worldnews @lemmy.world weirdbeardgame @lemmy.world 7 mo. ago

Candy company Mars uses cocoa harvested by kids as young as 5 in Ghana: CBS News investigation

www.cbsnews.com Candy company Mars uses cocoa harvested by kids as young as 5 in Ghana: CBS News investigation

Children in Ghana, some as young as 5, are working cocoa fields and wielding machetes instead of attending school.

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Also known as slaves, since they are not paid, not allowed to go to school or leave, and beaten and cut as punishment.

Stop eating slave chocolate, folks.

There is ethical chocolate available.
- Where is that mythical ethical chocolate?
  
  Tony's is one of the bigger brands. Even they will admit their efforts aren't always perfect but it's about constant audits to keep the supply line safe
  
  Look for fair trade. (Endandgered species chocalate is pretty good) they all still have shady practices ofc but you will get better chocalate!
  
  I eat chocolonely, it's in supermarkets near me.
  
  Here's a list of ethical chocolate companies:
  
  https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/ethical-chocolate-companies
  
  Mythical? It's at Aldi!
- Ok, where?? So I was already avoiding Nestle, now I find out Mars is in on this shit too. Is there any chocolate I can eat that isn't born from child slave labor? Are Reese's ok? I just want chocolate without supporting literal slavery.
  
  Edit: just saw your other comment
  
  Most supermarkets these days have ethical chocolate alternatives. Their brands aren't as well-known so you might not notice them unless you're looking for them, that was my case.
  
  Then the first time I looked for ethical chocolate, chocolonely was right there on display in the first Safeway I walked into.
- What if we keep eating slave chocolate, but we make the slave owners buy "freedom cocoa" credits from places where cocoa is being farmed ethically already?
  
  Then we'll be prolonging unnecessary child slavery and abuse.
  
  They're slave owners, their profit margin is pretty wide and their industry standards are not very strict, as you might imagine.
  
  The most effective way to end trafficking/slavery linked to chocolate is to stop buying slave chocolate.
- Most of the farmers producing the cocoa in your chocolate have themselves never tasted chocolate before.
- It's fine because the slaves are in the other country and we get to call ourselves pioneer of human rights and green power to live guilt free. It's totally not by design, no sir.
  
  Idk what you mean by "other country."
  
  Are those like big, not-here states?
When it comes to chocolate it seems the only ethical option is not to consume it.
- Here is a company that is trying to do the right thing: Tony’s Chocolonely
  
  Note: I am not affiliated in any way, but simply heard about them via another story.
  
  Pbs newshour and John Oliver have done stories on them in the past few yes
  
  They are paying more money per tonne of cocoa to the slave owners... I don't see any indication that this "living wage" actually goes to the slaves themselves tho.
  
  https://tonyschocolonely.com/int/en/our-story/news/why-we-wont-stop-paying-a-higher-price-for-cocoa
- Ethical option would be for them to pay adults properly so the children dont need to work
  
  The producers have been saying that is going to happen for decades and it has not.
  
  That is why I say there is not guarantee that any chocolate is produced ethically.
Sugar and coffee are also like this. Abolish capitalism faster, pls!
They are still working with Russia as well.
Literally every major food company does stuff like this. It's one of the countless problems with unchecked capitalism.
- Whether you intend to or not, you're suggesting everyone should blow this off and ignore it.
  
  No, I'm suggesting seizing the means of production.
https://piped.video/watch?v=FwHMDjc7qJ8

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