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Modern Day Slavery …and global inequality
If you had the option of purchasing a $30.00 item for $15.00 at Wal-Mart, which is half the price it would cost at a small store downtown, would you do so, even if you knew that the Wal-Mart item was produced by slaves (much like goods were produced by slaves 200 years ago)? a. Absolutely b. Perhaps but it would depend on a number of other factors c. Probably not…but I might d. Absolutely not
What is your socioeconomic class? a. Upper (family income greater than $250,000) b. Upper middle (family income $100,000-250,000) c. Middle (family income $40,000-99,000) d. Lower middle (family income $16,000-39,000) e. Lower (family income lower than $16,000)
“Material World” – Tracy Chapman You in your fancy Material world Don't see the links of chain Binding blood Our own ancestors Are hungry ghosts Closets so full of bones They won't close
“Material World” – Tracy Chapman Call it upward mobility But you've been sold down the river Just another form of slavery And the whole man-made white world Is your master You in your fancy Material world Create in your own image A supreme god
“Material World” – Tracy Chapman Your Virgin Mary Your holy ghosts Claimed to be pure of heart Have hands that are stained with blood You in your fancy Material world Don't see the links of chain Binding
Cocoa + Slavery What do we know? What can we do?
Ivory Coast – 1,250 Ghana – 410 Indonesia – 410 Nigeria – 170 Brazil – 135 Cameroon – 125 Ecuador – 95 Malaysia – 80 Dominican Rep – 47 Colombia – 40 (thousands of tons) Farms in the Ivory Coast produce about 43 percent of the world’s cocoa. The U.S. State Dept. and the Intl. Labor Org. estimate that West African cocoa revenues average $30-108 per year per household member (for cocoa producing households). Most child cocoa workers don’t attend school b/c their parents don’t have $ Cocoa Production in 2004
Ivory Coast and Slavery • The U.S. State Dept. estimates that at least 15,000 children between the ages of 9-12 have been sold into slavery to work in the Ivory Coast, which has a total of 600,000 cocoa farms. • Amnesty International estimates that upwards to 200,000 slaves work on plantations in the Ivory Coast. • Most slaves are people from the countries of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Ghana.
People in the United States spend approximately $13 billion each year on chocolate. We import over 400,000 tons of chocolate each year
Fair Trade Chocolate Cocoa producer poverty comes at the hands of large chocolate corporations, such as M&M/Mars, Nestle, & Hershey – who manipulate the market to keep the price of cocoa low and their company’s profits high. This is “good” business practice because low costs = high profits = happy investors. …and happy consumers!!!
Harkin – Engle anti-slavery Cocoa Protocol • Perhaps the first time in history that anti-slavery activists, industry leaders, and government law makers sat down to hammer out some sort of agreement to stop slavery. • They’re still hammering it out and it’s going very slowly.
Fair Trade Chocolate • FAIR TRADE products ensure that producers earn enough to send their kids to school and pay their workers (i.e., producers receive a “fair price” for their goods, whether it’s cocoa, coffee, or soybeans). • Thus far, the U.S. Chocolate Manufacturers' Association (CMA) has pledged to help fight child labor and slavery, but have done little. • However, prices remain at a 15 year low, and this creates a breeding ground for slavery.
A “lot” of commodities have a “little” bit of slavery in them. • Cotton • Sugar • Timber • Beef • Tomatoes • Lettuce • Shrimp • Coffee • Iron • Electronic items • Steel • Gold • Tin • Diamonds • Shoes • Sporting Goods • Carpets • Rice • Rope • etc.
Roses and Child Labor • In Malur, India, some 1,000 female children work in the export rose production market—plucking and packaging. • They prepare up to 10,000 roses per day. • Girls are paid between 20-25 rupees per day (about fifty cents). • A single rose can sell for 100 rupees. QUESTION: Are they different from slaves?
In 1960, the richest 20% of the world’s population owned about 70% of global wealth.Today the richest 20% owns 86% of the world’s wealth (which means they consume 86% of all goods and services)
By contrast, in 1960 the poorest 20% of the world’s population owned just 2.3% of our global wealth.Today the poorest 20% controls less than 1% of the world’s wealth.
The bottom 10% of people living in the U.S. are better off than two-thirds of the world’s population.~ World Bank
Haiti • 80 percent of the country’s nearly 10 million people live under the poverty line • 54 percent live in “abject poverty” • 60 years is the life expectancy at birth • But opportunities matter to individuals
