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Photo: Phil Grout ©2003 |
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THE LUTHERAN WORLD RELIEF FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE PROJECT
Who doesn't love chocolate? Its rich, creamy taste brings a smile to faces young and old.
But for the farmers who grow the cocoa used in making chocolate, the taste isn’t always so sweet.
A bitter harvest?
West African countries are critically dependent on cocoa. Ninety percent of the world’s cocoa is grown by families on small farms of 12 acres or less. In Ghana, cocoa revenues account for more than 33 percent of the country’s total export earnings.
Cocoa is one of the world’s most traded and speculated commodities, but the vast majority of the money that cocoa earns goes to middlemen, not to the growers. Oftentimes, farmers may be forced to sell their harvest for less than the cost of production, or for just slightly more, leaving little money to provide for their families.
Low cocoa prices have meant severe poverty and even child slavery for many families in West Africa, tainting chocolate with the bitterness of social injustice.
Fair Trade means better lives for cocoa farmers. Next>
Questions? Email fairtrade@lwr.org to learn more.
