Child Labor in Cocoa Production For many American children—and
their parents—chocolate is a delightful treat that adds to the
joy of special occasions such as Valentine’s Day. But for
children in West Africa, there will be nothing special about
that day. It will simply be another desolate day of harvesting
cocoa under inexcusable conditions. For that reason, the
American Federation of Teachers is organizing a Valentine’s Day
of Action to stop the importation of child-harvested cocoa beans
or chocolate made from them. More than half of the world’s
supply of cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate, is cultivated
in the two West African nations of Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire.
Their cocoa production depends on the labor of more than 3.6
million children. The International Cocoa Verification Board
estimates that hundreds of thousands of those children are
involved in cocoa-specific Worst Forms of Child Labor. Children
must climb trees with machetes to cut down cocoa pods; they
handle and apply dangerous pesticides; th