Children in cocoa production

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Boy collecting cocoa after beans have dried

The widespread use of children in cocoa production is controversial not only because of the usual concerns about child labor and exploitation, but also because up to 12,000 of the 200,000 children working in Ivory Coast, the world's biggest producer of cocoa,[1] may be victims of human trafficking or slavery.[2] Most attention on this subject has focused on West Africa, which collectively supplies 69% of the world's cocoa,[3] and Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) in particular, which supplies 35% of the world's cocoa.[3] Thirty percent of children under age 15 in sub-Saharan Africa are child laborers, mostly in agricultural activities including cocoa farming.[4] It is estimated that more than 1.8 million children in West Africa are involved in growing cocoa. [5] The major chocolate producers such as Nestle buy cocoa at commodities exchanges where Ivorian cocoa is mixed with other cocoa.[6]

Contents

[edit] Production and consumption statistics

Cocoa bean output in 2005

In the 2008–2009 growing year (which runs October through September[7]), there were 3.54 million tonnes of cocoa beans produced.[3] African nations produced 2.45 million tonnes (69%), Asia and Oceania 0.61 million tonnes (17%) and the Americas 0.48 million tonnes (14%).[3] Two African nations, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, produce more than half of the world's cocoa, with 1.23 and 0.73 million tonnes respectively (35% and 21%, respectively).[3]

Different metrics used for chocolate consumption. The Netherlands has the highest monetary amount of cocoa bean imports (US$2.1 billion); it is also one of the main ports into Europe.[3] The United States has highest amount of cocoa powder imports ($220 million); the US has a large amount of cocoa complementary products.[3] The United Kingdom has the highest amount of retail chocolate ($1.3 billion) and is one of the biggest chocolate consumption per capita markets.[3]

[edit] Cocoa harvest and processing

Main articles: Cocoa harvesting and Cocoa processing
Cocoa pods in various stages of ripening

Cocoa trees are treated with pesticides and fungicides. Cocoa harvest is not restricted to one period per year and occurs over a period of several months to the whole year. Pods are harvested at multiple times during the harvest season because they do not all ripen at once. Pod ripening is judged by pod color, and ripe pods are harvested from the trunk and branches of the cocoa tree with a curved knife on a long pole. The pods are opened and wet beans are removed. Wet beans are transported to a facility so they can be fermented and dried.

Many of these tasks could be hazardous when performed by children. Mixing and applying chemicals can be hazardous due to pesticide contamination,[8][9] especially because no protective clothing is worn during application.[10] Clearing vegetation and harvesting pods can be hazardous because these tasks are often done using machetes, which can cause lacerations.[8] This skill is part of normal development in children 15 to 17 years old, but is a higher risk in younger children.[10] Many have wounds on their legs where they have cut themselves.[11] Transport of the wet beans can also be hazardous due to long transport distances and heavy loads; hernias and physical injuries can occur.[10][9] Mali's Save the Children Fund director described "young children carrying 6 kilograms (13 lb) of cocoa sacks so heavy that they have wounds all over their shoulders."[12]

[edit] Studies and reports

In 1998, UNICEF reported that Ivory Coast farmers use enslaved children — many from surrounding countries.[13] In 2000, the BBC produced a documentary that described child slavery on commercial cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast.[2][14] Malian migrant workers work have long worked on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast.[15] but in 2000 cocoa prices had dropped to a 10-year low and some farmers stopped paying their employees.[15] The Malian counsel had to rescue some boys who had not been paid for five years and who were beaten if they tried to run away.[15] Malian officials believed that 15,000 children, some as young as 11 years old, were working in the Ivory Coast in 2001.[12] These children were often from poor families or the slums and were sold for "just a few dollars" to work in other countries.[12] Parents were told the children would find work and send money home, but once the children left home, they often worked in conditions resembling slavery.[2] In 2002, the Ivory Coast had 12,000 children with no relatives nearby, which suggested they were trafficked.[2]

