Date of publication: December 17, 2007
Source: Toronto Star
Author: Afrika Nieves-Bentley
Excerpt from Article:
... West Africa's Cote d'Ivoire is where most cocoa beans are grown. The farms run on labour provided for free by 12- to 16-year-old boys from neighbouring Mali and Ghana, according to a case study published by the American University in Washington, D.C. Agents are sent to cities in these countries to recruit children who are in desperate circumstances. They are then trafficked into Cote d'Ivoire, where they work as modern-day slaves.
Knowledge of these conditions has led some people to be selective about where they buy their chocolate. Fair-trade-certified products have become a popular alternative...