Much of the World’s Chocolate Supply Relies on Over 1 Million Child Workers

Under pressure from Congress in 2001, some of the world’s largest chocolatiers — including Nestlé, Hershey and Mars — pledged to eradicate “the worst forms of child labor” from their sources in West Africa, the world’s most important supply. Since then, however, the firms have missed deadlines to eliminate child labor in 2005, 2008 and 2010.

Each time, they have promised to do better, but the new report indicates that the incidence of child labor in West African cocoa production has risen. …