The atrocities that take place in order for us to munch on a bar of chocolate are hugely overlooked. Whether human trafficking, child slavery, or abusive labor practices are all performed at the cacao industry. It is incredible to consider how few of us are aware of such practices.

According to an investigative report by the BBC, “hundreds of thousands of children are being purchased from their parents or outright stolen and then shipped to Ivory Coast, where they are enslaved on cocoa farms.” Parents are then left with the promise of an honest job and proper means of living for their working kinds. They are told that the kids would get paid enough to help provide for their parents back home. However, children ages 11 to 16 and sometimes younger are forced to work 80 to 100 hours a week. The working children are deprived of education, proper salaries and exposed to malnutrition in addition to physical violence. Most children never return to their families…

 On the other side, Chocolate with all the baggage that comes with its production process, causes the brain to release endorphins, chemicals that make us feel good.