Is your chocolate someone's chains? - Two steps you can take to be the change

Let’s just start out by saying, I am absolutely in love with chocolate. It is not as much a love as coffee, but put them together and I am transported into another realm. Out of this worlds day to day grind and into a moment of ecstasy. It’s like heaven. A dreamy smooth piece of chocolate followed by the espresso’s contrasting yet complimentary flavor, mmm.
All that to say I am utterly shocked at what I have just learned. Until I heard about this I really had no idea what went on behind the scenes of my silky smooth chocolate treats. Over a third of the world’s cocoa comes from Cote D’Ivoire, West Africa where cocoa production uses child and forced labour (The Department of Labour 2009). In a investigation, “the BBC found evidence of human trafficking and child slave labour.” (BBC Panorama) Kids are literally being taken prisoner, not paid, and forced to work long cruel hours farming the delicious chocolate we enjoy.

There has been some legislation in the past trying to make its way in to put labels on chocolate saying ‘made slave free’, this has come to a halt with no real progress. I think legislation is a part of all of this. However, I think the most powerful force to stop these injustices is if all the consumers stopped demanding normal products, and only demand fair trade or traffic free chocolate, along with other products that cause injustice. The market is completely driven by supply and demand. Companies can only sell their product to the extent that it is demanded. Therefore, if we as consumers began demanding fair trade products businesses, in order to keep selling, would have to adapt to what the market market demand.

Steps you can personally take to stop this:

1. First of all, start buying fair-trade (www.fairtrade.co.uk) and www.transfairusa.org. I will definitely be looking for these symbols whenever I buy chocolate from now on. Though not a perfect system, fairtrade is a great step in the right direction. I literally will not be buying chocolate unless it’s marked fairtrade.

*I will post a follow up blog in the next few weeks with the best places and best chocolate to buy.


2. Learn More about it:
BBC did an entire documentary on this topic. It is incredibly informative.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/panorama/hi/front_page/newsid_8583000/8583499.stm


Thanks for taking the time to read this blog,

Justin
See how our company is doing out part to make a difference. - Our Cause

Photos:
Macro Photography - Cadbury Dark Chocolate

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