“The Dark Side of Chocolate” is a documentary about the continued allegations of trafficking of children and child labor in the international chocolate industry. While many people enjoy the sweet taste of chocolate, the reality is strikingly different for African children. In 2001, consumers around the world were outraged to discover that child labor and slavery, trafficking and other abuses existed on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, a country that produces nearly half of the world’s cocoa. An avalanche of negative publicity and consumer demands for answers and solutions soon followed.
Two members of the U.S. Congress, Sen. Tom Harkin of Iowa and Rep. Eliot Engel of New York, tackled the issue by adding a rider to an agricultural bill proposing a federal system to certify and label chocolate products as “slave free.” Almost a decade after the chocolate companies, concerned governments and foundations spent millions of dollars in an effort to eradicate child labor and trafficking in the international cocoa trade, has anything changed? Filmmakers Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano launch a behind-the-scenes investigation into ongoing allegations that child labor in the chocolate industry is present today.
Admission is free. Event will take place in the Roth Nelson Room. Co-sponsored by the Center for Equality and Justice, the Not for Sale club, and the Action Abroad Alliance. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at sthomas@callutheran.edu or (805) 493-3693. Limited parking is available in the Roth Nelson Room parking lot. Additional parking is available in the parking lots on Mountclef Boulevard north and south of Olsen Road. Street parking is by permit only Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
