Why quit chocolate then? Because I know that child slavery is wrong, but do the chickens know? I know that it is wrong for children to be enslaved to work on cocoa farms, but do the institutions that buy their products from the farm know that it is wrong? It would appear that at least some of them do not.
Why chocolate and not some other fair trade issue? Well because fair trade in itself is a sticky issue. Due to a basic understanding of economic principles, I am not sure that want to quit buying products that are produced by employees who are not receiving a "fair" wage. Our concept of a "fair" wage is something of a western ideal, and I'm afraid that in our idealism we may hurt more than we help. Boycotting a product that manufacturers can buy cheap from a developing country because of low production cost(low wages) sounds like a good idea at first. But when that company sees a decline in profits it will not be those with the lowest production cost getting cut first, but those producers with higher cost(higher wages). Manufacturers will always buy their products at the lowest cost first. And let's say that the boycott is really successful and the company closes all together, then the very people we set out to help are left jobless and hoping another company can make use of their cheap labor.
What makes chocolate different? It is as simple as the distinction between child-slavery and child-labor? I am not opposed to children in developing countries working to support the basic needs of their family. I would have gladly done it to help mine. I am quite opposed to child slavery. There is nothing justifiable about the child abduction and forced labor that tears families apart.
Côte d’Ivoire(the Ivory Coast) produces 43% of the world’s chocolate, and is a region known for child slavery. An estimated 15,000 children are forced to work as slaves. Suffering economies demand cheap labor, leaving parents unable to support large families. Families are bribed to give up their children, promised that paychecks will be sent back, or the workers are simply kidnapped and trafficked to plantations. There the children are subject to horrible conditions, abuse, and punishment for any resistance. Those who manage to escape are shunned and must find work on their own, creating a new kind of orphan.
Who are the Chickens?(the companies responsible)The names might surprise you but here are some of the names of companies that knowing use chocolate produced by slave labor:
- Hershey’s
- M&M/Mars
- Nestlé
- Kraft
- Toblerone
- Hauser Chocolates
The sort of good news is that most companies have pledged to be slave free by 2020. The bad news is that until then the bottom line will remain more important than the lives of children. My hope is that I can one day freely pick up a chocolate bar without having to research it, but until then I will do my due diligence. I will still eat chocolate. I will just have to do my research before I purchase it and probably spend a little more to make sure I am not indirectly responsible for child slavery.
I believe child slavery is wrong, and this is how I begin to convince the chickens that it is wrong.
Convincing the chickens is no easy task, and which chickens I choose to address will be a direct result of my own convictions. It would be a bit overwhelming to be concerned with addressing all the world's social injustices myself. It is not that I should not become aware of all injustices, but rather that my energies are more effective when focused.
And in that is my recommendation. Take responsibility for addressing structural evil in the world by choosing something that weighs heavy on your heart, and focus your energies on that thing. Pick an injustice that makes you sad or mad, and do more than convince yourself that the problem is unjust. Work to convince the chickens!
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