With nearly $128 billion in global sales, chocolate is the world's sweet treat: a decadent after-dinner dessert, delectable Halloween goodies, and gifts given to cherished ones.
But its origins aren’t so sweet.
Dating back to the mid-1600s, Spanish landowners enslaved West Africans to farm cocoa beans, the foundation of chocolate, in Brazil and Venezuela. After war made exportation difficult, Spanish colonizers planted cocoa farms in West Africa where the climate was better suited, and export was easier.
Once established, labor was needed to harvest the beans. This fell upon the shoulders of children as young as five. Working over 80 hours a week, these children had the dangerous task of climbing trees, wiedling large machetes, and carrying 100-pound sacks of cocoa pods.
Major corporations like Hershey, Nestle, Mars, and Godiva are the biggest buyers of cacao beans. Their use of these beans perpetuates poverty and poor education for the children who must work to support their families.
Corporations have built a multi-billion dollar industry on the backs of our children. We have the opportunity to make informed decisions about our purchases and keep our money out of the hands of corporations that seek to hurt our future by taking exploiting and putting our children in danger.