The Effects Of Child Labor On The Chocolate Industry

“This is the main reason why targeted boycotts of the products of child labor turn out to be counterproductive (at least in the short term): they focus, in a limited geographical area, only on the effects of child labor—its products—but typically fail to investigate the structural reasons for the occurrence of child labor—namely, poverty.”

Child labor is a serious problem that affects children from third-world countries all over the world. These children are exploited by multinational corporations ,for their cheap labor all over the world. People, then buy products that come at a cheaper price, from these multinational corporations.These children are often overworked and treated unfairly. People need to stop buying items from countries that endorse child labor.

Human trafficking and child abuse are major problems along the west coast of Africa. Cocoa plantations are so notorious for the use of forced child labor (and forced adult labor) that U.S. Representative Eliot Engel and Senator Tom Harkin created a protocol to end child slavery and initiate labeling for products that are produced “slave free.” A joint committee was formed and called the International Cocoa Initiative, with the aim to have a

has ,thusfor failed to pass legislation banning the importation of goods poruced with child labor(zoltan , melania barton).Child labor is a significant in developing countries across the globe(walter andrew).These protocols can be ratified by a country once it has enacted laws and appropriate enforcement measures designed to eliminate child labor practices(walter Andrew).One of the often -cited examples of child labor abuse occurs in manufacturing industries ,whether industialor hand craft (walter andrew). Ultimately, the problem of child labor will not truly be solved until the poverty conditions that lead to such labor practices are solved. Developed countries can help end child labor not by punishing the countries that engage in the practice but by examining the reason why child labor is so widespread in these areas, and then providing assistance to help solve the underlying problems (walter andrew).

Many of the products that are used and consumed in the United States are made in other countries. One of the main reasons for multinational corporations to produce goods in countries other than the United States is the cost of production. It is far cheaper to produce goods such as blue jeans, paper goods, and plastic toys to name a few. In recent years the conditions in sweatshops in China, Japan, and elsewhere have garnered public outcry from Countries like the U.S. and most of Europe. The main contention, child labor in dangerous and horrid conditions. However one often overlooked example of child labor in sweatshop-like conditions exists were many people never thought. The chocolate we eat. “From 2013 to 2014 more than 1.1 million children in the Ivory Coast were engaged in the most common Worst Forms of Child Labor as recognized by the United Nations… up from 791,181 children from 2008 to 2009” (Berman, 2015). The benefactors of this child labor are huge multinational enterprises such as Nestle, Mars Inc., and The Hershey Co.

When the United States passed the bill that banned the importation of goods made by child labor, Americans thought that it was a victory for children in third world countries. What Americans neglected to consider was the possible negative side effects that the children were to face. Due to the ban, millions of children have lost their jobs and have been left to starve. Prohibiting theses imported materials is not an effective way to make the lives of working children better. When confronting the controversial issue of child labor, one needs to step into the shoes of the children, diminish child labor stereotypes, and focus on regulations and goals to improve working conditions.

One of the major issues faced between third world countries and with western civilization is the question of having child labor laws. Most of the westernization would all agree to get rid of the young under aged children from working in these dark, tight, ill ventilated factories or workshops. However, Chita Divakaruni explains how if the child labor law was to be passed then the children will have no other way to survive and result into being a robber or even worse and lose all their pride that they carry. Divakaruni explains how the passing of the child labor law in the United States, which will prohibit the import of goods from factories that has under aged children working in, would affect the children’s life as a whole and these children will have to result in a worse way of living to survive. On the other hand, Americans see an under aged child working long hard hours in a factory as a huge problem that needs to be stopped. These

“Media coverage and the threat of regulatory action mobilized the international cocoa industry to collaborate with other stakeholders to eliminate the worst forms of child labor from cocoa production” (Schrage, E. J , & Ewing, A. P. 2005). The harsh conditions of the farms has been discussed for many years. Some of the owners of the farms are rumored to be engaging

Chocolate is beneficial to some parts of cote D’ivoire by helping farmers and the ecomy. The bad things due to child labor and harming the environment implies that chocolate making must be stopped. It’s not safety for the community’s environment nor

The Ivory Coast has a danger in growing their chocolate which is the children working. The children are very incautious of what they do to work in these plantations of coca, for example, “Every strike of machete has a potential to slice a child’s flesh. The majority of children have scars on their hands, arms, legs or shoulders from the machete” (FEP, 2015). The children should not get involved in the plantations because they would end up getting hurt. Children should not get hurt during working because this is an adult job to do indicating heavy and dangerous weaponry. This provides that growing chocolate unacceptable for the Ivory Coast because it endangers children’s lives that involve them to work in their plantations of coca.

