From: SIUHIN@aol.com
Date: Sat Jan 12 2002 - 05:54:26 EST
Date: 1/10/02 11:39:58 AM Pacific Standard Time
From: solcircle@solfoundation.org (SOL Circle)
HELP STOP SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION IN THE COCOA INDUSTRY!! FEBRUARY 14TH
2002: NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION TO LAUNCH GLOBAL EXCHANGE 1ST FAIR TRADE COCOA
CAMPAIGN AND TELL SEE1S CANDIES THAT CHILD SLAVERY AND POVERTY WAGES BREAK
OUR HEARTS!!
WHAT1S HAPPENING??
* 43% of the world1s cocoa comes from the Ivory Coast, a country where CHILD
SLAVE LABOR still exists on cocoa plantations!! The child slaves work long
hours, frequently receive harsh beatings, and are given barely enough to eat.
* Cocoa workers who are paid receive wages that are so low, they live at the
edge of poverty and starvation.
* The U.S. spends $13 billon per year on chocolate, and big candy US
companies are reaping big profits- at the expense of child slaves and
exploited workers!
HOW CAN THIS BE??!!
* The world market price of cocoa has fallen so low- currently at 40 cents
per pound- that cocoa farmers receive prices for their harvests that are less
than costs of production. This has forced them to use child slaves or pay
their workers poverty wages.
* Though some US chocolate companies have signed an agreement to end child
slavery by 2004, SEE'S HAS NOT YET DONE SO!
* NO US Candy chocolate has yet signed onto the Fair Trade System, meaning
that cocoa workers will be left with poverty wages even after child slavery
is eradicated.
WHAT YOU CAN DO: PARTICIPATE IN A NATIONWIDE DAY OF ACTION ON FEBRUARY14TH!!
*On February 14th, groups around the US will gather at See1s candy stores to
deliver thousands of special Valentines asking See1s to 3HAVE A HEART2 and:
1. Take immediate steps to end child slavery
2. Commit to purchasing at least five percent of their cocoa as Fair Trade
Certified
*We1ll start collecting signatures on the Valentines well before the Day of
Action. On the Day of Action, we will go to See1s Stores to collect more
signatures, hand out informational flyers, and deliver the Valentines. We
encourage you to make your Day of Action FUN and ENTHUSIASTIC, complete with
signs, props, chants!
WE NEED TO GET STARTED NOW TO MAKE THIS DAY OF ACTION A SUCCESS!!
*Contact melissa@globalexchange.org to let us know you are interested. We
will send you the Valentines, flyers, and background information.
*Start planning for your February 14th Action by locating the See1s in or
near your area (http://www.sees.com/seeshtm/shopframes.htm), and gathering a
BIG group of enthusiastic Fair Trade supporters. Try to get at least 20 or
25 people. If you need contacts in your area, please e-mail
melissa@globalexchange.org and we will help you!!
* If you live too far away from See1s to go to a store on the Day of Action,
you can still participate by collecting Valentines and spreading the word
about the cocoa industry in your local area- please contact us to find out
more!!
*Before February 14th, try to get at least 200-300 Valentines signed. This
might sound like a lot of work but you could do this no sweat if you share
your Valentines with other groups working for social justice and human rights
in your community/ college campus, as well as your local churches.
*Start working on signs and slogans to use on the Day of Action. Make a few
HUGE Valentines to hold outside of the stores, and drum up some creative
chants. We're working on some ideas and would love to hear and share any cool
ones you have!!
DON1T LET SLAVERY AND EXPLOITATION GO 3UN-SEEN2 ONE SECOND LONGER- CONTACT
melissa@globalexchange.org FOR MATERIALS AND IDEAS TODAY!!!
BACKGROUND
SLAVERY IN THE COCOA INDUSTRY!!
When most people bite into a candy bar, it is unlikely that they take even a
moment to consider where the chocolate they enjoy comes from. However, in
1998, an investigation by the International Labor Organization (ILO), a UN
agency, uncovered a reemergence of child slavery in the cocoa fields of the
Ivory Coast, where 43 percent of the world's cocoa comes from. Two years
later, a report by the US State Department concluded that in recent years
approximately 15,000 children aged 9 to12 have been sold into forced labor on
cotton, coffee and cocoa plantations in the north of the country. At the
beginning of the 21st century, the children of West Africa are trapped in
conditions that were supposed to have been eliminated in the 19th century.
THE CAUSE: FALLING COCOA PRICES
The reemergence of child slavery can be blamed, in part, by a downturn in
cocoa prices, which are currently in a slump due to global overproduction.
The price drop has been exacerbated by deregulation of agriculture in West
Africa, which abolished commodity boards across the region, leaving small
farmers at the mercy of the market. With prices in the basement, cocoa
farmers have been forced to cut their labor costs, and tragically that has
meant relying on slave labor, even child slave labor. The child slaves work
long and hard and meals usually consist of only fried bananas or, if they are
"lucky," yams as well. Beatings by farm owners and managers are common.
HOW ARE CHOCOLATE COMPANIES CONTRIBUTING TO THESE PROBLEMS??
For years, US chocolate manufacturers have said they are not responsible for
the conditions on cocoa plantations since they don't own them. But the $13
billion chocolate industry clearly has the resources to reform problems in
the supply chain. What these corporations lack is the concern to do so.
This year the Chocolate Manufacturers Association (ADM Cocoa, Barry Callebau
USA, Blommer Chocolate Company, Guittard, Hershey, M&M/Mars, Nestle, and
World's Finest) finally stopped denying responsibility for the problems in
West Africa after a string of media exposés and the threat of government
action jeopardized their image and business-as-usual. Frightened by the
thought of any sort of regulation, the CMA members they would take steps to
eliminate child slavery. But the plan (see
http://www.chocolateandcocoa.org/News/labor_issue.htm) proposed by these
corporations is completely unacceptable. The CMA says it will have a program
for eliminating child labor in place by July 2004, leaving child slaves
continuing to suffer for years. This is an outrage!! In addition, the cocoa
industry1s plan does NOTHING to tackle the root cause of low cocoa prices.
Global Exchange is launching a campaign targeting major US chocolate
companies, to demand that they take immediate steps to end child slavery and
that they commit to purchasing at least five percent of their cocoa as Fair
Trade Certified. While the global price for cocoa hovers around 40 cents per
pound, the Fair Trade system guarantees farmers 80 cents per pound, providing
a wage that insures slavery will not be needed, and that provides cocoa
workers with the income to support their families with dignity.
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