In the past days, we talked about why African countries have clear and smooth borders as if they were drawn with a ruler, and we explained that the basis of this situation is the colonial activities in Africa for years. However, precious metals are not the only thing exploited in Africa…
Today, together with you, we will take a look at the human tragedy and the massacre of nature for the sake of chocolate in Africa.
If we need to take a brief look at the past story of chocolate, which is an indispensable part of our sweet crisis, before its current story…
- A Mayan drawing prohibiting the public from touching chocolate
Chocolate, which we encounter in many foods in daily life and consumed by almost everyone, was discovered by the Mayans in 1900 BC, but with the usual chocolate, Aztec King II. We meet in the Montezuma (or Moktezuma) Period.
According to many historians, Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes, who came to visit the Aztec King, were personally sent to II. Chocolate is served in golden jugs by Montezuma. The explorers liked this treat very much and told the king that this taste was not found in Europe. The explorers, who returned to Europe after obtaining the necessary permissions, raw materials and recipes, exhibit this taste in their countries and are met with intense interest.
It takes at least 4 years of effort to make a chocolate waterfall.
As we all know, chocolate is produced from the seeds of the fruit of the cocoa tree. In other words, in order to eat chocolate, we need the cocoa tree and the seeds of this tree.
Although we think of it as “let’s plant a cocoa tree today and eat chocolate tomorrow”, it is not that easy because a newly planted cocoa tree cannot bear fruit for the first 4 years. This means that you have to take care of a tree that you cannot produce even a gram of chocolate from a tree for 4 years and you cannot get a product for 4 years.
Far from licking his finger, the one holding the chocolate almost had his finger cut off!
From the past to the present, they have always said that “the one who holds honey licks his finger”. It is not known whether the honey holder really licks his finger, but the chocolate holder (more precisely, the cocoa bean) can never lick it. He even barely saves his finger from being cut, let alone licking it.
Let’s take a look at the dark file of chocolate, which is always right next to us in our happiest moments, from human smuggling to child labor, and that almost massacres nature.
A tiny area of the world cures billions of people’s chocolate crisis every year.
About 7 billion tons of chocolate are produced every year around the world. This indicates that each person consumes approximately one kilogram of chocolate per year. As such, we need enough cocoa trees to produce 7 billion tons of chocolate every year, but is it that easy to grow a cocoa tree?
We mentioned that a cocoa tree cannot bear fruit in the first four years. Besides, cocoa trees are almost endemic (can only grow in a certain region) type of plant. For example, cocoa trees require both heavy rainfall and high temperatures. In addition, it does not like direct sunlight and wind. This makes growing cocoa trees very difficult.
Despite all these difficult conditions, the two countries of Africa, Ivory Coast and Ghana, provide 52% of the world’s cocoa tree need. If we add Indonesia, Nigeria and Ecuador to these two countries, we will increase the rate to 77%. In short, we need cocoa trees for chocolate and these countries for cocoa trees.
Again, it is useful to remind; Unfortunately, the animal that harms nature the most is humans.
There is no one who does not know that the human being is a greedy creature. This greed continues in the same way for cocoa trees. Chocolate manufacturers are planting more cocoa trees to produce more chocolate. Of course, since cocoa trees can only grow in limited parts of the world, natural forests are destroyed, especially in countries such as Ivory Coast and Ghana, and cocoa tree farms are established there.
According to independent reports, for the sake of cocoa tree farms due to this nature massacre, Africa has seen an 80% reduction in forest cover in the last 50 years.
The story of chocolate, which leaves a pleasant taste in most of our mouths while we eat it, may not leave a pleasant taste in our consciences.
While we have talked enough about the damage that chocolate producers cause to nature in order to produce more chocolate, it is impossible not to mention the damage it causes to humans. Let’s examine together what kind of crimes those who brutally murdered nature committed against people.
Due to the sensitivity of the subject, it would be more accurate to examine the crimes committed by chocolate producers against people from two different perspectives, under the headings of “labor abuse” and “child labor”.
Cocoa workers can’t even earn as much as the price of 1 pack of chocolate per day!
Independent research companies and human rights organizations have stated many times in their reports that cocoa workers are working under harsh conditions and never for fair wages. According to the data released in 2020, the daily wage of cocoa workers is only 0.90 dollars.
Let’s do some math to better understand the subject. If a cocoa worker works non-stop for a month, he will only get $27 at the end of the month. The more painful part of this data is the expression “mean”. In other words, there are cocoa workers who work less than 0.90 dollars a day and cannot earn 27 dollars a month.
If we consider the workers who earn half a dollar a day and receive 15 dollars at the end of the month; We can clearly state that European chocolate producers exploit not only nature but also people and their labor to produce more chocolate.
The raw material of chocolate is the cocoa tree, and the indispensable part of the cocoa tree is child workers!
We guess that the issue that comes after the labor exploitation of cocoa workers in Africa is an issue that will disturb our consciences even more. According to the reports published by the United Nations (UN), 1.6 million child workers are working in cocoa forests in Ghana alone, and 1.4 million of these children are between the ages of 5 and 11.
Again, according to UN reports, a significant portion of child labor consists of children abducted from various African countries. Although the number of child workers working in other states is not known, it is estimated that 2/5 of the world’s cocoa workers are children.
In recent years, chocolate manufacturers have taken various steps to bring global pressure and a bit of a dazzle.
Without the need to give a brand, due to the data released in recent years, giant chocolate companies have produced nature-friendly projects to protect forests and sponsored such projects, they increase the chocolate products and distribute the raise share directly to the workers, thereby improving the wages of workers, and that child labor is a bleeding wound and that They also announced that they will take measures for
Although many people think that these steps are taken as a deception, we hope that these steps will be constructive solutions.
Bonus: The reaction of African workers, who have been working as cocoa workers for years but heard about chocolate for the first time, let alone tasting it, when they met chocolate:
What do you think about the story of chocolate until it reaches us?
Sources: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 /
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