The year to year increase in consumer demand for cheaper products have led major corporations to outsource labor in foreign countries with little to no laws preventing child labor and the building of sweatshops. Many parents here in America would be disgusted by the idea of forcing their young children to work long hard hours in factory but the truth is because of our desire for cheap products, “As many as a million children ranging in age from 5 to 15 work as debt-bonded laborers in the loom sheds of India, Nepal and Pakistan, according to the U.S. Department of Labor and the ILO” (Razzi 46). Many of the products we enjoy today such as soccer balls are made by child labor, “Eighty percent of the soccer balls sold in the U.S. are produced in a small region of eastern Pakistan, where about 20% of the work force is between 5 and 14 years old, according to the International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF)” (Razzi 46). Child labor does not just exist in third world countries, “The International Labour Organization (ILO), an agency of the United Nations that is based in Geneva, estimates that about 13% of the world's children between the ages of 10 and 14 work, along with untold numbers of younger children” (Razzi 46). Even more surprising is the that sweatshops also exists here in America, “More than a quarter of a million people work in U.S. sweatshops, according to the Labor Department” (Razzi

With the media coverage of blood diamonds, international actors needed to put attention to the problem. The Kimberly Process was designed to stem the flow of blood diamonds and similarly the cocoa verification working group was to do the same, however, the cocoa verification working group has yet to come to order and may never will. Another method that the Diamonds book touches upon is how governments lowered the price of permits for alluvial diggers. The cocoa industry and cocoa dependent country could form something similar. Even though there isn’t any “blood chocolate” entering the system, the government could keep track of which small farms are using child labor and work from

With an approximate total of over 215 million children working in the industry today, child labor has become a significant problem. Although it is most prevalent in third-world and underdeveloped countries, it is perpetuated by the growing demand for manufactured products in countries such as our own. This constant increase in the demand and production of these manufactured products often leads the product’s owners towards significant income or loss, depending on the success of their products. Whether motivated by greed or lack of company funds, this increase leads to a search for inexpensive manufacturing. These manufacturing companies in turn pursue the cheapest form of labor available to them in order to conserve more funds. Because child labor is the cheapest form of labor available to these manufacturers, greed

“The Dark Side of Chocolate” is a documentary that explores the underlying issues prevalent in the cocoa trade. For most first world countries chocolate is seen as an accessible treat, however in third world countries, the production of cocoa creates social issues that must be eliminated. Cocoa trade is one of the largest industries in West African countries, but the issues that arise from such trade do more harm than good. The cocoa plantations are trafficking humans to work on their plantations. Furthermore, most instances suggest that these workers do not receive any compensation for their work and most importantly some of these slave laborers are children. Thus, the three issues that the cocoa companies routinely commit in exchange for lower costs are human trafficking, slave labor, and child labor. These companies are aware of such issues but refuse to actively combat them because they are better off financially. It can be argued that these issues can be mitigated through various social, governmental and political policies aimed at combating these problems. The three main issues will be addressed and the various stakeholders affected by these issues will be analyzed. Then this paper will look at the possible solutions to these issues, whereby through government, social or political means.

In the United States, child labor and sweatshops are illegal, and society frowns upon any business that exploits children in the production of goods. Though most would say that they would not support a company that uses child labor to produce its goods, almost everyone has, in fact, knowingly or unknowingly, supported these businesses in one way or another. Children are involved in the production of many of the everyday goods we import from overseas, including the manufacturing of clothes, shoes, toys, and sporting equipment, the farming of cocoa, cotton, sugarcane, and bananas, and the mining of coal, diamonds, and gold (The U.S. Dept. of Labor). Often, we are blinded to this fact.