ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

How much would you pay to eliminate child slavery from your cocoa?

Three percent, ten percent, forty-seven percent -- what's a reasonable price?

Mihai AndreibyMihai Andrei
June 12, 2019
in Agriculture, News
A A
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterSubmit to Reddit

We all love cocoa and chocolate, but there’s a massive hidden cost to it: slavery. In 2001, an analysis found that 19,000 children working in Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s biggest producer of cocoa, may have been victims of trafficking or slavery. In Western Africa, which produces more than two thirds of the world’s cocoa, the situation isn’t much better. Despite some improvements, the cocoa industry remains riddled with slavery problems.

A new study finds that this issue could be addressed through a cocoa price increase. Just 2.8% could potentially eliminate the worst case of child slavery, while up to 47% could eliminate all child labor from cocoa production.

Cocoa farmer walks through his cocoa farm with son and daughter. Photo taken by Irene Scott for AusAID.

The world can’t get enough of chocolate. Americans eat 18% of the world’s chocolate, but per capita, they don’t even come close to the Swiss, the Germans, and most of Europe for that matter. As China and the rest of the developed world continue to increase the standard of living, it’s also starting to sink its teeth into chocolate, further increasing the demand on cocoa plantations. Yet as the chocolate industry grows and prospers, the growers rarely see the fruit of their work. A recent report found that 2.1 million children in West Africa “still do the dangerous and physically taxing work of harvesting cocoa” for little or no money — that’s in addition to all the adults working in similar conditions.

In Ghana, a country of 25 million people, it’s estimated that some 800,000 families are living in part by cocoa farming. Ghana, the world’s second largest cocoa producer, prohibits child labor. However, that law is rarely applied. Many cocoa households live in poverty, working on small farms and barely making ends meet — they need children to earn enough to survive. To make matters even worse, this creates a vicious cycle: working children don’t get an education and are almost doomed to a life of poverty.

In this new study, the authors analyzed economic and policy data, creating a model to calculate the necessary price increase of cocoa in order to eliminate different types of child labor at household-farms. The model suggests that the worst types of child labor could be eliminated by a mere 2.81% price increase, while also eliminating regular work would come at a 11.81% increase. Meanwhile, removing all forms of child labor would cause a price increase of 46.96%.

However, the model has some important caveats: for starters, it assumes that the tax would go to the households and would be used to eliminate child labor. This is an optimistic assumption — and if cocoa farmers were not compensated for removing child labor, it just wouldn’t happen.

There’s also another issue: the study did not analyze whether clients are willing to pay this premium and through what mechanism the money could go to the farmers. These are all pressing issues to be solved.

RelatedPosts

Not armed, but dangerous: New Armless dinosaur species unearthed in Argentina
The Hidden Hero Beneath Our Feet: How Soil Organic Carbon Can Mitigate Climate Change
Antarctica is being melted from the inside-out by hidden rivers
ISS uses instrument to capture heat extremes from European cities

The study was published in PLoS ONE.

ShareTweetShare
Mihai Andrei

Mihai Andrei

Dr. Andrei Mihai is a geophysicist and founder of ZME Science. He has a Ph.D. in geophysics and archaeology and has completed courses from prestigious universities (with programs ranging from climate and astronomy to chemistry and geology). He is passionate about making research more accessible to everyone and communicating news and features to a broad audience.

Related Posts

News

Coolness Isn’t About Looks or Money. It’s About These Six Things, According to Science

byTibi Puiu
2 hours ago
Archaeology

Ancient Roman Pompeii had way more erotic art than you’d think

byMihai Andrei
3 hours ago
Animals

Wild Orcas Are Offering Fish to Humans and Scientists Say They May Be Trying to Bond with Us

byTibi Puiu
4 hours ago
Clumps of gold recovered from a mine placed on a wooden table.
Chemistry

No Mercury, No Cyanide: This is the Safest and Greenest Way to Recover Gold from E-waste

byRupendra Brahambhatt
5 hours ago

Recent news

Coolness Isn’t About Looks or Money. It’s About These Six Things, According to Science

July 1, 2025

Ancient Roman Pompeii had way more erotic art than you’d think

July 1, 2025

Wild Orcas Are Offering Fish to Humans and Scientists Say They May Be Trying to Bond with Us

July 1, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Editorial Policy
  • Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
  • How we review products
  • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • Science News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Space
  • Future
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Physics
      • Matter and Energy
      • Quantum Mechanics
      • Thermodynamics
    • Chemistry
      • Periodic Table
      • Applied Chemistry
      • Materials
      • Physical Chemistry
    • Biology
      • Anatomy
      • Biochemistry
      • Ecology
      • Genetics
      • Microbiology
      • Plants and Fungi
    • Geology and Paleontology
      • Planet Earth
      • Earth Dynamics
      • Rocks and Minerals
      • Volcanoes
      • Dinosaurs
      • Fossils
    • Animals
      • Mammals
      • Birds
      • Fish
      • Amphibians
      • Reptiles
      • Invertebrates
      • Pets
      • Conservation
      • Animal facts
    • Climate and Weather
      • Climate change
      • Weather and atmosphere
    • Health
      • Drugs
      • Diseases and Conditions
      • Human Body
      • Mind and Brain
      • Food and Nutrition
      • Wellness
    • History and Humanities
      • Anthropology
      • Archaeology
      • History
      • Economics
      • People
      • Sociology
    • Space & Astronomy
      • The Solar System
      • Sun
      • The Moon
      • Planets
      • Asteroids, meteors & comets
      • Astronomy
      • Astrophysics
      • Cosmology
      • Exoplanets & Alien Life
      • Spaceflight and Exploration
    • Technology
      • Computer Science & IT
      • Engineering
      • Inventions
      • Sustainability
      • Renewable Energy
      • Green Living
    • Culture
    • Resources
  • Videos
  • Reviews
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Editorial policy
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2025 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.