The blame for the slavery in cocoa production is passed from one group to the next. Those who sell the children to the farmers claim they do not see the slavery.[13] The Ivory Coast government accuses foreigners of using and selling slaves.[13] Farmers who buy slaves blame the worldwide cost of cocoa.[13] The cocoa suppliers claim they cannot manage what happens on the farms.[13] Chocolate companies state that the suppliers need to give them cocoa that was not produced by slaves.[13] Consumers do not know that their chocolate was produced using slave labor.[13]

The Ivory Coast government blamed multinational chocolate companies for cocoa keeping prices low and farmers in poverty; it claimed the low prices forced some farmers to use slave labor.[1] The Ivorian prime minister, Pascal Affi N'Guessan, said the price would need to need to increase 10 times to ensure a good quality of life for the farmers and their families.[1]

In 2001, due to pressure applied by the US Congress and potential US and UK boycotts,[2] the chocolate manufacturers promised to start eliminating forced child labor.[11]

Surveys were conducted by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture on the prevalence of child labor in the cocoa industry, and the results were published in 2002.[2] They found 284,000 children working in hazardous conditions in West Africa.[2] The survey found 153,000 children applied pesticides without protective equipment, others picked pods and opened them to get the beans; 64% of the children were younger than 14 and 40% of the children were girls.[2] Children often began working at 6 am, worked 12-hour days and were beaten regularly.[2]

Child laborers are less likely to attend school. They are kept out of school because families need their help on the farms.[11] In the Ivory Coast, 34% of children on cocoa farms attended school compared to 64% of children who did not work on farms.[2] Only 33% of children from immigrant cocoa workers attended school, while 71% of the local children attended school.[2]

 This article is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this article to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (June 2010)
  • The 2001 report "A Taste of Slavery: How Your Chocolate May be Tainted" won a George Polk Award. It claimed that traffickers promise paid work, housing, and education to children who are forced to labour and undergo severe abuse, that some children are held forcibly on farms and work up to 100 hours per week, and that attempted escapees are beaten. It quoted a former slave: "The beatings were a part of my life" and "when you didn't hurry, you were beaten."[13][16][17][18][19][20]
  • Many Ivory Coast cocoa plantations use forced labor.[21] A ship was found near West Africa allegedly carrying child slaves.[21]
  • The Chocolate Manufacturers Association acknowledged that slaves harvested some cocoa.[20]
  • S. Chanthavong reported in 2002 that children in neighboring countries are often found traveling or begging and lured to the Ivory Coast, where they are sold.[22]
  • A 2005 report from the International Labor Organization noted that of the 200,000 children working on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, 12,000 are not working with or in the vicinity of their relatives, suggesting possible trafficking in a maximum of 6% of cases of child labor.[2]
  • A 2006 study showed many children working on small farms in the Ivory Coast, often on family farms. Over 11,000 people working on small Ivorian cocoa farms were surveyed.
  • UNICEF's Representative in Côte d'Ivoire, stated in 2007 that:

    Likewise, children from neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso, Togo and Mali are brought to Côte d’Ivoire to work in its robust cocoa farming industry, among other outlets for child labour. Their rights are not respected and they are exposed to wide-ranging exploitation and abuse.[23]

  • The International Labor Organization,[24] the BBC[11] and Stop the Traffik[25] released reports on the subject.
  • A report funded by the U.S. Department of Labor concluded that "Industry and the Governments of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana have taken steps to investigate the problem and are implementing projects that address issues identified in the Protocol."[26]

In June 2009, the OECD released a position paper on child labor on West African Cocoa Farms, and launched a website on its Regional Cocoa Initiative.

[edit] Certification process

Efforts are under way to establish an industry-wide voluntary certification process for cocoa produced without the use of child labor.[26] However, these efforts are not yet complete, and there are currently only a few small independent firms claiming to produce chocolate without the use of child labor or human trafficking.

