The world loves chocolate. Million tons of chocolates are being made and sold every year. Different flavors of chocolate can be found in almost every store that sells food. Among these chocolates, Cote d'Ivoire in West Africa is responsible for 40% of the coco production in the world; however, the coco farmers earn less than 1 USD per day.
The chocolate industry is estimated to earn more than 100 billion dollars a year, yet, the profit is gained by human trafficking. Children were trafficking to West Africa as slaves for farming coco 2 decades ago, and the industry promised to fix this modern slavering issue by 2005, yet, the deadline has never been met. Moreover, the price set by the London market calculation can only let the coco farmers in West Africa earn less than 200 USD per year, which is way lower than the minimum wage for living. Even though there are regulations regulate the farm gate price of coco beans, farmers don’t have the choices of who to sell the beans, so they often receive the prices that are far below the farm gate price. Global coco prices and millions of lives that depend on them are impacted by three middleman companies’ decisions because every coco in the market would go through either one of these three companies in certain ways.
Farmers are always at the bottom of the pyramid in this farming economic structure. Coco farmers in Cote d'Ivoire are still using the traditional ways to grow coco like farmers growing crops back in 1920 and it’s because they got barely no benefit in return on growing Cocos so that they won’t have much to invest in machines to harvest them. Poverty then became one of the biggest drivers for deforestation in West Africa because the farmers don’t have the choice to choose between protecting the forest or feeding their family. There were 244 protected areas in Cote d'Ivoire and 200 of them have disappeared. There are more than 50,000 tons of coco being grown in West Africa’s national parks and protected forests, and yet the signs stating “protected areas” are still there but there’s actually nothing left to be protected.
People create issues, yet, facing them and fixing them as well. A no-name Netherland chocolate production company created a whole new brand called “Tony’s Chocolonely” in the mission of change. It promised to make chocolate 100% slave free. In 2012, Tony’s partnered up with one of the biggest chocolate manufacturers in the world, Barry Callebaut. They decided to shape the whole market and hoping to make the things right by providing the coco farmers the income that meets the minimum living wage. They’ve built solid traceability between the manufacturer and the farmers. Callebaut set its commission on making all coco sustainable in 2025.
If every chocolate company can be like Tony’s Chocolonely, modern slavery structure in coco farmers can be changed. Names on those chocolates selling to customers should take care of the issues within the industry.
The chocolate industry is estimated to earn more than 100 billion dollars a year, yet, the profit is gained by human trafficking. Children were trafficking to West Africa as slaves for farming coco 2 decades ago, and the industry promised to fix this modern slavering issue by 2005, yet, the deadline has never been met. Moreover, the price set by the London market calculation can only let the coco farmers in West Africa earn less than 200 USD per year, which is way lower than the minimum wage for living. Even though there are regulations regulate the farm gate price of coco beans, farmers don’t have the choices of who to sell the beans, so they often receive the prices that are far below the farm gate price. Global coco prices and millions of lives that depend on them are impacted by three middleman companies’ decisions because every coco in the market would go through either one of these three companies in certain ways.
Farmers are always at the bottom of the pyramid in this farming economic structure. Coco farmers in Cote d'Ivoire are still using the traditional ways to grow coco like farmers growing crops back in 1920 and it’s because they got barely no benefit in return on growing Cocos so that they won’t have much to invest in machines to harvest them. Poverty then became one of the biggest drivers for deforestation in West Africa because the farmers don’t have the choice to choose between protecting the forest or feeding their family. There were 244 protected areas in Cote d'Ivoire and 200 of them have disappeared. There are more than 50,000 tons of coco being grown in West Africa’s national parks and protected forests, and yet the signs stating “protected areas” are still there but there’s actually nothing left to be protected.
People create issues, yet, facing them and fixing them as well. A no-name Netherland chocolate production company created a whole new brand called “Tony’s Chocolonely” in the mission of change. It promised to make chocolate 100% slave free. In 2012, Tony’s partnered up with one of the biggest chocolate manufacturers in the world, Barry Callebaut. They decided to shape the whole market and hoping to make the things right by providing the coco farmers the income that meets the minimum living wage. They’ve built solid traceability between the manufacturer and the farmers. Callebaut set its commission on making all coco sustainable in 2025.
If every chocolate company can be like Tony’s Chocolonely, modern slavery structure in coco farmers can be changed. Names on those chocolates selling to customers should take care of the issues within the industry.
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