I always enjoyed a cup of hot Nestle cocoa in winter nights. But after discovering that Nestle has been accused of using illegal child labor to produce their chocolate, I would not enjoy a cup of Nestlé hot cocoa again. The cocoa beans used by Nestlé come from Cote d’Ivoir (the Ivory Coast) in West Africa. The International Labour Organization, part of the UN, estimates that there are 284,000 child laborers working on cocoa farms in that country. And because of the high demand for forced child labor there, other children from Mali are being sold into slavery for thirty dollars to work in the fields (see Chocolate Slaves).
It is also known that Nestlé, one of the top five buyers of cocoa from the Ivory Coast, promised to put a stop to using forced child labor in 2005, but it has not come through yet. It is obvious that the company prefers to get the benefits of cheap cocoa beans harvested by forced child labor rather than doing the right thing.
After learning of this practice, Nestlé products would not taste the same for me. Therefore, I will not buy or support a company that uses forced child labor to make its products. And Nestlé falls into that category.
Oh, Felix, this is terrible. I am so sad to read this now and feel so guilty! I love chocolate and have nestle chocolate in my pantry right now! Do you know if this is just their chocolate cocoa mix or all of their products? (Not that it matters--and this has got me thinking about M-E's post regarding her and her sister's different boycotting methods.) Anyway, thanks for sharing. This breaks my chocolate-loving heart. :o(
ReplyDeleteFrom what I can tell it is not just Nestle - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=268
ReplyDeleteIt's also not just chocolate...
Clothes - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=269
Barbies - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=253
Sporting Goods - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=259
Diamonds - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=283
Soccer Balls - http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=284
Interesting discussion happening on my Facebook page in response to my linking to this blog post. check it out if you are on Facebook. Just look for me: mandy mcgrew and friend me and you will see the back and forth on my page. We really are generating some interesting debate! :o)
ReplyDeleteGoing to post an excerpt from Facebook here:
ReplyDeleteLeslie says (after a discussion about capitalism contributing to poor workers' conditions (more or less)):
Right, well the great thing about capitalism is that its voluntary...don't like it, don't buy it, and furthermore spread the word...like you are now...not only that, but you too can become the next big chocolate seller who takes over the wo...rld with your cheap yet tasty chocolate...though I will find it hard to think that you would put Nestle out of business if you aren't willing to use child labor and they are....and you know why you won't be able to? Because the rest of everybody doesn't care and will eat the damn Nestle and buy it at Wal Mart no less cause they want chocolate and its cheap and if nothing else they aren't going to take 5 seconds to familiarize themselves with all of Nestle's brands. I mean take ice cream off your list too because Nestle apparently owns 17.5% of market share, they own Gerber, Good Start, Jenny Craig, Power Bar, Fancy Fest, Purina, Tidy Cats, L'oreal (30%)...you know that includes Garnier, and Maybelle, Matrix, Redkin, Lancome, and Body Shop...the list goes on...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Nestl%C3%A9_brands
I mean I am with you guys here, I don't support what Nestle (or Wal-Mart or Dole or Kellogg or a whole bunch of other people I can name) is doing here or has done in the past...but to attack large corporations just because WE have been letting them get away with this shit is...well stupid...Furthermore, I can damn well guarantee you that if I did a little research on the subject I am pretty sure I can find some government tie to Nestle and this nonsense or other Nestle nonsense. It's like the damn sugar quotas or the fruit in S. America and believe me you it pisses me off just the same except I want to know how and why exactly this is going on and how to stop it, and I obviously would contest (through my research at this point) that Capitalism is the way to do that. The only reason it hasn't been working is because we have a corporatracy and we didn't have such readily available information. If we didn't have the access to the information we do today I might well somewhat be against it. But we are ARMED with information and can rapidly spread it with the push of a button. I imagine in the not so distant future companies with transparency will rise above the rest and soon they won't be able to hide behind other brand names and a good PR campaign. Like that decision that corporations can give political contributions-GREAT-cause now I know who Nestle supports and I can not vote for them AND not buy Nestle's child labor products....only trouble is, no one wants to pay attention...yet....they want to focus on...So You Think You Can Dance...
Another post from my Facebook page. Dorothy says:
ReplyDeleteChild labor is everywhere......and for some families, it's a huge source of income for them. The real problem is people having babies that they can't afford and ultimately having no choice but to have them work. We buy so many products t...hat are partially producted by the use of child labor......and the same people that complain about the child labor would also complain if they had to pay $4.00 for a candy bar.....which is exactly what would happen. So don't stop eating chocolate.......instead start teaching ways to stop the uncontrolled births of children that have no choices but to work. Without the working kids, the companies would have to figure out better ways to produce their products.