Chocolatised Video..

Chocolate Slave Trade.

There is a surprising association between chocolate and child labor in the Cote d'Ivoire (Africa).

Young boys whose ages range from 12 to 16 have been sold into slave labor and are forced to work in cocoa farms in order to harvest the beans, from which chocolate is made, under inhumane conditions and extreme abuse.

This West African country is the leading exporter of cocoa beans to the world market. Thus, the existence of slave labor is relevant to the entire international economic community. Through trade relations, many actors are inevitably implicated in this problem, whether it is the Ivorian government, the farmers, the American or European chocolate manufacturers, or consumers who unknowingly buy chocolate. Discussions have arisen regarding how to respond to the problem. Issues mentioned include causes of slave labor relating to the economic system and to the country's dependence on an unstable export crop. There are also debates concerning the appropriate response from the chocolate industry, government officials, and consumers concerning whether there should be boycotting, establishment of government legislation to put "made by slaves" labels on products, or whether some type of international cooperation is needed to ensure improved working conditions. The complexity of the problem makes finding an effective solution a challenging task.

However, on a postive note most chocolate giants have become 'slave free chocolate' for example cadbury.

Chocolate these days.

There are the chocolate giants (like Cadbury, Lindt, Nestle & Guylian ) and the smaller companies like Haigh's.
In my opinion, even though the smaller chocolate shops have better quality chocolate and are reasonably priced, the big chocolate giants are still conquering the majority of the chocolate market.

Therefore chocolate these days isn't as good as it could be, due to the chocolate giants and the little competition which the are against.

Who discovered chocolate?

Nestle and Cadbury are the heavy weights of chocolate today. But who do we have to thank for discovering the almighty, cocoa bean?

The first European who can rightly claim the 'discovery' of cocoa is Christopher Columbus. The story taking place in 1502, during his last voyage to the Caribbean, he lands on the island of Guanaja.He was greeted by the Aztecs who offered him a bag of cocoa beans in exchange for trade goods.

Columbus failed to grasp the importance of these beans, more so, he detests the beverage prepared from these beans, which is known as Xocolatl (literally translating into 'bitter water'). And he returns to Spain without realizing the economic importance of these cocoa beans.

Seventeen Years later...

Hernán Cortés, a friend of the divine emperor Moctezuma from Tenochtitlàn, the Aztec capital. Who along with Columbus, wasn't a fan of the 'Xocolatl' beverage. However, was aware of the enormous value of the Cocoa bean as a means of currency. With the aid of the natives Cortes captured the emperor and built cocoa plantations all over the Caribbean.

From then on, cocoa has been grown all over the world, but the most valued and expensive varieties are still found in the regions from which the tree originates.