The Truth About Chocolate by Karen Lara

Dear Candy Lover ,                                                                                                              Imagine a place were there is barely food to eat. A place that is full of cocoa beans which are waiting to be cut down by machetes. Well this is what is happening In the Ivory Coast. How do these kids feel? There is a big problem here.                                                                                What is the role of children? What is their impact on this? The role of children is been as a slave. Welcome to the life of a 7 year old Abdul. According to the article “Child Slavery and Chocolate All easy to find ”Abdul is now 10 years. “He was trafficked from neighboring farms. He can’t leave the farm, can’t go to school, and he isn’t paid. Abdul is been a child slave. The children we spoke to in Ivory Coast weren’t upset. They weren’t chained or locked up. These children know nothing else. They don’t know what freedom is- can’t even imagine it.” This demonstrates that the children don’t know what freedom means so the cocoa farmers are manipulating them.

        Where does the Hershey bar begin it’s life? The Hershey bar starts it’s life by child labor . What could we do raise awareness? We could do this by showing the chocolate factories some videos of child labor and how they have to work really hard.                                                                  Do you think it’s fair for children to be suffering? Why take the freedom of a small kid? Think about it before eating or buying chocolate.                          Sincerely, Karen Lara

We All Love Chocolate, but Not this kind by Jay-son Mena

Dear chocoholic,

 Welcome to the life of 7 year old Abdul,

A life Gathering and cutting cocoa pods. He should be getting paid for his backbreaking Work, but he doesn’t. Child labor is used to make most of your favorite chocolates.

The children play the most important role one farms and cocoa industries. First, cutting of the cocoa pods off the trees. Then, the processes of slitting open the hard shell of the cocoa plant and removing the sticky like substance and dry them out. When dried, banana leaves are laid on the ground and the cocoa beans are put to dry on them. When dried the cocoa beans are bagged and shipped to many chocolate industries.

To help stop this child labor you and many others can buy fare trade chocolate, cocoa gathered by farmers them selves, Limiting the amount of child labor and help rebuild many families.  

Of course, young children are going to get hurt. According to “child slavery and chocolate”, states “he can’t clear grass him without cutting his self.” This proves that children are getting hurt all day. Children s cuts and wounds get extremely infected by dangerous acids from cocoa pods.

In conclusion, people should help reunite families. we people and or concerned citizens should'nt buy fare trade chocolate rather then buying this dreadful chocolate.

Turn Dark Into Light by: Stephanie Lopez 601

 Turn Dark into Light!

           

    Dear Chocolate Lover, J

        

 Did you ever take a look at a chocolate company and see if          it’s fair trade? I’ll tell you what fair trade is. Fair trade is when a chocolate company has farmers working for them but in a less harsh way. The farmers actually get paid in good/fair money. “The farmers from whom this company gets the cocoa, they are paid fairly.” Not all chocolate companies have fair trade, they have child labor. You could be eating chocolate that includes child labor. Life would be better without child labor, kids deserve more freedom.

 Children from child labor have or come up with big and severe injuries. According to the text, “There is an outrageous number of children who are suffering from horrible back pain and other ergonomic neck issues between the ages of 5 and 18 just so we can have chocolate.” This is an example that kids are risking their lives working. They do all this work just to let people around the world to have chocolate. It’s very upsetting to see these kids get hurt for us.

 These children have their ways working on the farms. They use some tools that are very dangerous, like machetes. With the machetes they cut open the cocoa pods they picked. According to the article, “ ‘One of the concerns we’ve seen is that some of the activities children are involved in are inappropriate to their age: carrying heavy loads, using machetes on farms,’ said Billy Guyton.” These are the tools that make the children risk their lives in danger.

 In conclusion, chocolate can be very good yet threatening to children. Child labor has children working very hard, getting injured. Just for the world to have their delicious chocolate.

                                        Sincerely, Stephanie Lopez 601

Stolen Childhoods by Jeziel Santana

                                                                                                       Dear Chocoholic,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Can you imagine being in a hot place near the Ivory Coast working hard at picking cocoa beans non-stop? This is the sad reality most kids face everyday. Many famous chocolate brands such as Nestle practice child labor although they do deny it.                                                                                                                                               

The kids are exposed to many harmful substances such as pesticides which may even kill them. These kids can be as young as 5yrs old. The kids are brutally beat when they don’t do as told. They work long and hardly get paid. The children hardly have any rest. And they don’t have fun like normal children and don’t even go to school. Surprisingly enough none of the children have ever eaten chocolate.                                                          

