Comments on: Is There Slavery In Your Chocolate?

By: Michelle Phillippi

Michelle Phillippi — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:23:16 +0000

I have been encouraged to research this topic by my partner Rev. Regie E. Greywolf who saw an expose on child slavery in July 2011. I have read this article and would like a current update as to how much of the legislative agreement that was supposed to be in effect by July 1, 2005 has come to pass. Where do we stand today? How about revisiting this subject (both chocolate and coffee) for 2011. Perhaps dateline would like to update us?. For now, we will be supporting the Fair Trade companies and doing our part to help abolish slave labor in all forms.

By: Wendy Redfield

Wendy Redfield — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 15:31:11 +0000

I read and found interesting and useful a nearly 200 page document (not including apendices)called COCOA LABOUR SURVEY IN GHANA – 2007/2008. It can be found by going on a link from website: http://www.worldcocoafoundtion.org/addressing-child-labor/ghana-…, Cocoa Labor Survey of Ghana 2007/2008. It was carried out by the Ministry of Manpower Youth and Employent and Ghana’s National Programme for the Elimination of Worst Forms of Child Labour in Cocoa.

By: Michael Blackwell

Michael Blackwell — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 22:28:18 +0000

Please tell me what can be done. What can the American consumer do?

The $13 billion U.S. chocolate industry is heavily dominated by just two firms — Hershey’s and M&M Mars — who control two-thirds of the market. Unfortunately, both of these companies fall into the category of those companies who use large amounts of Ivory Coast cocoa, and whose products are almost certainly produced in part by slavery.
BAD CHOCOLATE COMPANIES
M&M Mars and Hershey Foods Corp. are not alone. Other companies whose chocolate is almost certainly tainted with child slavery include: ADM Cocoa, Ben & Jerry’s, Cadbury Ltd., Chocolates by Bernard Callebaut, Fowler’s Chocolate, Godiva, Guittard Chocolate Company, Kraft, Nestle, See’s Candies, The Chocolate Vault, and Toblerone. While most of these companies have issued condemnations of slavery, and expressed a great deal of moral outrage that it exists in the industry, they each have acknowledged that they use Ivory Coast cocoa and so have no grounds to ensure consumers that their products are slavery-free.

GOOD CHOCOLATE COMPANIES: There are in fact many chocolate companies who according to company correspondence use cocoa that has definitively not been produced with slave labor. These companies include Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Ch…See More

Michael Blackwell I have called Valrhona twice asking to speak with Carolna Robert but she has not seen to return my call. She is their chief Marketing person. These people say thay can not be responsible for the growing conditions of their products. The jury is currently out on Valrhona until i hear from her, but its not looking good…

We can not just ignore these issues if you care about children at all…
GOOD: There are many chocolate companies who use cocoa that has not been produced with slave labor. These companies are Clif Bar, Cloud Nine, Dagoba Organic Chocolate, Denman Island Chocolate, Gardners Candies, Green & Black’s, Kailua Candy, Koppers Chocolate, L.A. Burdick Chocolates, Montezuma’s Chocolates, Newman’s Own Organics, Omanhene Cocoa, Rapunzel Pure Organics, and Endangered Species Chocolate Company

By: Wendy Redfield

Wendy Redfield — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 23:40:00 +0000

In addition to having notified my national legisltors, in addition to retail food stores and as far as I could gather the major chocoalte manufacturers themselves of “our” concerns as conscientious chocolate consumers, I am planning to write to as many of my local restaurants
as I can. Good Luck everyone who is commited to eating
slave free chocolate.

Could someone please tell me, how old does one have to be to work for a manufacturer that is considered fairly traded?

wendyredfield36 [at] gmail.con

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 03:29:11 +0000

I’m concerned that part, or all of this article is plagiarized.
Here is a link to something that was publish a couple weeks before this article was.
http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=260

By: Joy Lynn Rosser

Joy Lynn Rosser — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 03:38:32 +0000

We all have to take responsibility about such things.
What we allow, we endorse.
Thank’s for letting me know about something do. I’ll be looking for the “Fair Trade” emblem when I shop.
I share with you Sarah Burk’s Article “Amazing Grace” with it’s call to action <http://bit.ly/hw7Vah

By: Wendy Redfield

Wendy Redfield — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 20:58:10 +0000

I have sent a couple of interesting web sites to some Vegitarian and Natural Food stores, regarding the use of child slavery in the harvesting of Cocoa. I then notified Hannaford, Stop and Shop, Shaws, Market Basket and BigY of our concerns by sending them copies of “Chocolates Bittersweet Econmy – from CNNMoney.com”, “Stop Chocolate Slavery – News and Information”, “Slave Free Chocolate”. I also sent them some lists of Vendors, that I thought they might find useful. I did what I could. Now I just have to abstane from Snickers.

By: rachel west

rachel west — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 21:27:09 +0000

Thank you so much for the information!!
My family is very agianst chocolate made by slaves, and things such as clothes that are made in sweatshops.
this also helped with my project! so thanks again!

By: Dave Crawford

Dave Crawford — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 22:01:57 +0000

To Hershey family descendant Jim (November 11, 2010 at 1:42 pm), for more recent information about child slavery in chocoloate production, visit http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/cocoa/raisethebarhershey.html or watch the 2010 documentary “The Dark Side of Chocolate”, or read the “Hershey CSR Report” link from the Global Exchange website. This report highlights the ongoing use of child and forced labor in the cocoa industry, including Hershey’s supply chain.

By: ashley

ashley — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 00:57:13 +0000

this is alot of words how didy’all read all of it?