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    The Dark Side of Chocolate

     

    Do Now

    Yell out True or False…

    Chocolate milk

     

    Well, this is false, but where DOES chocolate come from? 

     

    If you saw the dance troupe on Friday, some of them talked about the Ivory Coast.  Did you know that one of the main exports from the Ivory Coast of Africa is cocoa beans, from which chocolate is made?  Is the chocolate you eat from Africa (up to 70% of the world's cocoa beans come from either Ghana or the Ivory Coast)?  If so, you might be surprised by how it is harvested.


    It may be that the chocolate you love so much is the product of someone else's hard labor. The person who may have sold it or who may have made it may not even be an adult.

    The International Labour Organization estimates between 56 and 72 million African children work in agriculture, many in their own family farms. The seven largest cocoa-producing countries are Indonesia, Nigeria, Cameron, Brazil, Ecuador, the Ivory Coast and Ghana. Those last two together account for nearly 60 percent of global cocoa production. "

     

    http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/06/the-dark-side-of-chocolate/

     


    How old do you think he is?  And is that a machete?  Be careful, little guy!

     


    cocoa

     

    This looks heavy

    childlabor

    While not considered slaves, children as young as six work from 6:00 in the morning until the sun goes down to earn $2.00 per day.  They often leave their families to live on the farm and are fed bananas and corn paste.  These children do not have time for school, and if injured by a machete, wild animal or a fall they are sent home.  There is no medical care or clean water.

    Three of the biggest candy companies, Hershey, Mars and Nestle are in the middle of a lawsuit for failing to disclose that they use child labor to pick the Cocoa beans.  By the way, most of these child laborers have never even tasted chocolate!

     

    What is effect on these children?

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoWO-gU2jko

    Check for understanding….

    WHY is it ironic that some children give up school and family to provide chocolate to children in other countries who do not have to work for it?

    EXIT Ticket- 

    WHAT can Americans do to end this injustice?  (Come up with five ideas)

     

     

    Sources/For Further Study

    http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/30/lawsuit-your-candy-bar-was-made-by-child-slaves.html

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/amanda-gregory/chocolate-and-child-slave_b_4181089.html

    https://vimeo.com/39383629

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5C7jmrycf0

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoWO-gU2jko