Sunday, July 18, 2010

Chocolate Slaves.

"Ivory Coast provides more than 40 percent of the world’s cocoa—Ghana supplies much of the rest—and this summer’s operation, run by the international police organization Interpol, suggests that child labor in both countries remains widespread. The U.S. State Department has estimated that more than 109,000 children in the Ivory Coast’s cocoa industry work under the WFCL and that some 10,000 more are victims of human trafficking and enslavement.
Ranging in age from 11 to 16, the rescued children were discovered “working under extreme conditions, forced to carry massive loads, seriously jeopardizing their health,” according to Interpol.
They told interviewers they were unaware that what was happening to them was illegal, and that they regularly worked 12 hours a day and received no salary or education. Many worked with machetes and routinely applied noxious pesticides without safety equipment. "
From: http://www.gourmet.com/foodpolitics/2009/09/chocolate-industry-cocoa-policies
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"What have American chocolate companies like Hershey's and Mars, the world's largest chocolate manufacturers, done to help? They've established certain initiatives and their own sustainable guidelines, but after nine years of such self-defined and self-monitored (read: unregulated) initiatives, little has changed.
British companies Nestle UK and Cadbury have justly adopted Fair Trade certification for their chocolate, and deserve our applause.
Sign our petition telling U.S. candy companies that they need to do the same."  
More at:
http://food.change.org/blog/view/tell_mars_cargill_and_hershey_to_stop_using_blood_chocolate
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Today, Paco, Misty and I, went to get Jay. 
Paco and Misty went with me across the street and said 'Hi' to Muffie.  I have to lead Misty carefully on her leash or she runs into things when she is in strange territory.  I tell her "Up" and "Down" when we get to steps, and she understands.  She is so much better since she got all that infection out of her mouth and sinuses.  She has a spring to her step now.

Jay put a metal gutter on the west part of the RVport roof to stop the rain from running down to the pergola, and then dripping on my van.  We will have to wait for rain, to see if it worked.

It didn't happen here, but everywhere else around here, there were thunderstorms yesterday and today.

1 comment:

A couple of newer paintings 2019 said...

There was a Hershey plant here in Smiths Falls up until 2008 when they pulled out. Smiths Falls used to be called Chocolate Town and it's still painted on the water tower but they're talking about repainting it. It caused a lot of people to lose jobs but they seem to have recovered.

Glad the little doggie is doing better.