All About Chocolates Child Labor and Slavery Problem

All About Chocolate's Child Labor and Slavery Problem Do you know where your chocolate comes from, or what happens in order to get it to you? Green America, a non-profit  ethical consumption  advocacy organization,  points out in this infographic  that although major chocolate corporations rake in tens of billions of dollars annually, cocoa farmers earn just pennies per pound. In many cases, our chocolate is produced using child and slave labor. We in the U.S. chomp down twenty-one percent of the global chocolate supply every year, so it makes sense that we should be informed about the industry that brings it to us. Lets take a look at where all that chocolate comes from, the problems in the industry, and what we as consumers can do to keep child labor and slavery out of our sweets. Where Chocolate Comes From Most of the worlds chocolate begins as cocoa pods grown in  Ghana,  Ivory Coast, and Indonesia, but much is also grown in Nigeria, Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and Peru. Around the world,  there are  14 million rural farmers and  laborers who rely on cocoa farming for their income. Many of them are migrant workers, and nearly half are small farmers. An estimated 14 percent of them- nearly 2 million- are West African  children. Earnings and Labor Conditions The farmers who cultivate cocoa pods  earn less than 76 cents per pound, and because of the inadequate compensation, they must rely on low-wage and unpaid labor to produce, harvest, process, and sell their crops. Most cocoa farming families live in poverty because of this. They have inadequate access to schooling, healthcare, clean and safe drinking water, and many suffer from hunger. In West Africa, where much of the worlds cocoa is produced, some farmers rely on child labor and even enslaved children, many of whom are sold into bondage by traffickers who take them from their home countries. (For more details on this tragic situation, see these stories on BBC and CNN, and this list of academic sources). Massive Corporate Profits On the flip side, the worlds largest global chocolate companies are raking in tens of billion dollars annually, and total pay for the CEOs of these companies ranges from 9.7 to 14 million dollars. Fairtrade International puts the farmers and corporations earnings in perspective, pointing out that producers in West Africa are likely to receive between 3.5 to 6.4 percent of the final value of a chocolate bar containing their cocoa. This figure is down from 16 percent in the late 1980s. Over the same time period, manufacturers have increased their take from 56 to 70 percent of the value of a chocolate bar. Retailers currently see about 17 percent (up from 12 percent over the same time period). So over time, though demand for cocoa has risen annually, and has been rising at a greater rate in recent years, producers take home a decreasing percentage of the value of the final product. This happens because chocolate companies and traders have consolidated in recent years, which means that there are just a handful of very large, monetarily and politically powerful buyers in the global cocoa market. This puts pressure on producers to accept unsustainably low prices in order to sell their product, and thus, to rely on low-wage, child, and slave labor. Why Fair Trade Matters For these reasons, Green America urges consumers to purchase fair or direct trade chocolate this Halloween. Fair trade certification stabilizes the price paid to producers, which fluctuates as it is traded on commodities markets in New York and London, and guarantees a minimum price per pound that is always higher than the unsustainable market price. In addition, corporate buyers of fair trade cocoa pay a premium, on top of that price, that producers can use for development of their farms and  communities. Between 2013 and 2014, this premium poured more than $11 million  into producing communities, according to Fair Trade International.  Importantly, the fair trade certification system guards against child labor and slavery by  regularly auditing  participating farms. Direct Trade Can Help Too Even better than fair trade, in a financial sense, is the direct trade model, which took off in the specialty coffee sector several years ago, and has made its way to the cocoa sector. Direct trade puts more money into producers pockets and communities by cutting the middlemen  out of the supply chain, and by often paying far more than the fair trade price. (A quick web search will reveal direct trade chocolate companies in your area, and those from which you can order online.) The most radical step way from the ills of global capitalism and toward justice for farmers and workers was taken when the late Mott Green founded the Grenada Chocolate Company Cooperative  on the Caribbean island  in 1999. Sociologist Kum-Kum Bhavnani profiled the company in her award-winning documentary about labor issues in the global cocoa trade  and demonstrated  how companies like Grenada offer  a solution to them. The worker-owned cooperative, which produces chocolate in its solar-powered factory,  sources all of its cocoa from the inhabitants of the island for a fair and sustainable price, and returns profits equally to all worker-owners. It is also a forerunner of environmental sustainability in the chocolate industry. Chocolate is a source of joy for those who consume it. Theres no reason that it cant also be a source of joy, stability, and economic security for those who produce it.

