Child Labor in Cocoa Production and Fair Trade Chocolate
Lit Review:
Child Labor In Cocoa Production and Fair Trade Chocolate
By Sarah Kopperl
Introduction: I have always had a love affair with chocolate. When I was little I thought the best job in the world would be to be a chocolatier, and have my own candy shop. I often visited Hershey P.A. and went to Hershey World, never wondering why they didn’t tell us much about how the cocoa was grown and harvested, only looking forward to the chocolate bar at the end of the “How Chocolate is Made” ride, and the roller coasters to come. As I have grown up, my intentions for a career have changed, but my love of chocolate has stayed. During the summer I took a course that had me researching commodities in South American countries and came across an article about child labor in chocolate production, which is discussed in more detail below. Since then I have tried to buy mostly fair trade chocolate, but didn’t really think too hard about it. Because of this project, I have dug into what Fair Trade is, why it is needed, and the underlying causes of child labor in cocoa farming communities. It made me think past the candy bar to the process of making it.
Corporate Websites: The corporate websites I looked at were hesrheys.com, and usa.cadbury.com. Through the corporate websites I was hoping to learn about where their cocoa comes from, how chocolate is made, and some statistics on chocolate. I was also hoping to see how the companies are working towards sustainable cocoa crops and if they are Fair Trade or if they are doing anything to support fair wages and better living conditions for cocoa farmers. Hershey’s has a printer and user friendly section on how chocolate is made which talks very little about how cocoa is grown and harvested, focusing more on how cocoa is processed. (4) The site also links directly to the Hershey Company website which is separate from the site that would come up if searched in google. This is where the mission statement,
Child Labor In Cocoa Production and Fair Trade Chocolate
By Sarah Kopperl
Introduction: I have always had a love affair with chocolate. When I was little I thought the best job in the world would be to be a chocolatier, and have my own candy shop. I often visited Hershey P.A. and went to Hershey World, never wondering why they didn’t tell us much about how the cocoa was grown and harvested, only looking forward to the chocolate bar at the end of the “How Chocolate is Made” ride, and the roller coasters to come. As I have grown up, my intentions for a career have changed, but my love of chocolate has stayed. During the summer I took a course that had me researching commodities in South American countries and came across an article about child labor in chocolate production, which is discussed in more detail below. Since then I have tried to buy mostly fair trade chocolate, but didn’t really think too hard about it. Because of this project, I have dug into what Fair Trade is, why it is needed, and the underlying causes of child labor in cocoa farming communities. It made me think past the candy bar to the process of making it.
Corporate Websites: The corporate websites I looked at were hesrheys.com, and usa.cadbury.com. Through the corporate websites I was hoping to learn about where their cocoa comes from, how chocolate is made, and some statistics on chocolate. I was also hoping to see how the companies are working towards sustainable cocoa crops and if they are Fair Trade or if they are doing anything to support fair wages and better living conditions for cocoa farmers. Hershey’s has a printer and user friendly section on how chocolate is made which talks very little about how cocoa is grown and harvested, focusing more on how cocoa is processed. (4) The site also links directly to the Hershey Company website which is separate from the site that would come up if searched in google. This is where the mission statement,