Very Scary, Very Real

An Editorial from Green America: Keep Child Slavery out of the Cocoa Supply Chain

Sorry to scare you, but on Halloween, much of the chocolate Americans will hand out to trick-or-treaters will be tainted by the labor of enslaved children.

Hershey's, Nestlé, and the other big chocolate companies know this. They promised nearly a decade ago to set up a system to certify that no producers in their supply chains use child labor. They gave themselves a July 2005 deadline for that, which came and went without meaningful action. A second voluntary deadline sailed by as well in 2008. There's a new deadline for voluntary action at the end of this year. Don't hold your breath.

Few Americans had heard of this problem before reporters Sudarsan Raghavan and Sumana Chatterjee exposed the scandalous conditions under which most U.S. chocolate is made, in the summer of 2001.

In one of their articles, a slave described his 13-hour work-days on the 494-acre plantation as brutal, filled with harsh physical labor, punctuated by beatings, and ending with a night of fitful sleep on a wooden plank in a locked room with other slaves.

“The beatings were a part of my life,” said the boy, who was sold into slavery at not yet 12 years old. “Anytime they loaded you with bags and you fell while you were carrying them, nobody helped you. Instead, they beat you and beat you until you picked it up again.”

The reports shocked some members of Congress into action. That fall, Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) prepared bills to require U.S. chocolate companies--by force of law--to certify their products as slave-free. Engel’s bill passed the House, but before Harkin’s bill could pass the Senate, the chocolate industry had announced a voluntary four-year plan to clean up its own supply chains, without legislation.

Meanwhile, evidence that child slavery still bedevils the chocolate industry isn’t hard to find. For example, in late September, a research team from Tulane University (specifically charged by Congress with oversight of the voluntary supply-chain efforts) reported that “the industry is still far from achieving its target by the end of 2010 … and the majority of children exposed to the worst forms of child labor remain unreached.”

The just-released documentary The Dark Side of Chocolate, by filmmakers Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano takes a less detached tone, going undercover and exposing child slavery in the cocoa supply chain from the inside.

And if that’s not enough, the State Department’s own 2010 Trafficking in Persons report lists several West African countries where children are traded and taken to work cocoa plantations.

All the while, the biggest chocolate companies cavil that because they don’t own the cocoa plantations outright, cleaning up their supply chains is too hard. But some of them aren’t even trying. The biggest cocoa company in the country, Hershey’s--even after nine years to get started--has no certification system in place whatsoever to ensure that its cocoa isn’t tainted by labor rights abuses.

Here are three things you do this Halloween to ensure that your chocolate isn’t tainted by the exploitation of children overseas.

* You can look for chocolate from companies that do certify their supply chains, via labels such the Fair Trade label and the IMO Fair For Life label. Green America offers a scorecard explaining these labels in detail, and ranking the chocolate companies.
* You can contact conventional chocolate companies like Hershey’s – call them, write to them, write on their Facebook pages – and tell them you expect them to prove their supply chains aren’t tainted.
* You can contact your representatives in Congress. If after a decade the chocolate companies can’t monitor their own supply chains, we need to go back to the drawing board, and demand, by law, that slave-produced chocolate has no place on the shelves of stores in the USA.

The people who produce the raw materials for our chocolate treats deserve fair wages and safe working conditions. African children shouldn't have to suffer unspeakable horrors so that our children can have a happy Halloween

--Andrew Korfhage

Find our report on Hershey's cocoa sourcing here, and click here to send a message directly to the Hershey company.

The Right to Choose

In the vernacular of American dogma, freedom is a central aspect to the terminology which serves to create and uphold social value and provide meaning to our lifestyles. We invoke the our constitutional right to freedom for almost every challenge, and boast on how our society is unique in that it provides us with the chance to live and be "free." When the buffoonery of our leadership is questioned, or the over-indulgence of our culture is criticized or warned against, we simply resort to our favorite catchphrase: love it or leave it.

But for many the choice really is not so easy. The freedom to "just say no" has been revoked from many in our country, and the choices that decide the fate and well-being of their lives are often made difficult or almost impossible, depending on the type of contract that they sign.

I am talking about the United States Military, and the soldiers who somehow lack the fundamental right to just say "sir, no, sir." I'm talking about the fact that 43,000 of the troops currently deployed abroad are deemed medically unfit to serve, but are deployed regardless. 17% of troops currently in Afghanistan fall under this distinction. I'm talking about the 260,000 homeless veterans, 6,000 of whom are female; about the countless cases of PTSD; about those who are silenced, coerced, and forced back into service despite the completion of their term; about Robert Murchison, a soldier at Fort Carson who shot himself in the leg to avoid re-deployment; about the mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, and children who find their loved ones permanently changed upon their return from war; about the 30,000 more souls that President Obama is pondering sending into war, beginning next March. I'm talking about the average of 10 suicides per month at the Texas military base of Fort Hood, Texas, prior to this past July. And I am also of course talking about the highly-publicized tragedy that took place there last week.

