Chocolate fudge cake, Urban Diner, Edmonton, Canada, Author Mack Male (CC BY-SA 2.0 Generic)
Chocolate is a pure delight. But there is a bitter truth behind the sweet taste. Child labor is heavily involved in cocoa product [1][2][3].
Multiple human rights organizations confirm that over 1.5 million children in West Africa work under hazardous conditions to produce cocoa. Many of these children are the victims of forced labor, human trafficking, and modern slavery. They are deprived of an education, and exposed to dangerous chemicals and equipment.
This exploitation is ongoing despite the public pledges made by major chocolate companies over the past 20 years to eliminate child labor from their supply chains. Some of the most recognizable chocolate brands still associated with unethical practices include: Hershey’s Chocolate; Nestle’s Chocolate (Kit Kat, Butterfinger); Mars Chocolate (M&M’s, Snickers, Twix); Ferrero (Nutella, Kinder); and Mondelez (Toblerone, Cadbury). Continue reading
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