Bitter Chocolate

I've never boycotted a product. I've guess I've never really felt it was an effective way to make a statement. After all, one single purchase isn't going to send a company into Chapter 11. I've boycotted a few stores, but that was usually short lived and only lasted until I really needed something from there again (damn you Walmart). However, today I made the decision to stop buying any chocolate unless it's "Free Trade". 70% of the cocoa beans used to make chocolate around the world come from West Africa. The Ivory Coast produces almost half of that alone. The International Labor Organization (ILO), part of the UN, estimates 284,000 child laborers work on cocoa farms, most of them in the Ivory Coast. "These are either involved in hazardous work, unprotected or unfree, or have been trafficked," says the ILO. Cocoa harvesting is treacherous work. Tough cocoa beans measuring 4-16 inches long are cut down from branches, opened with machetes, and scraped out. It takes about 400 cocoa pods to make one pound of chocolate (one 16-ounce bag of M&Ms). The big candy manufacturers cry that they are not responsible for these deplorable conditions and shouldn't be held responsible. But the $13 billion chocolate industry is heavily consolidated, and just two firms (Hershey's and M&M/Mars) control two-thirds of the US chocolate candy market. If they don't have the influence and ability to force change, who does?

The US Congress has pressured the big manufacturers, and in 2000 they actually signed the Cocoa Protocol. They agreed to start developing measures to eradicate child labor, and would be required to certify that their chocolate was slave free. However, the companies failed to meet their first deadline in 2005, and blew off the July 2008 deadline as well. How much more time do they need?

All of this is well documented. I'm not sure if I've been blind, or if this really hasn't been a big story. Was I one of the last to actually hear about this? For anyone doubting that this can really be taking place, here is a brief 2007 BBC article. Here is another in depth article, and here is a good website with more information.

So Goodbye Violet Crumble, farewell MaxiBons, it's been fun. I know that at some point I'll have to be more diligent and look at products like cookies and cakes. But I buy so much chocolate, that I feel this is an important first step. Some organizations say that boycotting chocolate from the big companies is counterproductive; it hurts the small farmers that are just trying to make a living. But I guess I feel strongly enough about this that I'm comfortable buying only Free Trade chocolate. Because unlike trying to hit Walmart where it hurts, I'm not so concerned about making a dent in Cadbury's pocket; I'm more concerned about choices that make a dent in my conscience.