These are men and women who are far braver than I am, to risk their lives in the name of that same freedom in which we love to bask. Yet they are given little or no options once they have served their duty, and are faced with intense pressure as soon as they begin to show a reluctance to fight. The fact is that war is an atrocious situation, and if a person is brave enough to do it once in your name, than they should have the freedom of choice as to whether or not they'd like to return. But still they are sent into life-threatening, sanity-threatening situations, where they occupy a land on which they are not welcome. This is a kind of imposition that is downright disrespectful to all involved, and as was shown by the behavior of Major Hasan at Fort Hood last week, can be extremely dangerous.

In Kurt Vonnegut's famous novel, Player Piano, the character of a foreign Shah visiting the United States is revisited throughout the story, and is positively baffled by the operations of this country's soldiers. He mistakenly refers to them as siki, or slaves, and is confused when he is corrected because of their intensley imposed submission. This puzzlement is not far-off from my own. Why must this continue? I am thoroughly confused. For all of the money we spend on defense, can't they increase care and counseling and treatment through the armed forces? Or must soldiers continue to seek solace elsewhere?

There has been a proliferation of coffee houses such as the 'Under the Hood Cafe,' located directly across from Fort Hood in Texas, which seek to serve as shock absorbers: places for the troops to seeks counseling, legal advice, and support. As the war against the war movement intensifies within the armed forces, more resources are needed to maintain the health and well-being of our returning soldiers, in order to maintain a cohesive and sane environment for our military. They have given so much in the name of our freedom, and deserve to be fully taken care of when they return. They also deserve the right to choose their own fate, and if need be, to be able to freely say "sir, no sir!" without reproach.

Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served and are currently serving our country.

Happy [Healthy] Halloween!

What's a better holiday to bring out the childish side of our spirits than Halloween? This time of year has come to represent a good-natured indulgence in folly and imagination for all of those who aren't too proud to play dress up and run through corn mazes. We all throw rationality to the wind as we delight ourselves with spooks and stories which, just for a moment, we decide to believe. And of course, we eat tasty treats and make art work out of pumpkins, and the child inside of us smiles.

But Halloween also has a tendency to promote corn syrup snacks in wasteful wrappers and tons and tons of unnecessary plastic crap. Just walk into any CVS or Walgreens, you'll see it there: the disposable plates and napkins with Halloween-themed images, the packages of plastic and disposable trick-or-treat bags, the cauldrons, the spiderwebs, the tombstones, etc., etc. etc. It's a pretty frightening scene, especially when you consider that these are all things that could be made at home, or substituted with sustainable alternatives. And as for the snacks, well... it's tough to convince a child not to eat candy, sure. But there are so many healthy, tasty treats that would make their tummies just as full! Here are some tips on how to have a happy, healthy Halloween:

Decor

For me, the best aesthetic for a fall-themed holiday would be an array of different colors, sizes, and shapes of pumpkins and gourds bought at a local farmers market. These can be painted, stenciled, carved, and cut, and are thus very versatile- they can become whatever you'd like them to be! And collecting the bountiful, beautifully colored fall leaves is quite opportunistic for DIY craft ideas such as wreathes and collages. These projects are fun and formative for everyone, as they employ the use of our creative sides, and produce a rewarding end result. For some family craft ideas, check here. And if time is really an issue for you, Green Planet Parties sells Halloween decorations made from sustainable and non-harmful materials.

Treats

Now, pumpkins are not exclusively for display. In fact, the rich and tender pulp inside of both pumpkins and gourds are highly nutritious and variant. There is an excellent array of pumpkin recipes on vebweb.com, check them out for some inspiration! Remember that every part of the pumpkin can be used! The seeds can be baked, or given to birds. And once your jack-o-lantern has wilted, the entire shell can be composted! Other seasonal foods, like apples, are also very diverse and tasty and can be used in a variety of ways. To fill up those bags, try nuts, trail mix, honey sticks, and raisins. They are all great [sealed!] treats for the kids, and besides being super tasty, they are really good for you! And if sweets are the only way to go, then try organic chocolate with a high percentage of cacao, organic fruit snacks, or other natural candy options.

Tricks

It's simple and easy enough: reusable bags! And enjoy the time to stroll around your neighborhood from house to house. Walking is incredibly good for your body, and is a pastime that we often take for granted. Trick-or-treating is a great opportunity to take in the beautiful fall weather, explore your neighborhood, and meet your neighbors.

Costumes

Make your own! Be creative! Instead of going for that pre-packaged French Maid costume, or a stinky Obama mask, be the only one at the party with an original and interesting costume idea! If you're not into sewing, try shopping at your local thrift shop, or check out craigslist and freecycle for costume bulk.

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Halloween is a great opportunity to celebrate the fall, and to indulge ourselves in the bizarre, imaginative behavior that we took for granted as kids but that can be so nourishing and entertaining. It is a time for us to be creative and silly, and to express ourselves in ways that we don't normally get to in our daily lives. The costumes, the treats, and the traditions can all be carried out without excessive waste, and can actually prove to be a health way of celebrating! Between eating healthy seasonal foods, having an excuse to walk around the neighborhood, exercizing our minds in different crafty ways, and allowing ourselves to be free and a bit silly... Halloween may actually be quite beneficial to your health! So, Got Halloween? ;-)