[edit] Harkin-Engel Protocol

The Harkin-Engel Protocol of 2001 (see Appendix 1 of[26] ) was a commitment by the industry groups World Cocoa Foundation and Chocolate Manufacturers Association (now known as the Chocolate Council of the National Confectioners Association) to develop and implement voluntary standards to certify cocoa produced without the "worst forms of child labor," (defined according to the International Labor Organization's Convention 182) by the year 2005. This deadline was not met. In 2004, a Verification Working Group was funded by industry; however, funding was discontinued in 2006.[26]

[edit] Position statements and legislation

In September 2005, Dutch member of parliament Femke Halsema filed a motion to abolish European imports of slave-processed cacao.[27] Statements have been issued by Anti-Slavery International,[28] the Anti-Slavery Society,[29] Fred E. Foldvary, the Organic Consumers Association [30] and StoptheTraffick UK.[31]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Hawksley, Humphrey (4 May 2001). "Ivory Coast accuses chocolate companies". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1311982.stm. Retrieved 4 August 2010. 
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Combating Child Labour in Cocoa Growing" (PDF). International Labor Organization. 2005. http://www.ilo.org/public//english//standards/ipec/themes/cocoa/download/2005_02_cl_cocoa.pdf. 
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Cocoa Market Update". World Cocoa Foundation. May 2010. http://www.worldcocoafoundation.org/learn-about-cocoa/documents/CocoaMarketUpdateasof5.18.10.pdf. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  4. ^ "Rooting out child labour from cocoa farms: Paper No. 4 Child labour monitoring – A partnership of communities and government". International Labor Organization. 2007. http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/download.do;jsessionid=0a038009cee0ccecc1079524dd2be22e7bc286da8c5.hkzFngTDp6WImQuUaNaLa3D3lN4K-xaIah8S-xyIn3uKmAiN-AnwbQbxaNvzaAmI-huKa30xgx95fjWTa3eIpkzFngTDp6WImQuxbN8Nbh4SahiK8OexhOaOgzX9i4j38QfznA5Pp7ftolbGmkTy?type=document&id=6447. 
  5. ^ Final Report on the Status of Public and Private Efforts to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor (WFCL) in the Cocoa Sectors of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana." Page 7. Tulane University. March 31, 2011.
  6. ^ "The cocoa market: A background study" (PDF). Oxfam. 2002. http://www.maketradefair.com/en/assets/english/CocoaStudy.pdf. 
  7. ^ "ICCO Press Releases". International Cocoa Organization. 30 November 2011. http://www.icco.org/about/press2.aspx?Id=isq16806. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  8. ^ a b Olivia Abenyega and James Gockowski (2003). Labor practices in the cocoa sector of Ghana with a special focus on the role of children. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. pp. 10–11. ISBN 9781312181. http://books.google.com/books?id=Rw-NW5EFTs0C&pg=PA11&dq=ripe+cocoa+pods+harvest&hl=en&ei=lAvlTrqmDNGXtweWjdHxAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CFUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&f=false. 
  9. ^ a b J. Gockowski (March 2006). "Child Labour Investigations and Interventions in the Cocoa Sector". International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. http://www.iita.org/c/document_library/get_file?p_l_id=98893&folderId=99883&name=DLFE-1111.pdf. Retrieved 11 December 2011. 
  10. ^ a b c J. Gockowski and S. Oduwole (2003). Labor practices in the cocoa sector of southwest Nigeria with a focus on the role of children. International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. pp. 11–15. ISBN 9781312157. http://books.google.com/books?id=E2x5hlVlaUUC&pg=PA12&dq=ripe+cocoa+pods+harvest&hl=en&ei=YRblTquMIqbz0gGz8riJBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CGQQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&f=false. 
  11. ^ a b c d Hawksley, Humphrey (2 April 2007). "Child cocoa workers still 'exploited'". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6517695.stm. Retrieved 4 August 2010. 
