Caught Red-Handed Part 2

 Every year, millions of kids nationwide eagerly grab chunks of candy out of the hands of tired, exhausted homeowners. Of course they wouldn't have stopped to think about where it comes from. But if they knew.....maybe, just maybe, would they have thought twice?

Let's take a few steps back. And another few to West Africa, the heart of the cocoa plant, the hub of the chocolate making industry. Thousands, nay, millions of kids are involved in child labor in this area alone - Take a look at the statistics.

West Africa provides for a staggering 3/4 of the 4.24 million tons of cocoa bean production, the Ivory Coast and Ghana combining for over 2.5 million tons. They also share a less flattering figure: The two countries combine for 1.8 million child laborers. 109,000 work in the harshest forms of labor with no pay. 10,000 were trafficked, bought and sold as if their life demanded a price.

Hershey's has found itself at the middle of the controversy. All of its suppliers in West Africa have been caught using child labor, and their pledge to educate all children in their cocoa-producing areas has miserably failed/flopped. Although they have taken a few preventive measures, they have stopped short of certifying their chocolate "Fair Trade", which means setting down ground rules to avoid child labor in cocoa.

So. Before you bite into that chocolate bar next time, before you eagerly grab that Halloween candy -- You might want to consider that that was made by a boy your age, who knows no life without hardship and struggle. Join the fight.