Chocolate And Child Labour: Darker Angles To Your Favourite Chocolate
When you read child and chocolate labour–yes! You thought it correct–your favourite brands are making your favourite sweets at the cost to those who harvest the cocoa bean.
Nobody can deny that we all love chocolate, but this sweet treat comes with a hefty cost to those who harvest the cocoa bean.
If you love chocolate, then you must learn the dark truth behind your dark chocolate: the cocoa industry primarily exploits children.
Via alter Eco
The cocoa bean is generally grown in tropical climates, such as western Africa, Asia and Latin America. These things make us want to scream, ‘saala ye dukh kaahe khatam nahi hota!’
Via thecounter
WHY IS CHILD LABOUR USED IN THE CHOCOLATE INDUSTRY?
In western Africa, cocoa is a commodity crop grown primarily for the export of 60%. Children in Western Africa typically work on farms between ages 12 and 16, but studies show some as young as five.
WHICH COMPANIES USE CHILD LABOUR?
Some of the prominent chocolate brands that you must have eaten at least once in your lifetime use child labour for chocolate production.
WHAT IS THE TOTAL PERCENTAGE OF CHILD LABOUR WORLDWIDE?
152 million children are victims of child labour worldwide, of whom 68 million are boys & 64 million are girls. The girls are forced to leave school and do household chores, while the boys are sent to cocoa farms.
WHERE DOES COCOA CHILD LABOUR START?
Côte the Ivory Coast and Ghana collectively produce nearly 60% of cocoa of the world every year.
via wikipedia
WHAT ARE THE MAIN REASONS BEHIND USING CHILD LABOUR?
- Poverty and unemployment
- Free education is limited
- Existing laws are often violated
via KCRW
“Dairy milk ka naam toh suna hoga!” Don’t worry. It is not related to child labour, but other brands do use child labour for production. A piece of chocolate brings a smile to your face but just think about the pain of those little kids. We need to motivate and teach them to change this.
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