Forgive me for the off topic post. I ran across this the other day and wondered who else saw it.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/717348.asp?pne=msn
I researched chocolate and the slave trade a while back for an english essay. Afterward, my chocolate purchase level dimished rather drastically, and I have been vocal about it -to the great dismay of my chocolate loving friends … “Oh am a so depressed, I need chocolate” … “(deep voice)Do you know that you would thereby be condoning the selling and enslaving of children?” …“What…?” … “Yes, it’s true that several chocolate plantations in Africa commonly use child labor” …
I think that a label that would outline that the chocolate was child labor free would be a great idea. They have such labels for “organic” or “not tested on animals” etc.
Anyway, I found the whole thing about the selling of children very disturbing.
In Britain at least you can look for the “Fair Trade” mark on your chocolate and other products. Are there similar schemes in the USA and Canada?
In Britain at least you can look for the “Fair Trade” mark on your chocolate and other products. Are there similar schemes in the USA and Canada?
Unfortunately, slavery and other horrendous human rights abuses are common in many areas of the world including the USA, Canada, and Europe.
Many of the products we eat, drink, wear, or use everyday come from countries with widespread human rights abuses and from “sweatshops” within our own countries and we don’t think much about it.
Chocolate is one product that has been fingered as the product of “slave labour” but lets look at a few more common products:
How about everyone’s favourite drug, coffee? Most coffee is grown and marketed by peasants incountires like Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador who get paid almost nothing for their work - in many cases these countries end up with a small amount of arable land left to grow food for their own people and eventually they become net importers of food or recipients of international food aid.
How about designer-label clothing? Hmm, probably made in Bangladesh, Pakistan, or India by children. If its made in Canada or the USA it could be very well be made in someone’s home where they get paid by “the piece” which usually works out to less than $2 an hour (and the worker has no benefits and supplies her own equipment).
How about any product made in China? No need to say more about Chinese human rights.
Need to go for a jog to unwind from all the stress? Slip on your $100 sneakers which are probably made in some third world country by a child or pregnant woman under atrocious conditions.
Not even electronics are free of human rights abuses. Cell phones and computers have components in them called “pinhead capacitors” which are made with tantalum. Tantalum comes from an ore called Coltan. And 80% of the worlds coltan comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to most industry watchdogs it is turf wars over the coltan trade that are fuelling the war in the DRC.
Don’t even get me started on “a girl’s best friend”, diamonds …
Links:
Coffee</a](http://www.usleap.org/Coffee/coffeetemp.html">Coffee</a)>
Sweat](http://www.coopamerica.org/sweatshops/sswhysweatshops.htm%22%3ESweat) shops
Tantalum</a](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/africa/newsid_1468000/1468772.stm">Tantalum</a)>
You do what you can, you draw your own personal lines about what you cannot tolerate, and you never, never criticize someone who’s lines are somewhere other than yours.
Thanks for the information on all of the above. I’ll read them with interest and adjust my life within my limits.
For anyone who’s interested in what has really affected the position of my day to day lines, please read the book Fast Food Nation, and think about it next time you pass a drive-in restaurant.
Your local carnivore,
you mean my precious chocolate is tainted?
On 2002-03-18 18:33, tyghress wrote:
For anyone who’s interested in what has really affected the position of my day to day lines, please read the book Fast Food Nation, and think about it next time you pass a drive-in restaurant.
I’ve been trying to get my hands on this book ever since I heard the author interviewed by Bob Edwards on NPR’s Morning Edition a few months ago. The hold list at the library numbers around 80! But I’ll get to it. 
My own little addition to this thread: Last fall the Barnum & Bailey Circus was in town. I received free passes (another story), so took the kids. While standing in line at the gate, we (circus attendees) were harangued continuously by the animal abuse protestors. I lost count of the number of leather shoes, belts and hats being worn. And I saw more than a few burger wrappers on the ground in their area. Hmmmmm.
Although the idea of child and sweatshop labor is certain abhorrent, these people at least (theoretically) do get paid. The income they receive is probably much needed and very welcome by their families.
According to the info in the two web sites, young men are lured to the area by promise of a job. Once at the plantations, they are fed poorly, are locked up at night, not paid and beaten if they try to escape. This is not just a sweat-shop, piece-rate situation. It is real, honest-to-goodness slavery.
[ This Message was edited by: paulsdad on 2002-03-19 14:44 ]
Look for “Made in Canada” diamonds. Socially and environmentally clean stones.
Stef
In response to Tyghress’s and Tom’s remarks: My favorite hypocrites are those who call themselves environmentalists because the vote for the “right party”, but drive around huge SUV’s, won’t recycle anything that isn’t picked up at the curb, and generally won’t sacrifice their convenience for anything.
/rant mode off/
Humorous note: The Ford Excursion touts itself as 80% recyclable, but the other 20% is almost the equivalent of one Honda Civic.
Charlie
Don’t get me started on the pro-choice PETA don’t-even-look-at-animals types who thow a fit if you step on a roach but don’t give a damn if you abort every dang fetus concieved…