Children younger than nine were not allowed to work and the work day of youth under the age of 18 was limited to twelve hours (Wikipedia, Child Labor), American senator Tom Harkin, a leader in the movement to end abusive child labor worldwide, In 2001, reports of human trafficking and physical abuse in West African cocoa farming raised concerns. However, there is a “dark side” to dark chocolate. Aleah Bowie '13 (from left), Janell Holloway '13, and Raven Fisher '13 sampled chocolate during a class that introduced the political side of the sweet treat. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing The Dark Side of Chocolate near you. Chocolate slavery today is wide spread in West African countries such as Mali, the Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Ghana, and Nigeria. New coercive legislation requiring “child-labor-free” labeling could cause trouble for the large cocoa exporters and chocolate manufacturers if there were boycotts of non-labeled chocolate. Don’t let them! The Dark Side of Chocolate is a 2010 film exposing the widespread but strangely unknown-to-the-public use of child slaves in the cocoa industry. Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Synopsis submission guide. “It’s about society, culture, politics, history, anthropology. The GCP is a high-impact poverty alleviation project focused on significantly improving the lives of cocoa farmers worldwide through the supply of equipment and basic needs. However, the protocol was criticized by some, criticism which seems to have been validated by the fact that industry still has not delivered on farm level certification against the worst forms of child labour. Filming began in Germany, where Mistrati asked vendors where their chocolate comes from. You love dark chocolate. Copyright © University of California, Santa Barbara | The Regents of the University of California | Terms of Use | Credits | Sitemap | Privacy The documentary was released in 2010, first in Denmark, and later in Sweden, Ireland, Belgium, and Norway. Today I would like to introduce a documentary film called “The Dark Side of Chocolate” . Like coffee and flowers, the cocoa fields are notorious for using slave labor to fill all of those daily cravings and holiday orders. when you purchase 3 participating Suave products 9/1-10/31 at Walmart or Walmart.com. Taglines By 2020, these major chocolate manufacturers hope to completely eradicate child labor on any plantations from which they purchase their cocoa.[8]. After the tasting, Martin talked about the legacy of slave labor in the production of cacao, offering a case study of challenges faced by the Quaker-founded Cadbury Co. in the early 1900s, when such labor was discovered on the cacao plantations of the island of São Tomé, off the West African coast. Those fears proved unfounded. In response, Mistrati set up a large screen next to Nestlé’s headquarters in Switzerland, forcing employees to catch a glimpse of child labor in the cocoa industry. 2019 Edinburgh - Biennial Conference Coverage March 21, 2019, 2019 Edinburgh - Biennial Conference Coverage March 22, 2019, 2019 Edinburgh - Biennial Conference Coverage March 23, 2019, 2019 Edinburgh - Biennial Conference Coverage March 24, 2019, Regional Meeting Planner - 6 Month Schedule. Do justices really set aside personal beliefs? The Dark Side of Chocolate was directed by Danish journalist Miki Mistrati who investigated the use of child labor and trafficked children in chocolate production. The Protocol was hailed as a framework for progress, bringing together industry, West African governments, organized labor, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), farmer groups and experts to raise labor standards. Consumers can help in this effort by choosing chocolates that are organic and carry a “fair trade” label (source). In Mali, children are bought and sold for $30 in U.S currency from poor areas. Sign up for daily emails to get the latest Harvard news. “Think about that,” Martin said. 90% of the chocolate labor force is young children either kidnapped from their home lands, or sold into slavery, robbing them of their freedom and chance for education. Much of the footage in this documentary was recorded using a secret camera in a bag Mistrati carried. Sadly, the cocoa business is one of the main portals for child slave labor, as their small hands and bodies enable them to get into those hard to reach places and work rather fast. When confronted with this issue, corporate representatives denied all rumors of child labor and trafficking, but the investigations of the filmmakers brought to light the continued widespread use of trafficked child slaves on cocoa plantations. First of all, Chocolate can be sweet but also bitter like our life and like it’s industry. SEE DETAILS. Since the idea was first floated in 2001, the chocolate industry has taken the same position: Labeling “would hurt the people it is intended to help,” says Susan Smith, a spokeswoman for the Chocolate Manufacturers Association and the World Cocoa Foundation. [5] Chocolate producers around the world have been pressured to “verify that their chocolate is not the product of child labor or slavery.”[6], In 2000, BBC aired Slavery: A Global Investigation which brought the issue of child labor in the cocoa industry to light.[7]. We pick up chocolate bunnies, bars filled with cherries or liqueurs and indulge, well, because it’s a holiday time when that is appropriate. Chocolate is something that all of us eat and enjoy. Despite this effort, numerous children are still forced to work on cocoa plantations in Africa. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations. After a stop at the Ivory Coast, the world's leading cocoa producer, the exposé concludes in Geneva at the International Labour Office, to bring the matter up with the use of raw material containing testimonies from liberated children, activists and traffickers that reveal the bitter taste of our indispensable chocolate. It was said to mark a first – an international industry taking responsibility for addressing labor abuses in its supply chain. There’s a burgeoning culture that’s interested in learning how to make chocolate ethically, and make it really well.”. A team of journalists investigate how human trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast fuels the worldwide chocolate industry. “The industry’s evident lack of compliance with Harkin-Engel puts everyone involved in a difficult position. As a closing edit window to the film, during the credits roll, we see the local police arrive, to ask why they are showing the film outside Nestlé's Head Office in Vevey, Switzerland. It looks like we don't have a Synopsis for this title yet. [9] It was filmed by U. Roberto Romano and produced by Helle Faber. The Focus Group was then reconvened in another of Reesemeyer Shannon Belt Advertising’s nineteenth-floor conference rooms. Read More. Veins spiked with sugar and goody bags overflowing with Peanut Butter Cups and Hershey's bars propel tiny devils, ghouls and goblins from door to door. The crew interview both proponents and opponents of these alleged practices, and use hidden camera techniques to delve into the gritty world of cocoa plantations. (Wikipedia, Chocolate), Depiction of British child labor in Victorian coal mines. Next, they explored the Ivory Coast where the cocoa plantations are located. AFRICA: The Dark Side of Chocolate Published by . [13][14], exploitation and slavetrading of African children to harvest chocolate, The Dark Side of Chocolate Official Website, COLUMN: Chocolate industry built on blood and sweat of child slaves. On a daily basis they deal with long hours, hot temperatures, dangerous tools, and poisonous pesticides” (source). “In some ways, consumers expect chocolate to be a cheap luxury,” Martin said. American senator Tom Harkin, a leader in the movement to end abusive child labor worldwide, became involved. An industry-funded Verification Working Group was begun in 2004. In the cocoa plantations of Ghana and the Ivory Coast, children aged from 7 to 15 years old, with the promise of paid work, they are forced into slave labour. Representatives of two local chocolate makers, Taza Chocolate and Rogue Chocolatier, will speak to Martin’s class later this semester about the joys and challenges involved in producing high-quality chocolate untainted by unfair labor. The Dark Side of Chocolate was produced by Danish journalist Miki Mistrati who investigated the use of child labor and trafficked children in chocolate production.