As acclaimed cartoonist John Q. Tullius said, "Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies."
As acclaimed cartoonist John Q. Tullius said, "Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies."
But have we ever spared a moment to think about where one of the world’s favourite treats comes from? Chocolate is made from cocoa. The Ivory Coast is the largest producer of cocoa, producing 43 percent of the world's supply. Child labourers are used on cocoa farms.
In the Ivory Coast alone, up to 200 000 children work on the cocoa farms. About 120 000 of these children are victims of human trafficking and child slavery. Instead of being given access to education they are forced to toil on the cocoa fields for up to 100 hours a week.
A director of the Save the Children Fund attests that:"Young children (some as young as 9 years old) are forced to carry 6 kg of cocoa sacks so heavy that they have wounds all over their shoulders." The story doesn’t end there.
The proceeds from the Ivory Coast's cocoa industry have been used to fuel the country’s civil wars. In 2002 the battle between the north and the south of the country was fought using profits largely gleaned from the sale of cocoa to the international market.
Maria Lopez, a campaigner for the international watchdog group Global Witness, said, “Over $118 million of the cocoa trade benefited both sides of the armed conflict in Cote d'Ivoire.” It is clear that the international trade of cocoa is subject to questionable dealings and that the monies involved in the transactions are not necessarily being used to benefit the very farmers and citizens who are responsible for its production.
So perhaps the next time you pop a piece of this delicious treat in your mouth, it’s worth asking yourself where it came from. Food for thought, no?
