Column:
The dark side of chocolate
Published Oct. 30, 2009
All ghosts, pirates, princesses and parties aside, when I mention Halloween, what comes to mind? That's right: candy. Candies composed of sugar, caramel, corn syrup and of course, chocolate. You might think you know all about chocolate, but even if you've traveled all the way to Pennsylvania to take the Hershey Company's factory tour, I've got some news here.
You might have heard of conflict diamonds, but do you know about conflict chocolate? No, I'm not talking about the chocolate that nurses you through your conflicts, though that candy probably could be called conflict chocolate. I'm speaking about the No. 1 source of the world's (and the chocolate manufacturers') cocoa: Côte d'Ivoire.
Côte d'Ivoire is a country in western Africa, the region that produces about three-fourths of the world's cocoa supply. Côte d'Ivoire alone accounts for about 40 percent of this supply, making it the leading world exporter of cocoa. As recently as 30 years ago, Côte d'Ivoire was one of the most prosperous countries of sub-Saharan Africa countries, but today it has sunk to 163 on the list of the 180 countries represented on the Human Development Index.
What could cause such a sudden and drastic depression? The economy of Côte d'Ivoire is largely based on agricultural exports, which makes it highly sensitive to impositions of trade regulations by industrialized nations, international price fluctuations and changing climate factors. An economy relying on exports is highly subject to external control. Farmers are unable to set their prices in the face of international corporations, but at the same time these farmers are compelled to rely on a cash crop economy just to make ends meet.
But what could such a sudden and drastic depression in Côte d'Ivoire cause? Well, the cocoa economy of Côte d'Ivoire, which accounts for one-third of the total economy, is based largely on child slave labor. Although armed conflict and political crisis (which some claim are driven by the cocoa trade) make it difficult to be exact, there are an estimated 15,000 child slaves laboring in the cocoa farms of Côte d'Ivoire.
Laboring is a gentle term here — they are, in fact, suffering. But for what are they suffering? Perhaps Ivorian farmers are just trying to maintain their income in the face of dropping cocoa prices. But more immediate to many of the readers' lives: These child slaves might be suffering for that fun-size pleasure so readily available each Halloween.
Whether king-size or bite-size, the massive amounts of chocolate consumed in the United States can be traced back to Ivorian cocoa and the child slave labor that grew it. And it's not as if chocolate is expensive. Even the most frugal can't pass up post-Halloween candy liquidation. Nor is the demand for chocolate low. But the prices of cocoa imposed on these farmers by corporations have continued to drop, from 63 cents per pound to 51 cents per pound just between 1996 and 2001. This trend has only escalated in wake of the global economic crisis.
I already stated Côte d'Ivoire is the No. 1 exporter of cocoa, but did you know the No. 1 importer of Côte d'Ivoire's cocoa is America or the largest chocolate manufacturer in all of North America is Hershey's? Sounds like Hershey's could have some influential power in the economy of Côte d'Ivoire.
So as you enjoy this Halloween, I would encourage you to think about what it took for that chocolate to get to your possession.
