Modern Sociological Theories

The Social Relations Inscribed in a Chocolate Bar
Name
Institution
The Social Relations Inscribed in a Chocolate Bar
Chocolate is a product derived from cacao bean. The cacao plant, commonly known as cocoa mainly grows in the tropical climates of Latin America, Asia, and West Africa. By region, West Africa is the biggest cocoa producer in the world, contributing 70 percent of the total product in the world’s cocoa market (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). Cocoa is grown and harvested seasonally, with the product being sold to chocolate companies across the world. In Africa, there are very few chocolate processing companies if any and thus most of the crop is sold to international firms outside the continent. The product is a direct substitute for tea and coffee. In the recent years, a number of journalists and human rights organizations have brought into the limelight the widespread child labor and in most extreme circumstances slavery, inherent in most of cocoa production firms in West Africa. As compared to other cocoa producing countries of the world, West African countries have reported the highest number of child labor cases. As a result of these revelations, cocoa industry has remained highly secretive, with journalists and human rights champions being denied the opportunity to access most of the cocoa growing areas (Cooper, 2006). It has therefore become very difficult for them to disseminate information on human rights violation to the public. In recent reports, a considerable number of journalists were arrested by the Ivory Coast authorities for compiling and publishing information on corruption inherent in the government institutions. Despite the degree of sweetness inscribed in a chocolate bar, there lies slavery, child trafficking, and child labor (Cooper, 2006).
Globally, 45 countries produce cocoa (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). Out of these countries, eight of them contribute about 85 percent of the world’s total production. The world produces 2.9 tons of cocoa per annum with the figure representing $4.5 billion dollars in sales. The eight largest cocoa producers include Malaysia, Ecuador, Cameroon, Brazil, Nigeria, Indonesia, Ghana, and Ivory Coast. Cocoa lies in the third position, after coffee and sugar, in the market for raw materials globally (Food Empowerment Project, 2014). Among the 45 cocoa producing countries, few have established industries for processing cocoa beans into chocolate. After cocoa beans are harvested and dried, they are transported to other countries for processing. In Africa, Ivory Coast and Ghana, both in West Africa, are the largest cocoa producing countries, contributing a big percentage in the global cocoa market share. Ivory Coast, the world’s largest cocoa producer, contributes 39 percent of the total product in the market. Ghana is the second biggest earner, producing 18 percent of the world tonnage. Cocoa is the major source of foreign exchange for Ivory Coast ...