Child Labor: The Truth About Chocolate is Not so Sweet

The United States is the world's largest chocolate consumer, eating more than thirteen billion dollars worth of chocolate each year. Unfortunately, while large companies enjoy the massive profits, cacao farmers in the West African nation of the Ivory Coast, where forty percent of the entire world’s cocoa is produced, unjustly make a mere five percent of those profits. According to a fact sheet from TransFairUSA, the income for a small cocoa farm in the Ivory Coast ranges from a meager thirty to one hundred-and-ten dollars a year. These farmers are so poor that they have no choice but to resort to using child labor and in some cases, child slavery. An article from Democracy Now reports that “these child workers labor for long, punishing hours, using dangerous tools and facing frequent exposure to dangerous pesticides as they travel great distances in the grueling heat. Those who labor as slaves must also suffer frequent beatings and other cruel treatment.” This week I decided to join the discussion in two other blogs in hope of bringing more attention to this very important issue. My comments can be found here at Boycott Nestlé and here at Blogher.

Boycott Nestlé
Nestlé is the largest chocolate corporation in the world with over sixty-five billion dollars in annual sales. For this very reason it is absolutely deplorable that they do not currently engage in the Fair Trade of cocoa. I definitely agree with your statement: “for several years Nestlé has been claiming that social certification of its cocoa production is impossible. Yet, social certification exists for cocoa: it's called Fair Trade. Why can't Nestlé make a commitment to convert to Fair Trade?” They must be held accountable for their human rights violations and be pressured to convert to Fair Trade. This would guarantee a modest minimum price per pound of cocoa, an amount that Nestlé could definitely afford to pay, thus providing a fair pay to small farmers and an end to the practice of child labor and child slavery. Currently, as The International Labor Organization states, about a quarter of a million children between the ages of nine and twelve are working in these farms. For now, until Nestle takes responsibility for its cocoa supply chain I will only buy chocolate that has been Fair Trade Certified™

Blogher
Thank you for bringing some much needed attention to this little known issue. Unfortunately, M&Ms/Mars Inc. is not the only corporation buying from contractors that utilize child labor and child slavery at their cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast. Hershey’s and Nestlé are also engaged in this practice. It is unacceptable that these multi-billion dollar corporations do not currently take part in Fair Trade. The cocoa farmers are only making an average of about seventy dollars, annually! How are they supposed to survive this way? This is the reason why the children of the Ivory Coast are forced to spend their entire childhoods picking cocoa. I do not think that boycotting these corporations is too harsh. I am afraid that it may be the only way to get their attention. By buying products that are not Fair Trade certified we are supporting the exploitation of thousands and thousands of poor farmers and children. If consumers increase their demand for Fair Trade chocolate, the corporations will have no choice but to change their practices.

Slave Labor: Brazilian Slave Workers Produce Pig Iron Used In Our Cars

Nearly one million men, women and children work for little or no wages as forced laborers in Latin America. They are modern-day slaves that are lured from their impoverished towns by slave camp bosses promising high paying jobs. This is the case of many people working in the Amazon jungle of Brazil as slaves are forced into hard labor such as clearing trees, mining for gold and most importantly, making charcoal that will be used to make pig iron. According to an article in Observatorio Social, "the Brazilian Amazon produces the world's best pig iron," a key ingredient of steel that is used in the production of automobile parts. This steel then ends up in cars and trucks made in the United States by Ford, General Motors, Nissan and Toyota.

A 2006 news story by Bloomberg News reported that “in the past decade, Brazilian labor inspectors and prosecutors have freed hundreds of slaves working in degrading or inhumane conditions and without pay in charcoal camps that supply pig iron plants.” The slaves in these camps lived in small wooden shacks surrounded by miles and miles of jungle where they had no electricity, no toilets or any other kind of plumbing, no safety goggles, shoes, gloves or tools needed for work, and all drank unsanitary water that was filled with dust, tadpoles and insects. The slave camp bosses had lured them in with promises of jobs but then once there the workers were charged hundreds of dollars for food, transport, and clothing which was held as debt and then forced, sometimes by gunpoint, to be worked off. The lack of money, miles of dangerous jungle, a long distance from home, sometimes hundreds of miles, and intimidation, make it impossible for the hopeless slaves to leave.

After the investigation by Bloomberg News was released exposing these companies, Toyota Motor, the world’s second largest auto-manufacturer, did not join Ford Motors, DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and Honda when they announced plans to work together to train suppliers to avoid buying materials made by slaves. The Bloomberg findings reported that U.S Customs’ records showed that Toyota Tsusho America in New York, known as TAI, "was named as the importer of 13,699 metric tons of pig iron from Usina Siderurgica de Maraba SA or Usimar," a company that purchases its charcoal from Brazilian slave camps, on November 4th, just two days after the Bloomberg article was published.

Toyota continues to deny any wrong doing. In fact, Toyota Tsusho America Senior Vice President Mike Lavender said that to the best of TAI’s knowledge all Brazilian pig iron producers that TAI purchases from do not buy charcoal from slave camps because they have written assurances from their suppliers. The fact is that, as the Bloomberg article reports, it is well documented that Usimar had dropped out of a Brazilian association of pig iron producers that sponsors programs to combat slavery in charcoal camps. “It’s very clear that Toyota is in denial.” says Kevin Bales, president of Free the Slaves, the U.S. branch of the oldest human rights group in the world. “They’re being disingenuous. That just doesn’t wash. Just a hint of slavery in a supply chain is unacceptable” he added.

It is truly a disgrace when a large company, such as Toyota, simply looks the other way and ignores the inhumane practices of its suppliers just to make a bigger profit. The products of slave labor enter our economy because corporations like Toyota Motors do not ask their suppliers enough questions. It is irresponsible and these companies must be held accountable by consumers for their actions. Americans must be alerted to their practices. One would hope that most Americans would be appalled by this immoral behavior and discouraged from buying cars that were made from parts involving slave labor. Consumers need to be informed in order to make knowledgeable decisions when making purchases so that they can exert a certain amount of influence on companies’ behavior and policies. It is our moral duty to do so.