13 things about chocolate and children

Many people are aware of the Fair Trade movement and how its involved in chocolate production and sales. But something I was not aware of was the alarming fact that people trafficking is often a part of chocolate production.

Check this out. Nearly half the world’s chocolate is made from cocoa grown in the Cote D’Ivoire, in Africa. 12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa farms in Cote D’Ivoire. When we buy chocolate we are being forced to be oppressors ourselves as we have no guarantee that the chocolate we eat is “traffik free” (as quoted on the Stop the Traffik website).

So, Stop the Traffik are suggesting there are 13 things you can do about it. That’s a whole list of things that aren’t difficult, not particularly time consuming, and not even dangerous. You might think that buying a bar of chocolate, or not buying one, is not doing much about 12,000 kids living thousands of miles away. But if you’ve thought about the decision you make, and then join a growing movement of people who are also thinking about the choices they make with a view to changing trade through the power of consumer spending, the time will come when a groundswell of changing opinion will begin to impact the cocoa market. Witness the success of the Fair Trade movement, the ever growing concern over global environmental issues, and the Make Poverty History campaign.

Each of those 12,000 kids are made in God’s image and deserve the respect their human-ness demands. Our choices with chocolate form part of our responsibility to God’s image in those kids. And the thing with us in western economies is, we are response-able.