*DAMN R6
.:Navigation:| Home | Battle League | Forum | Mac Downloads | PC Downloads | Cocobolo Mods |:.
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
May 19, 2024, 01:16:40 am

Login with username, password and session length
Search:     Advanced search
One Worldwide Gaming Community since 13th June 2000
132954 Posts in 8693 Topics by 2294 Members
Latest Member: xoclipse2020
* Home Help Search Login Register
Pages: [1]   Go Down
« previous next »
Print
Author Topic: How your chocolate may be tainted by child slavery  (Read 1531 times)
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.
"Sixhits"
*DAMN Supporter
Forum Whore
****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 888

Monkey see, monkey do
« on: April 27, 2004, 06:40:29 pm »
"There may be a hidden ingredient in the chocolate cake you baked, the candy bars your children sold for their school fund-raiser or that fudge ripple ice cream cone you enjoyed on Saturday afternoon.

Slave labor.

...

The lucky slaves live on corn paste and bananas. The unlucky ones are whipped, beaten and broken like horses to harvest the almond-sized beans that are made into chocolate treats for more fortunate children in Europe and America."


http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/news/special_packages/2060179.htm

The glutonously eye catching title attracted me, the terrible story made me stay.
Logged
"Perhaps, the most important thing to remember about that which we are faced with: Fascism, at its core, is a fraud. It promises the triumphal resurrection of the nation, and delivers only devastation. Strength without wisdom is a chimera, resolve without competence a travesty."
|MP|Buccaneer
*DAMN Supporter
God bless the freaks
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 2201



WWW
« Reply #1 on: April 27, 2004, 07:35:20 pm »
Not that slavery isn't terrible, but I hate the typical liberal (bleeding heart) angle of this story.

They talk about how many tons of chocolate are used and name some companies so you can write nasty letters, but they don't talk about how many farms actually use slave labor.  Just that some exist.  

I really like more factual and less emotional reporting.  And by factual I don't mean telling us about being given cans to urinate in, or the fermentation process of cocoa beans, but what are the laws in the Ivory Coast regarding this?  Would these kids starve on the streets otherwise / what were their conditions before hand? What percentage of farms there have these practices? How much of the GNP does cocoa exports make up (so if we did write to the companies, and they did boycott Ivory Coast cocoa beans, would we completely fuck over another third world country)?

This to me falls under the category of irresponsible journalism.  Playing on emotions to get people worked up, without enough of the important facts behind it.
Logged
The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. - Edmund Burke

Screw the pussy isolationists and their shortsightedness - Buccaneer
"Sixhits"
*DAMN Supporter
Forum Whore
****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 888

Monkey see, monkey do
« Reply #2 on: April 27, 2004, 07:48:12 pm »
All that's well and good, but the thing I most care about are the little kids getting whipped so I can have my hot coco.
Logged
"Perhaps, the most important thing to remember about that which we are faced with: Fascism, at its core, is a fraud. It promises the triumphal resurrection of the nation, and delivers only devastation. Strength without wisdom is a chimera, resolve without competence a travesty."
BTs_GhostSniper
Moderator
God save the Royal Whorealots
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 3807


SUA SPONTE


WWW
« Reply #3 on: April 27, 2004, 08:01:40 pm »
Quote from: "Sixhits" on April 27, 2004, 07:48:12 pm
All that's well and good, but the thing I most care about are the little kids getting whipped so I can have my hot coco.

If you feel so strongly about it, then stop drinking coco, and stop eating chocolate.

That will leave more chocolate for me and Bucc.  Smiley

(Man, I thought I would leave my post count on 800 for a while, but oh well.)
« Last Edit: April 27, 2004, 08:02:34 pm by BTs_GhostSniper » Logged
"On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory."

-General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
westamastaflash
Full Member
**
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 73
« Reply #4 on: April 27, 2004, 08:37:08 pm »
I agree with bucc.

The problem we have here is more than that child labor exists in these places, it is a lack of protection of contracts and property.

