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Just a week before the biggest candy-shopping holiday of the year, yesterday the Sixth District Court downtown held the first hearing in the case brought against Nestle, Cargill and Archer Daniels-Midland by the International Labour Organization (ILO). The ILO is charging that these three corporations knowingly supported the trafficking, torture and forced labor of child slaves in Cote d'Ivoire, one of the major cocoa-producers in West Africa. The three companies have been targeted because they collectively control the largest portion of the chocolate importing market.
The case is a landmark, as it is the first time the issue has been brought to court in the US.
You can show your support for the abolition of child slavery world wide by purchasing Fair Trade goods—it's even been proven that dark chocolate can be good for you.
If you want to pick up some fair sweets for your sweet this Valentine's Day, check out some of these loverly chocolatiers (check for the Fair Trade mark, as they are certified by bar, not by company): Ithaca Fine Chocolates, Green & Black's, Dagoba or Endangered Species Chocolate Company.
Photo by el7bara.
