, i wish something could be done about it.
I like your last statement too!
Great blog Simon! And great comments David.
Watching the documentaries on chocolate slaves really impacted my life. No longer was I able to enjoy chocolate, without thinking "I have a choice to make here, I can choose justice, or I can choose greed". I'd like to say that 100% of the time I choose justice, but in all honesty, it's probably only about 90% of the time. If it makes a difference at all, then I guess that's a good thing. But I truly believe that if we are to change the world, we must start by changing ourselves...something I'm still working on! The battle continues...
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