What's the reality?
Coffee
"In 2012, the US Department of Justice discovered a wide spread violation of labor laws on coffee farms. They found violations such as, failure to pay minimum wage, exploiting migrant workers, illegally hiring coffee pickers as independent contractors - to make more money off of them, and exploiting children as young as 5 years old to work on their farms." (Daily Coffee News - Roast Magazine) For those who were found on exploited farms there was a visible overlap when it came to working and living conditions Housing Conditions: Their houses are devoid of any signs of life. Their beds are either mats placed either on a dirty and dusty floor or on a wooden bed frame. Working Conditions: Good, protective equipment is not provided forcing the workers to improvise with plastic bag ponchos. Since they are not provided with protective clothing, spiders, snakes, and fire ants can harm them. Their implements are rusting machetes. Low Wages: Since rural farmers generally do not have a contract to set the terms of their labor, corporations can swoop in and take advantage of them. Some coffee growers make as little at $3 a day, which is unconceivably low. Children in the Fields: Finding children in the fields during harvest season is too common. For farmers in Kenya it is estimated that 30% of their coffee pickers are children. |
Chocolate
Cocoa farming, the growth of the bean used for chocolate, has a major child labor problem. Companies like Hershey are being sued for their use of child slaves on cocoa farms. The startling amount of children working on cocoa farms is making up a large part of the 98 million children in agricultural slavery. In recent years, cocoa farms have been exposed for the wide spread use of child labor in West African countries, where cocoa is grown the most. Child labor is becoming more of a problem in West Africa because their growers are being paid below the poverty line - $2 per day. This low wage forces kids to leave school and work on the farm. Most of the children found on cocoa farms are between the ages of 12 and 16 years, but children as young as five have been found on the farms. Their standard tool seems to be a large knife known as a machete. This tool is dangerous and should not be handled by children. This knife leaves scars on arms, legs, and shoulders. This form of labor has been dubbed "the work form of child labor" because it keeps children out of school and it requires them to use dangerous tools. These children are essentially slaves. They are working under terrible conditions with dangerous tools and extremely low wages. |
The children
We work hard so that we can live fun, happy, convenient lives where we have the ability to buy the next best iPhone or the newest clothing trend - while some are out there working so they can have something to eat.