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Across the Fence:  Slaves to Chocolate  |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
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simpler1773
True Blue Farmgirl
234 Posts
Ricki
Ashland
Wisconsin
USA
234 Posts |
 Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 04:42:41 AM
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Great article! I almost always buy fair trade chocolate and I have to say the quality of it is 100 x's better than anything you get from those big companys. Of course I like mine extra extra extra dark :D
~Ricki~
You can't pour anything out of an empty vessel, take care of yourself! |
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Tracey
True Blue Farmgirl
766 Posts
Tracey
State of Confusion
USA
766 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 07:03:51 AM
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Gee, I thought you were going to admit to being a slave to chocolate...
While I'm sure the working conditions for people world wide don't stack up to our North American standards, I also believe the media twists words in such a way as to see a story...for instance:
"They were an army of children, many under the age of ten, doing back breaking labor regardless of weather conditions. They'd pick in 90 degree heat, through thunderstorms and in the pouring down rain. They'd return home after hours of hard, physical labor, caked in mud.
Worse than the weather conditions were the 'facilities'; the outhouses that weren't emptied in what smelled like ages. Mounds of human excrement from previous pickers drew disease breeding flies from miles around. It was rank, vile, and downright disturbing. Some children would refuse to eat or drink while at the fields for fear of needing to use the outhouse.
The pitance that was paid, many children never saw as it was handed directly over to their families."
Berry picking can sound pretty bad...yet I'd venture to say plenty of us did it and survived. (I'm sure someone can make it sound worse than I did!)
Not that I want to downplay any real abuse that may be going on, but I think we need to stop and consider the culture as well as how the marketing of the story is done. JMHO, of course. 
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang! http://wildaboutquietstorm.com
http://carpentercreek.blogspot.com http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com http://marbletownangels.blogspot.com
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Alee
True Blue Farmgirl
22944 Posts
22944 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 08:00:56 AM
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Tracey- I think you make a great point. While I would never support slavery and I do support child education- that article left a few things wanting to convert me away from my evil chocolatly ways. :)
First of all they didn't really describe the "horrible" conditions or talk about the wages earned. I have a co-worker that just got back from a semester in South Africa working with handi-capped children. She was telling me how a majority of the poor population in Cape Town make do with just one US dollar a day.
One thing to consider, in third world countries where poverty is pretty rampant, is it as repugnant to have younger members of the family helping to support that family or to have that child starving at home? Often this is the decision that has to be made. Also education is not always freely accessible in these countries like it is in more developed areas.
I am not saying that either way is right or wrong- Just a few other things to consider. Of course, when I can afford it I try to buy free trade coffee and chocolate to support that market. I do have hopes that by supporting those industries that the third world areas that grow these great items will see some benefits. |
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laluna
True Blue Farmgirl
295 Posts
New York
USA
295 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 08:38:19 AM
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Wow. I'm surprised by the responses to the whole issue of child labor. Might I suggest taking a look here http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/people/features/childrensrights/help.shtml before questioning the level of abuse happening worldwide.
ETA: Thanks JulieKay for the information. I buy FairTrade items whenever possible (and it *is* so much better! ;-) |
Edited by - laluna on Feb 05 2007 08:40:21 AM |
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ponyexpress
True Blue Farmgirl
320 Posts
Sandy
Kirkwood
Missouri
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 09:35:38 AM
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An importer of persian, oriental, hand-woven rugs came to speak at our Weavers Guild meeting. Someone asked him about child labor. He said that they make frequent site visits, and while he has never witnessed children working under adverse conditions, he's sure that it does occur. What they do to balance that effect is to create villages where the rugs are woven that includes schools for educating the children and incorporate living and working in one community. He also said that while the working conditions and hours may be long and difficult, the alternative is to have the children living on the street and learning behaviors that are dangerous and life-threatening. In this way, they are learning a skill and carrying on a centuries-old tradition.
I tend to read information like what has been posted and interpret it from my perspective -- like an 8 hour workday with overtime, benefits, etc etc. And of course anything compared to that is going to come up short. I have to remember to consider the culture and the historical tradition of the country being reviewed. I am NOT in any way supporting abusive child labor, just offering another point of view.
Perhaps we can do our part to lessen abusive conditions by choosing to deal with reputable companies that adhere to fair trade practices.
I'm heading south for the winter. Some parts of my body already have a head start! |
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bramble
True Blue Farmgirl
2044 Posts
2044 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 10:31:53 AM
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Thanks Julie for the timely information. Why anyone would want to deny or excuse this is beyond me. All people have a right to be paid a decent living, work and live in safe and healthy conditions and no excuse of" that is their culture" will excuse anything less. There will always be people in any culture profitting from the hardships of others, that doesn't make it acceptable.
When you know better,share it with all who need it.
When you have more, offer more to those less fortunate.
When you can lift up another, stretch out both hands with generosity.
with a happy heart |
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ponyexpress
True Blue Farmgirl
320 Posts
Sandy
Kirkwood
Missouri
USA
320 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 1:17:26 PM
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I can't disagree with you, Bramble, but I also think that the unsafe and unhealthy living and working conditions are as much as result of the failure of the country's government to provide the needed services and infrastructure to support the people.
I've read that it is a "rock and a hard place" decision for many families. The conditions are poor so the survival rate of children is low. Women have more children because some will not survive, but more children contributes to the population which puts additional strain on the communities. There would need to be break in the cycle somewhere, either reduction in population or improvement in services, or both, before progress can really be made.
We can do at least two things to better the situation: we can only purchase from companies who adhere to fair trade practices, and we can write our local and national legislators when we come across a situation that we believe is intolerable. Unfortunately, I am skeptical about government intervention. From the reading I have done, the trade agreements and practices are so shrouded in red tape and "under the table" dealing, that I'm not convinced it would make a difference.
I'm heading south for the winter. Some parts of my body already have a head start! |
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Juliekay
True Blue Farmgirl
237 Posts
237 Posts |
Posted - Feb 06 2007 : 03:16:41 AM
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| I just wanted to make people aware of the issue. As the largest economy in the world, every buying decision we make shapes the world. We cannot expect everything we buy to be wal-mart cheap and plentiful, yet live in a world that doesn't reflect those decisions. This means slave labor, child labor, overpopulation (cause then labor is cheap and plentiful), environmental degradation, corporate megafarming etc.. |
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Across the Fence: Slaves to Chocolate |
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Slaves to Chocolate
