For many holidays, vegan groups from around the globe promote buying cruelty-free candies, with vegan chocolate often at the top of the list. However, just because chocolate is vegan does not mean it is cruelty-free.

The majority of cacao beans (or cocoa beans) come from either the Ivory Coast or Ghana in West Africa, and, unfortunately, child labor, human trafficking and slavery have been documented on cacao farms in these countries. Besides workers on cocoa farms being exposed to toxic chemicals (with children as young as 12 spraying the pods without using protective clothing), children as young as seven have been found working in the fields – using machetes to cut down the cacao pods. It is not uncommon for these children to have scars on their bodies from being injured by the sharp blades. In addition, the large bags filled with pods are very heavy and difficult to carry, and yet children have reported being beaten if they do not move fast enough while transporting these pod-filled bags. There are also stories of workers who have been locked in at night to keep them from running off, and when these workers attempted to escape, they were beaten or even killed. These abuses are more than enough to indict those who source their cocoa from the Ivory Coast and Ghana.

Large companies, such as Hershey’s and Mars, are culpable for what is happening in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. These corporations make millions of dollars while knowing what is happening on cocoa farms in these countries. They set up committees and discuss the issue of child labor and slavery when the truth of the matter is all they really care about is making a profit– but they need to pay more to the people who are making them rich. Many of these areas in West Africa are extremely poor and farmers need to be paid a fair wage for the beans they provide to large chocolate manufacturers so they can pay their workers a living wage.