Free Workers = Fair TradeBy: Amanda Chamblee

Notre Dame is a Catholic institution centered on living the Christian way of life. This entails treating all people equally, recognizing everyone’s dignity, respecting life, and reaching out to those who need help.

If this is the case, then why does Notre Dame sell chocolate products to their students made by Hershey’s and Nestle?

A Hershey bar may be cheap, but the cocoa used to make it was harvested by an enslaved worker forced to live in poverty. In the Ivory Coast, where one-half of the world’s cocoa is harvested, child slavery is an everyday thing.* *Zetterstrom, John. "Ignorance Is Bliss." n.d.: n. pag. IHSCSL News, Dec. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=182>.

Children as young as nine are taken from poor countries such as Mali and sold into slavery on the cocoa farms. About 15,000 children out of the 200,000 sold into slavery are involved in the cocoa production. **Zetterstrom, John. "Ignorance Is Bliss." n.d.: n. pag. IHSCSL News, Dec. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://ihscslnews.org/view_article.php?id=182>.

These children work long days that consist of hard manual labor for up to 80 to 100 hours a week. They are paid little to nothing at all, barely fed, and beaten with things such as tree branches and bike chains. *

*"A Few Facts About Nestle." Web log post. N.p., 13 Mar. 2006. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://fading-hope.blog-city.com/nestle_shit.htm>.

BUY FAIR TRADE!!!TransFair USA is the only independent certifier of Fair Trade Cocoa in the US. “Farmers who produce Fair Trade Certified cocoa are guaranteed a fair price: a minimum of $1750 per metric ton” (Fair Trade Certified Specialty Cocoa).*

*Fast Facts: Fair Trade Certified Specialty Cocoa (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

There are currently 28 cocoa importers and companies who are licensed to sell Fair Trade. The extra income generated by these Fair Trade Companies are used to help build schools and healthcare centers. **Fast Facts: Fair Trade Certified Specialty Cocoa (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

Buy Fair Trade. It’s Your Duty!

Works Cited• Basilica of the Sacred Heart, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by

author. 2010.• Bliss Logo. N.d. Photograph. Hershey's Chocolate Candy. Hershey's Chocolate

Company. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.thehersheycompany.com/brands/category.aspx#/Chocolate-Candy>.

• Candy Shelf, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.• Child Tears. N.d. Photograph. Abandoned Babies and Children. Feed the Children.

Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=abc_faqs.

- Chocolate Rabbit Crying. N.d. Photograph. Easter Bunny Campaign Condemns Child Labor. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.swisster.ch/news/society/easter-bunny-campaign-condemns-child-labour.html>.

• Chocolate Heart. N.d. Photograph. Beautiful Chocolate. Ninaclock Designs. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

http://ninaclock.com/blog/beautiful-chocolate.- Clif Bar Logo. N.d. Photograph. Meet Clif Bar and Company's In-House Ecologist. Alternative

Channel. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.alternativechannel.tv/blog/en/

meet_clifbars_in_house_ecologist>.- Cloud Nine Logo. N.d. Photograph. Our Products. Jark Enterprise. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.jark.com.my/product12.html>.• Cocoa Harvest. N.d. Photograph. Child Labor in Cocoa Production. AFT. Web. 10 Nov.

2010.

<http://www.aft.org/content_images/international/cocoaharvest_200.jpg&imgrefurl>.

- Denman Island Chocolate. N.d. Photograph. Denman Island Chocolate Bars. 8chocolate.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.8chocolate.com/2009/05/11/review-denman-island-chocolate-bars/>.

- Endangered Species Chocolate. N.d. Photograph. Houston Zoo. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.houstonzoo.com/attachments/wysiwyg/50844/ ESC.JPG&imgrefurl>.

• Fair Trade Logo. N.d. Photograph. Blogging Fair Trade. Blogging Fair Trade. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://bloggingfairtrade.com/.

• Gardener's Candies. N.d. Photograph. Boxed Chocolates. Sandee's Candies and Gifts. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://sandeescandiesandgifts.com/ chocolates.htm>.

• Golden Dome, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.

• Grotto, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.• Happy Planet. N.d. Photograph. Green Theme Eco Consulting. Homestead.

Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://www.greenthemeconsulting.com/CONTACT.html>.

• Huddle Mart Logo, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.

• Jackson, Michael. "Man in the Mirror." By Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard. Epic Records. Quincy Jones, 1988. MP3.

• King Statue, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.• Kopper's Logo. N.d. Photograph. Shop by Candy Brand. Oh! Nuts. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.ohnuts.com/buy.cfm/shop-by-brand>.• Nestle Logo. Photograph. Snack Shacks. Australian Vending Association Inc.

Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://www.snackshacks.com/snack-vending-machines-product-list.Newman's Own Organics. N.d. Photograph. Big Ideas Head to Santa Cruz.

SantaCruz.com. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. <http://news.santacruz.com/2010/02/17/the_new_new_thing>.Notre Dame Stadium Sign, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.

• Touchdown Jesus, University of Notre Dame. Personal photograph by author. 2010.

• Waving FLag. N.d. Photograph. Spiritual Food for Thought. Mark Mallett. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.

<http://www.markmallett.com/blog/category/faith-and-morals/>.

• World Fair Trade Day Logo. N.d. Photograph. Disclosing New Worlds. Creative Commons. Web. 10 Nov. 2010. http://lectionary.wolsblog.com/2009/03/08/commentary-and-reflections-lent-3b/.