chocolate eaten on chocolate the drenched holiday of Valentines Day is likely made from cocoa beans from West Africa. The Ivory Coast, also known as Cote D'ivoire in Africa is the source of about 35 percent of the world’s cocoa production. These cocoa beans were likely harvested by unpaid child workers that are being held captive on plantations as slaves. Chocolate companies use these cocoa plantations as their cocoa source for their chocolate products. And since the companies want to maximize their
Child labor is a problem worldwide, and poverty is the most common factor contributing to the use of child labor. There is an estimated 215 million children laborers worldwide, about 60% of children are child laborers. These child laborers produces around 150 billion each year of illegal profits. Child labor is considered employment that deprives a child of their childhood, or interferes with school. Also it’s considered something that is mentally, physically, socially, or morally dangerous and
products; on average, Americans will eat a chocolate product on a weekly basis (Qureshi). A majority of cocoa beans, the key ingredient of chocolate, comes from Western Africa, where child labor and often slavery runs rampant. The laborers and slaves, who cultivate the cocoa, work with dangerous weapons and chemicals in an inhospitable environment. The children, who are being forcibly worked, on the cocoa farms tend to be from the ages 12 to 16 to as young as 5 years old; these young ages are when
Ecuador is the biggest fine or flavor cocoa exporter of the world and being the chocolate a billionaire industry worldwide we would imagine that cocoa farmers enjoy great benefits from this industry. But in fact, when the production chain of cocoa and chocolate is analyzed we can find large differences in the working conditions of the farmers in producing countries like Ecuador and those of the workers in countries where the manufacturing industries are located. Still in the 21st century, in the
such as Cote d’Ivoire. The production of chocolate takes place in several stages. First, the bitter cacao seeds have to be fermented so that their intense bitter taste becomes milder. After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned and roasted. The cocoa mass is then obtained, which represents pure chocolate in rough form. When this mass is liquefied, it is transformed into chocolate liquor, which, on the other hand, may be further processed into cocoa solids or cocoa butter. Various chocolate products
Ecuador is the biggest fine or flavor cocoa exporter of the world. Since chocolate is a billion dollar industry, one would think cocoa farmers would be benefit fairly. However, when the production chain is analyzed, one can find large differences between the working conditions of cocoa farmers and the chocolate factory employees. Still in the 21stcentury there exists a large amount of child labor in cocoa producing countries. Meanwhile in the chocolate factories (which are mainly located in developed
even aware of the consequence of harvesting a dangerous commodity like cocoa beans. The exploitative relationship between the cocoa farmers and the massive and powerful chocolate companies has heavily influenced a deregulated industry. The focus of this paper is to provide background information on the cocoa industry as well as provide a critical analysis of the economic exploitations of West African countries. Although cocoa is enjoyed by billions of people around the world, this sweet treat was
The production of cocoa in the chocolate industry has a long history of trafficking and child labor. Children are exposed to chemicals, long working hours and are often taken from home to work in these harsh environments. The low prices in the cocoa industry have left farmers with poor incomes and with no choice but to pull their children from school and have them work on the plantations. Because of this little chance of educational access, “families in the cocoa sector are caught in a vicious
the sector. Approximately 3.5 million tones of cocoa are produced by farmers each year. However, rising revenue in developing markets like India and China, combined with anticipated economic recovery in the rich North, have provided sector forecasts of a 30% growth in demand to more than 4.5 million tones by 2020. According to major global chocolate manufacturers, production of cacao cannot meet the demand of the chocolate and after 2020’s production gap will increase.
