Chocolate not produced by slaves is indeed awesome , but unfortunately the benefit of eating it does not always reach Côte d ’ Ivoire , and although the slave trade can be stopped by not buying chocolate produced by slaves , this will still not immediately directly help the child slaves in the Côte d ’ Ivoire , only put slaveholders out of work . What we really need is for big companies like Nestlé , Kraft Foods , Mars , Hershey ’ s , General Mills , and Unilever to start helping children in West Africa who are enslaved . How can we make this happen ? We need to not only boycott chocolate produced by slaves , but also inform more people and companies about this human rights cause . Together we will fight .
2.3 Who bears the blame ?
• Companies who use Côte d ’ Ivoire ’ s cocoa . Cocoaʹs first consumers are chocolate companies , who have the power and ability to clean up the industry .
• Consumers who knowingly buy slave-grown chocolate . By refusing to buy products grown by slaves , consumers can change the world .
• Farmers who have the child slaves . The slave driving farmers have started this mess .
• Authorities who can stop this . The government of the USA has failed to enforce laws preventing the import of chocolate produced by slaves . The government of Côte d ’ Ivoire has failed in its duties to prevent child slavery , although the Ivorian government is aware that these illegal activities are going on .. All governments should take an activist stand against child slavery .
If large chocolate-makers had the same amount of motivation to make chocolate as they have in fighting child slavery , the industry would have crumbled long ago . “ Hershey continues to drag its feet in dealing with child labor ”, reported ILRF ( International Labor Rights Forum ). " Like Mars and Nestlé , Hershey has not effectively produced transparency or accountability ... ʺ Nestlé has been a main target of reformers because ʺunlike other chocolate manufacturers , Nestlé directly sources
16