I don't think anyone is
forcing anyone to do anything here on TamaTalk .... so let's keep this calm
I can see kkoolbear101 feel strongly about this and I sympathise.
But there's a lot more to think about than just buying Fair Trade chocolate or reducing the amount of chocolate you eat.
Child 'Slavery' sadly, exists in many countries. Children do work in appalling conditions to manufacture goods for "the Western consumer" - but if they are being paid, then they are not slaves.
They are employees trying to make a living and bring home some money to help feed their families.
If we all reduced the amount of chocolate we bought, think about how many children would lose those precious jobs?
Many of them have never been to school because in their country, education is not a right or free,
it's a privilege. Many of them are working because the employment laws are different in other countries.
Many of them are there because it is their responsibility to help feed their families.
It's not limited to chocolate - there are many examples you can find, not just "Fair Trade food stuffs". Designer brands - Reebok, Nike and others have all used manufacturers to produce their $150+ trainers and some are sourced from factories where children are employed.
As long as Western consumers insist on getting the "best deal" for their coffee, tea, chocolate, sneakers, t-shirts, (the list goes on and on), then the people who go out and negotiate with those farmers or suppliers for their goods will continue to be paid less than is fair. Those farmers and suppliers will, in turn, be forced to employ the cheapest labour they can find.
25 cents may seem like nothing to you, but monetary values are different in other countries and that money can mean the difference between buying a family meal or nothing to eat.
It's a sad fact, but you can't ask people to change their buying habits (and in this case, taste preferences) based on what you've read on a web site.
It's a decision they have to make for themselves.
I think if you care a lot about this, it is worth researching wider and finding out more about what your country (and many other western countries) are doing when they negotiate Trade agreements with certain countries and refuse to trade with others.
They try to get the best deal for their country (naturally), and protect their own farmers and their own locally produced crops from imported goods at cheaper prices.
It's a problem that isn't going to go away for a long time unfortunately.