Child labour is work done by children which deprives them of their childhood, self-respect and potential. Furthermore, it is damaging to both their mental and physical wellbeing (International Labour Organization, n.d.). Child labour in the production of cocoa beans may be able to bring in money to Côte d’Ivoire, allowing it to progress economically (O’Keefe, 2016), and also bring large amounts of profit to confectionary powerhouses like Nestle (O’Keefe, 2016) and lastly, allow families
explains how chocolate companies supply their cocoa, and how it’s produced. Cocoa is grown in Ivory Coast in West Africa in high tropical climates. Robbin explains that West Africa is the world’s largest cocoa bean supplier it provides 43 percent of world supply. Hersey’s has by far the worst practices and policies, they enslave children from ages 11 and up, or even children as young as 5. They utilize them for abusive labor they force children to work the cocoa farm fields. Hersey’s is the world’s largest
surpassing the Gross Domestic Product of over a hundred nations (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 3). If chocolate continues grow popular in Asia, it stands to become even more lucrative. Unfortunately, not everyone involved in the production of this popular sweet benefits. Today, over 70 percent of the world’s chocolate is exported from Africa (“Who consumes the most chocolate,” 2012, para 10). While chocolate industry flourishes under international demand, the situation in Côte d’Ivoire
Instead of playing games with their friends, children in the Ivory Coast of Africa are kidnapped and forced into slavery, spending their childhood harvesting cocoa beans, the main ingredient found in chocolate. That 's right; your chocolate candy bar may have been made with child slave labor. Children in this region are kidnapped and forced to travel miles away from their villages. Most are under the false pretense that they will earn money; poverty is a big problem in this area. Once at the
Cocoa butter has a cocoa flavor and aroma. Cocoa butter is obtained from whole cocoa beans, which are fermented, roasted, and then separated. Chocolate liquor is pressed to separate the cocoa butter from the cocoa solids. The Broma process is used to extract cocoa butter from ground cocoa beans. Fourth, hazelnut is the nut of the hazel and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species
the sugar plantations of the Caribbeans is child labor in the modern cocoa industry. Cocoa trees only thrive in humid regions near the equator, which is why two West African countries, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, supply well over half of the world’s total cocoa. In order to keep up with the demand for cocoa, farmers in Africa have employed some 15,000 boys ages 12 to 16 who have been sold into slave labor to harvest and process cocoa beans “under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse” (Chanthavong 1)
selling, the marketing, or even the production of chocolate products. Nowadays, the chocolate industry is very huge in countries such as the United States, and lots of Americans enjoy consuming chocolate products. On average, Americans consume a chocolate bar every other day, which is approximately twelve pounds of chocolate every year. Americans annually spend around $13 billion on cocoa-related products which makes the United States one of the largest consumers of cocoa in the world today (Caruth, 2008
Hershey, Cocoa, and Child Labor An everyday person, when asked to describe chocolate, would probably start by calling it "magic." The presence of chocolate in the everyday American life is an experience sought after, craved for, and bought for under two dollars at the corner convenience store. Indeed, chocolate is edible ecstasy that is put in everything: coffee, icecream, cereal, even the spicy sauce for Mexican mole. Chocolate has a cultural presence like no other food commodity; it is brought
controls markets for various products derived from grain exports, oilseed crushing capacity, corn milling, and cattle raising/meat producing. In the 1990s, Cargill decided to become an animal feed manufacturer. They have increased oilseed and grain production for animal feed and have vertically integrated to own all of the processes of the poultry and beef commodity chains from “seed to feed to slaughter” (Kneen 2002: 41), making these sectors of their business more functional and financially efficient
located in Reese`s Hershey, Pennsylvania, it is South of Canada and the Great Lakes. It is North of Mary land and East of. The Kit Kat is made from many ingredients. (Nestle March 21, 2013) such as Cocoa, Sugar, Palm Oil and Milk.(See figure 2.6 and 1.0) (Top5anything 2013). Countries Sources Ivory Coast Cocoa India Milk Brazil Sugar Indonesia Palm Oil (See figure 2.6 for the map of the sources) 2. Development Development is process of be... ... middle of paper ... ...right in front
of the world’s cocoa is grown in the region, and the vast majority of that supply comes from two countries: Ivory Coast and Ghana, which together produce 60% of the global total. The two nations have a combined GDP of around $73 billion, according to the World Bank—or significantly less than Nestlé’s $100 billion in sales in 2015. Yet the global chocolate business would be thrown into chaos without them. Last year, Ivory Coast alone exported nearly 1.8 million metric tons of cocoa, or two-fifths