  12. ^ a b c Hawksley, Humphrey (April 12, 2001). "Mali's children in chocolate slavery". BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1272522.stm. Retrieved January 2, 2010. 
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h Raghavan, Sudarsan; Sumana Chatterjee (June 24, 2001). "Slaves feed world's taste for chocolate: Captives common in cocoa farms of Africa". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 17 September 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060917014323/http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/atasteofslavery.html. 
  14. ^ David Wolfe and Shazzie (2005). Naked Chocolate: The Astonishing Truth about the World's Greatest Food. North Atlantic Books. p. 98. ISBN 1556437315. http://books.google.com/books?id=i2WeACR-WIYC&pg=PA98&lpg=PA98&dq=bbc+documentary+children+chocolate+2000&source=bl&ots=0YShJcw7s9&sig=O3Qimse-Nc6xHW_Iu_nx_3KIcHE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=_Y_qTvmNEe--2AWT-L2zCA&ved=0CFsQ6AEwBw#v=onepage&q=bbc%20documentary%20children%20chocolate%202000&f=false. Retrieved 15 December 2011. 
  15. ^ a b c Liz Blunt (28 September 2000). "The bitter taste of slavery". BBC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/946952.stm. Retrieved 15 December 2011. 
  16. ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan (June 25, 2001). "Two boys tell of descent into slavery". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www2.jsonline.com/bym/news/jun01/slave26062501.asp. [dead link]
  17. ^ Raghavan, Sudarsan (June 24, 2001). "Traffickers target boys in cocoa trade". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. http://www2.jsonline.com/news/intl/jun01/slave25062401.asp. [dead link]
  18. ^ "SAJAers In The News". 2002. http://www.saja.org/chocolate.html. [dead link]
  19. ^ Foldvary, Fred (2001). "Chocolate worker slavery". The Progress Report. http://www.progress.org/archive/fold201.htm. 
  20. ^ a b Chatterjee, Sumana (August 1, 2001). "Chocolate Firms Launch Fight Against 'Slave Free' Labels". Philadelphia Inquirer. http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/0801-03.htm. 
  21. ^ a b Blewett, Kate; Brian Woods (2001). "Slavery: A global investigation". http://truevisiontv.com/slavery/index.htm. [dead link]
  22. ^ Chanthavong, Samlanchith (2002). "Chocolate and Slavery: Child Labor in Cote d'Ivoire". TED Case Studies Number 664. American University. http://www.american.edu/TED/chocolate-slave.htm. 
  23. ^ Chevigny, Blue (14 June 2007). "Child trafficking in Côte d’Ivoire: Efforts under way to reverse a tragic trend". http://www.unicef.org/protection/cotedivoire_39995.html. Retrieved 4 August 2010. 
  24. ^ "Rooting out child labour from cocoa farms". International Labor Organization. 2007. http://www.ilo.org/ipecinfo/product/viewProduct.do?productId=6444. 
  25. ^ Stop the Traffik chocolate factsheet PDF
  26. ^ a b c d [|Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer of Tulane University] (October 31, 2007). "First annual report: Oversight of public and private initiatives to eliminate the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa sector in Cote d-Ivoire and Ghana" (PDF). http://www.childlabor-payson.org/FirstAnnualReport.pdf. 
  27. ^ [1][dead link]
  28. ^ [2][dead link]
  29. ^ Do slaves produce your favorite chocolate?
  30. ^ Slave Chocolate
  31. ^ "'Slavery' behind Easter chocolate". BBC News. April 6, 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6533405.stm. Retrieved April 28, 2010. 

[edit] Further reading

  • Lowell J. Satre, Chocolate on Trial: Slavery, Politics & the Ethics of Business, Ohio University Press (2005), 308 pages, hardcover ISBN 0-8214-1625-1, trade paperback ISBN 0-8214-1626-X
  • Carol Off, Bitter Chocolate:Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet. Random House Canada (2006), 336 pages, hardcover. ISBN 978-0-679-31319-9 (0-679-31319-2)

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