Why you need an internship - and 5 surprising things I learned at mine

Why you need an internship - and 5 surprising things I learned at mine We all can agree that college is tough. You’re busy checking Facebook in class, going to frat parties, and asking your parents for a weekly allowance. All jokes aside, the transition from high school to undergraduate is not easy. But, the transition from undergraduate to the real world is going to be even harder. Internships help make the experience more palatable. I remember being a freshman at Texas Christian University and hearing the upperclassman in the library stressing over what internship they were going to get. Back then, I knew internships were important enough to stress over, but I did not really know what they were or even their significance.   As the school years went by, so did the importance of internships. Positions started to become more competitive and I began to receive an overwhelming amount of letters that began with, â€Å"We regret to inform you.†Senior year was about to start, and I was still without an internship for the semester. I knew this was my last shot at boosting my resume, and I was determined to get an internship that would wow recruiters come graduation. I applied for the Varghese Summersett Digital Marketing Internship after furiously stalking the law firm’s website and social media accounts. I was blown away by the law firm’s success and was hopeful that my resume would stand out. I had no previous experience in law, but I did have an impressive background in marketing which is what landed me the job. Working at VS for the past nine months has been an enriching experience.   My expectations for elevating my marketing knowledge were surpassed within my first few weeks at the firm. Beyond that, I learned a few surprising lessons along the way.1. Yes, interning at a law firm is exactly like â€Å"Suits†For me, I’ve never aspired to be a lawyer, but after working at this firm I have been mesmerized by the law firm’s practicalities, the education required and the etiquette tha t is always displayed.   Everyone really does wear pantsuits, and I really did have to sign a non-disclosure. Learning about criminal law was mesmerizing, and hearing about our attorneys’ success was motivating.2. Seek clarityAs an intern, it’s important to always know the details of the project for which you are assigned. Your boss is counting on you.   Your work will be seen by a larger group of people beyond just your boss, and although some tasks may seem insignificant, everything adds up. Work hard on every project you are given because you never know where it may end up. For me, after I was given an assignment I would repeat the assignment in my own words back to my boss. Sometimes, my boss would correct me and better explain an aspect of a project that I lacked clarity on.3. Work hardInternships typically come with an upfront end date, which means they are only going to last a short amount of time. An internship is your time to gain as much hands-on experien ce as you can so that you can develop your skills, and set yourself up for a career in the real world.4. Be flexibleAs an intern, you are going to be asked to tackle projects that may be outside of your typical duties. You need to be flexible. Be open to wearing multiple hats. Taking on a variety of projects means you will be working with a variety of different people. Learning how to be adaptable will open up opportunities for you, and being flexible with your communication style or way of doing things is essential for success.5. Embrace challengesDoing things you have never done before is scary for everyone, especially when you are an intern. Use fear as a  fuel. Utilize it to enrich your skill set. For me, I had mentioned that I was barely proficient in Spanish. To my surprise, I was asked to translate for our Spanish speaking clients in multiple settings. I translated video recordings, client meetings, and phone calls. Spanish still is not my strong suit, but the value of taki ng on the challenge was indispensable. I showed my coworkers I was willing to help and gained their trust.About the author:  Margaret Foley is a senior at Texas Christian University, where she is majoring in Communications Studies and minoring in English and Graphic Design. She is currently interning at Varghese Summersett, a criminal defense firm based in Fort Worth, Texas.