  These kids don’t even know what freedom means. These kids think that this is what’s right they think this is what they belong doing. They think that being brutally beat and being used as slaves is correct. Most of the kids family are poor and their parents send them their so they can get money. The kids are not paid and no money is given to the family. This is the sad reality how can someone be so cruel?                                                        

  However not all chocolate has this tragic back story some chocolates are certified Fair Trade which means the chocolate has nothing to do with child labor. The farmers that do work there are paid fairly so they can take care of their family.                                         

We should all help raise awareness about this awful situation. We can send letters to these companies showing how much we care if they see we care they would listen. Tell other people about the truth about chocolate and encourage them to buy Fair Trade chocolate.                                                                                                                                          Before we buy chocolate we should all check if we can find the fair trade chocolate logo. If we do we would be helping the world one step at a time.

Why Blame the Chocolate? by Genesis Alvarez

Dear Chocolate Addicts (Chocoholics),                 

If you are having a hard time staying off of chocolate … Then, I think you will stop if you find out of this shocking fact. Well… here goes the truth: Most chocolate you eat is gotten by child labor. Especially if you eat from the brand “Hershey’s”. The issue is that most chocolate companies are using children.

Ok…you might be thinking now that, “what does children and chocolate have to do with this “. Well … a lot. These poor, innocent children have to dry the beans and also take the cocoa beans out of their pods. Here is some proof from the article “Chocolates Child Slaves“: “Children such as Abdul don’t know anything about protocols or certification. All they know is work. When Abduls mother died, a stranger brought him across the border to the farm. Abdul says all he is given is little food and the torn clothes on his back, and an occasional tip from the farmer. Abdul is a modern child slave “. This shows obvious that child labor does exist

Something’s to do to help avoid this for the future is to write to chocolate companies saying that we don’t like chocolate with child labor in them. If enough people send letters they will listen. Also if you really want to help even further then you can do something that is called reverse Trick or Treating. This is giving chocolate (reverse Trick or Treating doesn’t necessarily have to mean chocolate you want to give to other but in this case it is) to other people instead of receiving chocolate.

This whole entire letter that you are reading right now is to help kids that are going through child labor and how we can stop it from happening for the next generation. Sadly kids my same age and younger instead of going to school and getting an education they instead are doing work that they are not supposed to do. That is very sad. I hope you took this letter in your consideration and time and try to do something today to help avoid child labor for the next generations.

                                        

The DARK side of chocolate Leslie Ramirez 601

            The DARK side of Chocolate

Dear candy craver, J

Can you imagine having to work all day and night and not receiving anything? There are children who are under seven years old and work so hard to make the chocolate we indulge in, but they still don’t get anything in return. We should be grateful for the life we have.

According to the text, “The world’s largest chocolate manufacturers agreed in 2001 to ensure that their products are not grown and processed on farms where the WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR, such as trafficking children.” This quote proves that people are trying to make a difference and stop child labor. Most companies recognize the need to take responsibility for child labor standards, but there are some companies that don’t want to try to stop it.

“Abdul holds the yellow cocoa pod lengthwise and gives it two quick cracks.” Abdul is 10 years old and he has never tasted chocolate. Children like Abdul don’t know anything about protocols. All they do is work. One of the roles the children have is that they take a machete and crack the cocoa pod and take the beans and dump them on the ground. Another role is that they dry the seeds.

Children who are a part of child labor don’t know what freedom is. People should be more AWARE of this problem. Children all over the world are beginning to be a part of child labor, but you can change that, you can make a change!!!!

Sincerely,           Leslie Ramirez 601

Do you know the Real Story behind Chocolate? By Christian Firpo

  Have you ever imagined working non-stop with not enough food to eat and receiving no money? This is what some children below 18 are suffering from. Do you want to learn more? Well then read on.

 Children play a critical role in the making of chocolate. Their role is to cut down cocoa beans with a weapon. This weapon can also be used as a tool in this case. The name of this weapon is a machete. Anyhow, to produce chocolate they have to go through a certain process. You cut down the cocoa beans and send it to the factory. According to the article” Child Slavery and Chocolate”, it states information about a young child working hard.

  Children might play a certain role in the making of chocolate but they are also impacted by the amount of work done. A certain work that impacts them is working with a machete which affects them because they might get badly injured and cut due to sharpness of the blade.

  Companies that don't use children print a little tag in the back of the wrapper  symbolizing that it was made with Fair-Trade chocolate. Fair trade Chocolate means that they pay farmers a fair amount of money because they work and cut down cocoa beans and it also means that they don't use children.

   In conclusion, we have all learned a bit about child Labor and about their struggle but we shall support people trying to stop child labor. This is a serious case and hope you understand that.