Enjoy an Ethical Easter

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

As we enter Holy Week, Easter Sunday celebrations are just around the corner and as a self-confessed sweet-tooth, one of my favourite ways to celebrate is enjoying a chocolate egg (or a few). Eggs are ancient symbols of new life that beautifully represent Jesus’ resurrection and if they happen to be made of chocolate, well, that’s even better in my opinion.

Child Labour in the Chocolate Industry

Australians spend millions of dollars buying hundreds of kilos of chocolate each year to celebrate Easter. Cocoa, being the major chocolate ingredient, is predominantly sourced from West African countries such as Ivory Coast and Ghana where child labour is prevalent. Many of these children have been forced into labour, often working under hazardous conditions and without the opportunity to pursue an education or break the cycle of injustice and poverty. This trickles down to our supermarket shelves that stock chocolate and Easter eggs made at the expense of a child’s prospects in life.(1)

Our call as Catholics

Catholic Social Teaching spurs us to respect and uphold the dignity of our neighbours as we believe that every person is made in the image and likeness of God. Modern-day slavery is a direct contradiction to our call as Catholics to uphold the dignity of all peoples. Pope Francis has also used his voice to raise awareness of modern-day slavery and to call out for its eradication. (2)   

Therefore, as Catholics, we are called to uphold the dignity of our neighbours and to help make a change when we see injustice in our society such as modern-day slavery.

And we can make a change, here is how:  

When you’re out choosing your choccies, look for products that have on of the following labels:

When you buy chocolate that has a Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified or Fairtrade certification logo you are supporting companies that are working towards the elimination of slavery in their chocolate production.

You can also check how your favourite chocolate rates on the Easter Chocolate Scorecard.

Here are some other steps you can take:

-       Commit to purchasing chocolate that has a Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified or Fairtrade certification logo.

-       Tell your family and friends about child labour and slavery in the coca industry and encourage them to purchase chocolate that has a Rainforest Alliance, UTZ Certified or Fairtrade certification.

-       If you find that your favourite chocolate brand scores poorly, why not contact them to let them know of your concerns and encourage them to make improvements in their supply chain.

-       Make your own slavery free eggs

Want to learn more?

References:

(1) Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH): https://acrath.org.au/take-action/slavery-free-easter/

(2) Video message of his Holiness Pope Francis to the participants in the International Forum on Modern Slavery: https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2018/documents/papa-francesco_20180507_videomessaggio-forum-schiavitu.html

Other resources:

Enjoy a slavery-free Easter, RESource: https://resource-macs.com/2020/03/18/make-your-easter-slavery-free/

Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand: https://fairtradeanz.org/

Be Slavery Free: https://www.beslaveryfree.com/

The Challenge of Child Labour and Chocolate (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2urkKxLIQYk

Learn about the Patron Saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking – St Josephine Bakhita https://www.sydneycatholic.org/solidarity-and-justice/anti-slavery/patron-saint-st-josephine-bakhita/

Blog post written by Juliana Kittel (Diocesan Youth Ministry Officer)