The down side of cocoa farming

The big issues in that chocolate you like so much: low prices for farmers, unsustainable practices, child labor.  These are still with us.

• European governments and legislators urged to help cocoa farmers as prices continue to fall in West Africa:  Fairtrade urges EU to implement regulation to recognise the right to living income in cocoa sector in any forthcoming human rights due diligence regulation, as European Cocoa Association calls for an ‘enabling environment’ across the industry. Read more
• New Oxfam study shows cocoa suppliers still falling short on supply chain transparency:  The world’s largest food and beverage companies and their suppliers must do more to create an equitable and sustainable food system for all, says Oxfam. Read more
• Cocoa giants face fresh US lawsuit over child labour claims in Cote d’Ivoire:  Multi-national cocoa companies Nestlé, Cargill, Barry Callebaut USA LLC, Mars, Olam, Hershey and Mondelēz have been named as defendants in a federal class action lawsuit in the United States on behalf of eight Malian boys who have alleged they were used as slave labour on cocoa farms in Cote d’Ivoire for one or more of the firms. Read more
• NORC final report released – finds over 1m cases of child labour in West Africa’s cocoa sector:  Long-awaited US government-funded report from National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago (NORC) that assesses progress in reducing child labour in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana’s cocoa regions shows figures are lower than previously thought (1.56 million compared to estimates of 2.1 million in 2013/14) but it is still a sobering read for the chocolate industry, despite some signs of progress in trying to eradicate the issue. Read more