Chocoholics beware - the chocolate that you enjoy could be produced by children who have been forced to work and kidnapped from their homes. This actually happens. Children are taken from their homes and forced to work on chocolate plantations. Basically the only way to avoid this is either avoid chocolate like the plague or eat Fair Trade chocolate. The Fair Trade foundation ensure that producers do not use child or forced labour. Although it it fair to say that westerncentric values should not be forced onto other cultures, it is also fair to say that forced labour whether it forced on children or adults is morally wrong regardless of cultural experience. It is a breach of human rights. For my part, I can understand that in some countries child labour does take place and where this is the case, these children should be treated with a greater level of kindness that an adult should expect. None-the-less, children should not and cannot be forced to work. It has to stop. We have to stop it.
Buy Fair Trade chocolate. Write to chocolate manufacturers and demand that they become Fair Trade approved.
I'm currently trying to establish whether The Rainforrest Alliance approved chocolate (such as Galaxy) is suitable in terms of forced labour. At present, it's unclear. So Fair Trade is the only option.
Cadburys dairy milk is Fair Trade. The Co-op supermarket sell many Fair Trade products including their own brand chocolate. Divine is a Fair Trade chocolate manufacturer. Wherever you see the Fair Trade symbol you can be sure that it is Fair Trade.
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