If you knew the
chocolate in your Easter basket was created with child
labor, would you still buy it? Of course not, but that
is the unfortunate reality for a lot of chocolate
products. Chocolate production has notoriously been
linked to child labor for decades — but companies like
Hershey's, Mars, and Nestlé don't want you to know
that. According to a lawsuit, seven of the
world's largest cocoa companies allegedly use child
labor so they can "continue to benefit from cheap
cocoa. Meanwhile, these same
corporations rake in millions of dollars in profits
every year.
The
lawsuit started when eight Malian citizens spoke out in
2021, revealing they had been trafficked as children to
the Cote D'Ivoire to work on cocoa plantations. Legal
documents describe the workers being constantly
bitten by insects, wounded from machete accidents, and
some working for years without being paid. But
this issue is unfortunately nothing new. In fact, in
2001, under pressure from Congress, Hershey, Mars,
Nestlé USA, and five other chocolate companies signed a
deal to eradicate child labor from their supply chains
by 2005. Then, the corporations missed
that deadline — as well as multiple other deadlines in
2008, 2010, and 2020.
According
to the U.S. Department of Labor, a majority of the 1.56
million child laborers in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana
produce nearly 60% of the world's cocoa each year. These
children must swing machetes, carry heavy loads, and
spray pesticides. The root of this problem lies in
poverty, so the solution is simple: pay farmers
more for their cocoa. Hersey's, Mars, and
Nestlé can afford to pay workers more for their
back-breaking, dangerous labor. It is up to us
to put pressure on these companies and tell
them: we will not buy
chocolate made by child slaves! Sign to demand these
companies end the inhumane use of child labor
now!
