Comments on: BBC Panorama: Chocolate – The Bitter Truth

By: Alexander Rast

Alexander Rast — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:07:45 +0000

The cocoa commodities trader probably justifies his actions that have the net effect of supporting child slavery under the very dubious IMHO but very widespread ethical principle that it is possible – no, indeed, ethically *necessary* to make a clean separation between one’s *personal* ethics and one’s *professional* ethics. You can see the problem with this – that this gives you a convenient way of quietly ignoring or justifiying morally repugnant outcomes. I think it results from a confusion with a much more sound ethical principle: that a person cannot be held *personally* accountable for moral or legal wrongs that happen as an indirect effect of actions on their part – if they had no control over the possible indirect outcomes. Well yes, you can’t and shouldn’t punish somebody for unintended consequences, but by the same token, once you are aware of the probability of unintended consequences of actions on your part, it seems to me you have a moral responsibility to avoid such actions – to an extent that trumps any “responsibility” you may have to an employer. Yes, that employer might punish you (by firing) for openly refusing to take certain actions but that merely illustrates that moral uprighness isn’t always easy. In a larger context, it’s questionable whether a company’s only moral/ethical responsibility should be to the financial interests of shareholders, but that’s another argument for another day.

I tend to agree with Duffy – you do what you can. Exposing the fact that even well-intentioned systems may have flaws can be edifying, but that doesn’t mean one should throw the baby out with the bathwater and reject any well-intentioned system along with any other simply because abuses occur, which they inevitably do. To do so would imply that you could have a God-like omniscience about all the potential ramifications of buying choices you make.

Finally, however, intelligent choices are important. It’s usually possible to get a sense of whether “Fair Trade” means anything in a local context. In the end you get what you pay for. A quality chocolate from a top-end manufacturer almost by its nature is going to have more implicit guarantees than any certification – and there is the additional reward of getting something you can actually *enjoy* rather than the more hypothetical satisfaction of believing you’ve made an “ethical” choice. It’s the same everywhere: there is no substitute for personal discretion and common sense.

By: michael

michael — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:42:45 +0000

I watched the programme with great interest and your excellent observations have improved my understanding of the issues. My question is: are there any companies that make chocolate from beans which are not produced using child labour. I love chocolate, but was completely ignorant about its origins. I won’t be eating it again until I can be assured that what I am eating is child labour free.Are my chocolate-eating days over? .

By: Duffy Sheardown

Duffy Sheardown — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 12:04:49 +0000

I only saw some of the programme but from what I did see there was little in the way of alternatives offered. Is “Fairtrade” any better than the standard bar? Any better at all? What else might a concerned consumer do? Is there any point n trying to help?
I do have issues with the Fairtrade people – I pay a premium for Fairtrade sugar, for example, yet can’t mention this in the ingredients list. I still buy it but no-one knows – is that correct? Fairtrade now is a strong enough “brand” in its’ own right to throw more weight around – maybe they need to introduce “Fairtrade 2″ to tidy up some of the loose ends.
Farmers currently can lose money in a rising market by being tied to a cooperative agreement. Farmers have to be in cooperatives to join the scheme in the first place. I also am aware of farmers being offered the certification for a price – even though they aren’t in a cooperative. There are other documented problems with the scheme.
Marc Demarquette and I spent an hour or so trying to decide what the correct approach is – do we refuse to use all cocoa from Africa because corruption is apparently so rife? Are the Fairtrade schemes in Asia and the Americas squeaky-clean?
Eventually I will visit the farms I buy cocoa beans from and try and see for myself – but if they can pull the wool over Fairtrades’ eyes what chance do I have? Until their is a better scheme in place then I will carry on supporting Fairtrade – at the same time as paying a premium for good quality beans from as close as I can get to the actual farmers.

Duffy
Red Star Chocolate