The article claims the boy was promised 150 dollars a year (good pay in the Ivory Coast) and a bicycle if he worked on that farm. Without rights to protect him from physical abuse and a legal recourse to get his pay (after all, the west hates child labor, so I would think the Ivory Coast doesn't acknowledge its existence in their laws) what does a child do? Most rural areas in africa are ruled by the sword, no matter what "form of government" exists in the cities.

It also cannot be forgotten that the root cause of child labor continues to be extremely inadequate family income. Taking these jobs away could very well just, as bucc said, fuck over another third world country.


See the following article:
http://www.techcentralstation.com/042903C.html
Logged
Mr.Mellow
Official ass-kisser
Forum Whore
****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 879


m00t!
« Reply #5 on: April 27, 2004, 09:03:53 pm »
Child slavery makes the chocolate taste extra special. Sad, but true.
Logged
It puts itself on ice...It puts itself on ice, or else it gets the orange juice again!

m00t, I am the Screwer of Squirming Citrus.
BTs_GhostSniper
Moderator
God save the Royal Whorealots
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 3807


SUA SPONTE


WWW
« Reply #6 on: April 27, 2004, 09:19:51 pm »
Quote from: Mr.Mellow on April 27, 2004, 09:03:53 pm
Child slavery makes the chocolate taste extra special. Sad, but true.

Wow, I don't believe I would have said that.

lol
Logged
"On the fields of friendly strife are sown the seeds that on other days and other fields will bear the fruits of victory."

-General of the Army Douglas MacArthur
cookie
Moderator
Sr. Member
*****
Offline Offline

Gender: Female
Posts: 447


still tippin'


WWW
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2004, 10:32:59 pm »
i knew those crack-peddlers were up to no good.
Logged
The things that will destroy us are politics without principle; pleasure without conscience; wealth without work; knowledge without character; business without morality; science without humanity; and worship without sacrifice.  ---
Gandhi

Back then they didn't want me, now I'm hot, hoes all on me.
BTs_FahQ2
Sr. Member
***
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 374


shit stinks, don't touch! drink more! beer shits!


WWW
« Reply #8 on: April 27, 2004, 10:33:35 pm »
Man, if you look on the "made in ......" tags on anything you buy, be sure to not buy it if it is from Asia, South America or Africa.  The basis of the work in these countries by our standards is child labor.  I know not all of the countries in this region, it would take me too long to list the ones that do and do not.

But basically the point it, most of the products you get are manufactured over there because the labor is cheap.  In turn the workforce (which by our standards is highly composed of children), doesn't get payed well, work in good conditions and dies at early ages.
Recent caught violators include: Nike, Reebok, Hanes and just about every food company with overseas companies.

So either wear a leaf and eat off your own farm, or just start paying for the products made in modern countries.

I think most of us wouldn't
Logged
"Forgiveness is between you and your God, My job is to help arrange the meeting."
www.rmgraphix.com
"Sixhits"
*DAMN Supporter
Forum Whore
****
Offline Offline

Gender: Male
Posts: 888

Monkey see, monkey do
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2004, 02:17:54 am »
Man, you guys can be a cynical bunch.
Logged
"Perhaps, the most important thing to remember about that which we are faced with: Fascism, at its core, is a fraud. It promises the triumphal resurrection of the nation, and delivers only devastation. Strength without wisdom is a chimera, resolve without competence a travesty."
spike
*DAMN Supporter
God bless the freaks
*****
Offline Offline

Posts: 2214
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2004, 04:33:22 am »
Well duh.
Logged
<<Evill is now known as Evill.aHa!>>

Let the Hump never die...

Retired into WoW:
- noripcord 60 warrior -
- server stormrage -
Pages: [1]   Go Up
Print
« previous next »
Jump to:  



 Ads
Powered by SMF 1.1.7 | SMF © 2006-2007, Simple Machines LLC
Page created in 0.034 seconds with 18 queries.