barely enough to keep them working , are not free to leave , and can be killed without legal consequence .
In the United States the old slave trade consisted primarily of bringing people against their will from Africa . It was a significant financial investment . Before the Civil War , the cost to purchase the average slave amounted to the equivalent of € 40,000 in modern terms . The current price is usually about € 70 to € 120 . The result is that they tend to be treated as even more disposable . Slaves today are so cheap that they ’ re not even seen as a capital investment anymore . The slave owners don ’ t take care of their slaves ; they just use them up and then throw them away . In Côte d ’ Ivoire , the slave trade is booming like never before .
1.7 Pressure for change
As publicity about the use of child slaves in the chocolate industry mounts higher and higher , so does pressure on the chocolate manufacturers . There is nothing sweet or innocent about slavery .
On June 28 , 2001 , the U . S . House of Representatives voted 291 to 115 to look into setting up a labelling system so people could be sure that no slave labor was used in their chocolate . Unhappy with this , the chocolate industry mounted an intense effort to fight off “ slave free ” labels for their products .
The International Labor Rights Fund actually sued the U . S . government for failing to enforce the laws prohibiting the import of products made with child labor .
Since then , several plans have been made to abolish slavery , but always nothing or almost nothing has changed . The Harkin-Engel Protocol ( explained below ) is , sadly , only one example of empty promises from the slave-using portion of the chocolate industry .
Unfortunately , no producer using Côte d ’ Ivoire cocoa can truthfully state that none of its chocolate was produced by child slavery , as the 90 % of slave picked beans are mixed together with the 10 % harvested by free field hands .
Worldwide , people are rallying for the slaves . You are needed as well .
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