In 2000, it was revealed that the harvesting and processing of the cacao plant was left to children, often unpaid and living in slavery. Imprisoned, forced to go to the bathroom on the roof or in a cup and malnourished, children would either be sold into it for $30 or be kidnapped, thinking they were applying for some sort of paying job.
The rules and regulations are so lax there that there is no government to step in and stop the atrocities. This horrific state of child slavery is also the perfect cheap labor for candy companies that want to sell you chocolate for dirt cheap prices. Why do you think it only costs $1 for a chocolate bar?
The information was revealed in the documentary, Slavery: A Global Investigation, which can be watched here:
The gruesome depictions of first hand accounts of slavery; children with whipped backs, afraid for their lives and beaten for months, into submission, was met with immediate congressional action.
The chocolate companies pleaded ignorance; Hershey senior vice president Robert M. Reese told Philadelphia Inquirer reporter Bob Fernandez that "no one, repeat, no one, had ever heard of this" (as if he could somehow know that). After confirmation that the slavery was indeed happening and that it was as bad as the documentary depicted, U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel quickly drafted US legislation commanding the FDA to introduce "slave free" labeling on chocolate, similar to organic labeling. The bill immediately gained approval in the House of Representatives and was on its way to the Senate where people were ready to draft it into law. It was then that the chocolate companies stepped in, promising to self regulate the issue, stating that there would be no more child slavery by 2005. It turned out, they didn't do much. It's 2015 and there are now more child slaves than there were in 2001. 51% more, in fact. There are now 1.4 million children carrying back-breaking sacks of cacao, having their bodies whipped and beaten and crushing themselves from dawn to dusk for no pay.
Now that it has become evident that Hershey, Nestle and Mars have no way of handling the issue (besides pushing back the date of completion to 2008, then 2020), California residents have filed a class-action lawsuit, requiring the companies to pay damages to people that have purchased the product "unwittingly" supporting child slave trade, and also that they print new labels that indicate the product was made with child slave labor.
"America's largest and most profitable food conglomerates should not tolerate child labor, much less child slave labor, anywhere in their supply chains," the complaint reads. "These companies should not turn a blind eye to known human rights abuses... especially when the companies consistently and affirmatively represent that they act in a socially and ethically responsible manner."
Comment: While the above class action lawsuit may seem distasteful at first glance, the aim is not in claiming damages for California residents per se, but to bring pressure to bear on Hershey, Nestle and Mars. None of whom have done anything over the last ten years regarding child slavery, while continuing to make profits by it.
For more see: Lawsuit: Your Candy Bar Was Made By Child Slaves
"The complaint goes into detail about the lives of the estimated 4,000 children allegedly working in forced labor conditions harvesting cocoa in the Ivory Coast. Many of the children are sold into slavery, some for less than $30; others are kidnapped or tricked into thinking it's a real job, the complaint alleges. Once there, the children are allegedly trapped on isolated farms, threatened with physical abuse, required to work when they are sick, and denied sufficient food.
While the plaintiffs mention each company's individual pledges to tackle the problem of child labor, they consider these promises to be "false assurances" that have done little to solve the problem. As long as the companies allegedly continue to use child slaves, the plaintiffs say they believe consumers have the right to know. "
Source: The Daily Beast
I would feel much better if the proceeds from the class action lawsuit were to go back to the villages where these children have come from to supply food, water and education at the very least. Ideally it would be wonderful to reimburse those children (and now adults) who have been commandeered to these corporations but that may well be a fruitless exercise. But, as much as possible, back wages to as many as could be found and a decent wage to workers from this point onward would be a step in the right direction.