1534QCA Creative Visual Strategies - Visual Discourse

THE REALITIES OF COCOA PRODUCTION

Kate Garland

Morgan Kallman

Annabel Tape
CONCEPT
In the current era of fast-paced consumerism, it appears that many large companies

throughout the globe utilise unethical work practices (International Labour Organisation [ILO]

2014). Unethical labour refers to certain actions taken by employers or unions to violate

their Labour laws, whether it be through using slave labour of both children and adults by

underpaying and overworking employees or forcing them to work in dangerous environments

(Guerin 2018, para 4). Large brands often source their products from multiple different

third world countries and in doing so create a setting where corrupt labour can thrive. Many

companies use factories that have child workers and underpaid workers as it results in cheap

labour and enables them to maximise their profits (International Labour Organisation 2014).

Approximately 152 million children are involved in child labour with close to half of them in dire

conditions (International Labour Organisation [ILO] 2017).

In particular, the cocoa harvesting industry is largely done in African countries

where child labour is most prevalent with 19.6% of all child workers being employed

there (ILO 2017).

A large offender for the use of child labour is Nestlé. Nestlé uses cocoa in a variety of

their products, sourced from Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana (Nestlé 2018, para. 1). Subsequently,

Nestlé been publicly shamed and ridiculed many times about their use of child slavery (Isern

2006, 117). The manufacturers of some of most distinguishable household products openly

admitted “…it had found forced labour in its supply chains in Thailand and that its customers

were buying products tainted with the blood and sweat of poor, unpaid and abused migrant

workers” (Kelly 2016, para.1).

 Nestlé have made efforts to reduce their association with slave labour, in particular their

employment of child slaves. One such example being their firm laws of no overtime in order

to prevent malnourishment (Nestlé 2018) but in doing so force families to have to put their

children to work to make up for the money lost in overtime.

“For a decade and a half, the big chocolate makers have promised to end child labour

in their industry—and have spent tens of millions of dollars in the effort. But as of the latest

estimate, 2.1 million West African children still do the dangerous and physically taxing

work of harvesting cocoa” (O’Keefe 2016, para 1).

The wage becomes a huge issue for those trying to survive and feed their families.

Some farmers and workers on cocoa farms are paid less than 1.25 US dollars a day,

which is roughly equivalent to 1.59 Australian dollars (Make Chocolate Fair 2013, para 2).

This is below the threshold of absolute poverty (Make Chocolate Fair 2013, para 2).

In Ghana, this equates to 5.48 G HS a day, which only covers the cost of a loaf of bread

(see Table 1) without considering the other costs associated with living (Numbeo 2018).

Earning less than 40 GHS a week can leave

families with no choice but to place their

children to work on the field, contributing

to slave labour within the cocoa industry.

Another major concern of slave labour forced

upon children is the deprivation of their

childhood and education.

 However, slave labour, including child labour, is a multifaceted, complex problem,

particularly in the production of cocoa (Bertrand and de Buhr 2015, 504) and despite efforts

to reduce the problem, child labour within the production of cocoa is almost impossible to

eradicate (Bertrand and de Buhr 2015, 504; Nestlé 2018, para. 1). Nestlé has even openly

stated that “no company sourcing cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana can fully remove the risk

of child labour in its supply chain” (Nestlé 2018, para. 1). Consequently, child labour still occurs

and yet consumers continue to support these large companies, such as Nestlé, and buy their

products.

“Good Food, Good Life?” is aimed at consumers’ overall lack of knowledge or,

perhaps consumer ignorance or lack of care, as to where cocoa products are being sourced

from and what goes on to produce these goods. Therefore, “Good Food, Good Life?” aims to

allow consumers to question purchasing cocoa products, such as Nestlé’s “Nesquick” and,

thus, potentially assist in the reduction of child labour. Our visual discourse concept takes

a common Nestlé product (Nesquik) and creates a narrative of the child labour used in the

production of Nestlé products. The concept of the child worker making the chocolate drink

attempts to make people evaluate the process in which the products they are consuming truly

originate from.