Striking my spoon against the delicate layer, reveals a precious crevice oozing with a rich velvety chocolate sauce. Despite the popular choice of pizza off the Domino’s menu, my item of choice is the chocolate lava cake. Indulging in the decadent, sweet sensations, I have become blissfully oblivious to the bitter journey this chocolate has undergone.
The children working in the cacao farms along the Ivory Coast. Photo belongs to: https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/child-labour-cocoa-production
For such a sweet pleasure, chocolate possesses a complex, commodity chain. This journey begins at its oppressive roots within the African cacao farms employment of over 800,000 children along the Ivory Coast. This mass scale child labor workforce has prompted me to question who should be held accountable for this injustice. Is it the chocolate mega corporations who have plenty of resources to rectify the immorality of their success? Or does this responsibility fall onto me and other consumers, contributing consumers that provide dollar incentive to continue the unjust practices of the chocolate industry?
It would be a lie to say that I will stop eating chocolate now that I know of the inequalities occurring. This new found knowledge has given me the drive to do my own research on ethical chocolate companies that stand against child labor business practices. To combat the guilt I feel, I want to target my consumer dollars on principled businesses. Through these contemplative practices, I have gained insights into my own
Labels on chocolate bars indicating their ethical company values. Photo belongs to: https://blog.equalexchange.coop/child-labor-in-the-cocoa-industry/
personal autonomy. I have the power to support organizations, movements, and companies that I am morally aligned with. These contemplative practices evoke questions, bring cognizance to disparities present in the food system and how my actions make an impact. I would like to end this post by reiterating a lesson from my favorite childhood movie, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: don’t let tempting, gluttonous vices cloud your vision of acting virtuously.