Ever wonder how such a bitter bean as cocoa can become such a sweet savory food as chocolate? There's a darker story behind how they get this food that is still sadly happening to this day in the Ivory Coast. From child labor, dying animals, and people just doing nothing to stop this. The negatives far outweigh the positives in chocolate production in the Ivory Coast.
Chocolate as we all know and love it, is a sweet food that had originally been a bitter drink for the Europeans. As stated in the article, "Is Chocolate Good for Côte d'Ivoire," the word chocolate comes from the Aztecs which translates to mean bitter drink. But that is not the only bitter part of this drink, as stated by article E "Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate …show more content…
As stated by the article, "Is Chocolate Driving Monkeys into Extinction?", it also infringes on large areas of land where animals and natural resources abound. Some illegal cocoa farms have poachers (people who kill animals illegally) who kill off all of the primate population in the Ivory Coast. Due to these actions, the primate population is going from low numbers to the point of extinction. Not only are the primates suffering, the plants that grow there naturally suffer as well. Since there is a need for large areas of land to grow cocoa beans, farmers need to get rid of all the other plants in the way. That might include trees that have been in that location for hundreds of years, shrubs, and quite possibly rare plants that are worth their weight in gold on the black market. Unfortunately, the cost of protecting the land and animals appears to be just too …show more content…
Yet nothing so far has changed. The association has tried to give money to the Ivory Coast but with a yearly income estimated at $1,546 (according to the article "World Banks data tables, 2014"), there's little to nothing they can do. By comparison, America's yearly income is $54,630. This works out to almost 53 times more money than the Ivory Coast makes in a year. People on the other side of the argument would say at least the Fair Trade Association is trying to help, but it's not
Chocolate as we all know and love it, is a sweet food that had originally been a bitter drink for the Europeans. As stated in the article, "Is Chocolate Good for Côte d'Ivoire," the word chocolate comes from the Aztecs which translates to mean bitter drink. But that is not the only bitter part of this drink, as stated by article E "Child Labor and Slavery in the Chocolate …show more content…
As stated by the article, "Is Chocolate Driving Monkeys into Extinction?", it also infringes on large areas of land where animals and natural resources abound. Some illegal cocoa farms have poachers (people who kill animals illegally) who kill off all of the primate population in the Ivory Coast. Due to these actions, the primate population is going from low numbers to the point of extinction. Not only are the primates suffering, the plants that grow there naturally suffer as well. Since there is a need for large areas of land to grow cocoa beans, farmers need to get rid of all the other plants in the way. That might include trees that have been in that location for hundreds of years, shrubs, and quite possibly rare plants that are worth their weight in gold on the black market. Unfortunately, the cost of protecting the land and animals appears to be just too …show more content…
Yet nothing so far has changed. The association has tried to give money to the Ivory Coast but with a yearly income estimated at $1,546 (according to the article "World Banks data tables, 2014"), there's little to nothing they can do. By comparison, America's yearly income is $54,630. This works out to almost 53 times more money than the Ivory Coast makes in a year. People on the other side of the argument would say at least the Fair Trade Association is trying to help, but it's not