Chocolate and Slavery

[teaberryblue]

I've been meaning to post about this, too. I read the first article in Good a few days ago, and have not been able to bring myself to eat commercial chocolate since. I knew that chocolate was problematic, but I didn't realize how problematic until I started reading more deeply.

Let's start demanding better of the people who produce our candy. No one's life should be destroyed for something so trivial as chocolate. Let's all keep this in our thoughts as Halloween approaches. It is definitely going to change my choices about what candies to buy. I don't think I can afford to buy fair trade chocolate to give away, but I will at very least avoid buying chocolate at all.

Originally posted by _samalander at Chocolate and Slavery

On a serious note: It's October and in a few days kids will be begging for candy at your door. Lets talk about chocolate.

Did you know that cocoa farmers engage in human trafficking and slave labor to make your chocolate bar? They do.

Did you know that TEN YEARS ago there was an international protocol passed requiring chocolate makers to work to end child slavery? There was, and people were too busy patting themselves on the back to enforce it, so nothing has changed.

Think a boycott will just hurt the people who make those 15 cents a day? You're missing the big picture.

Addicted to chocolate? Fine, here are the Fair-Trade companies that don't use slave labor.

Want to give money to supporting international labor rights? You can do that, too.

Want to learn about better candies to give out at Halloween? I have an app for that.