Tracing the Bitter roots of the Sweet Chocolate: Hazardous Child Labour on cocoa farms and Poor cocoa farmers in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire
Wednesday, November 30th, 2016
| Date | Time | Location |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday, November 30, 2016 | 2:00PM - 4:00PM | Seminar Room 108N, 1 Devonshire Place |
Description
Cocoa is the main source of income for millions of farmers in certain rural areas in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, the two West African Countries that account for 58% of the World’s Cocoa production. Cocoa is a labor intensive crop that is produced on small farms averaging 2-3 hectares per farmer. Child trafficking, hazardous child labour as well as extreme poverty of farmers are some realities present at the root of the cocoa supply chain. With the chocolate industry far removed from these realities, it is difficult for chocolate consumers to imagine the existence of these bitter roots. Join James Madhier to learn more about the disconnect between the cocoa industry and the chocolate industry and what the future looks like for chocolate industry.
James Madhier is a 3rd year student at the Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice at the Munk School of Global Affairs. James went to Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire after winning the Global Challenge on Leadership and Sustainability organized by Nudge Global Impact in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Three winners of this challenge were sponsored by Tony’s Chocolonely, a social impact chocolate company based in Netherlands, to go on a mission of investigating Child Labour on cocoa farms in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. His work is sponsored in part by the Trudeau Centre for Peace, Conflict and Justice.
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