Chocolate

We started by discussing how chocolate is acquired in reference to slavery as well as who is in charge of it. We talked about how many children are forced into labor in both factories and fields in chocolate production. We also mentioned that big businesses, such as Nestle, are currently reliant and this form of labor and would go bankrupt at this point without it. We then continued to say that collectively we would not stop eating chocolate, but would overall be more aware of where it's coming from. For example, we would be more keen to buy from farmers markets or make sure the product is free trade. However, our group did acknowledge that it's nearly impossible to avoid it 100%. Companies like Nestle own multiple businesses and tend to use the same means to produce. It's possible to avoid it, but not completely cut it out of your lifestyle.
 * Reporter:** Sarah Handley
 * Recorder:** Yoav Kargon
 * Class Period:** 5
 * Central Question:** How will what you know about how chocolate is made/grown effect your consumption of chocolate?

When discussing this topic, my group and I noticed how our love for chocolate was somewhat hindered once we discovered new knowledge on how it was/is created. We were shocked to find out that most businesses who produce chocolate, t-shirts, and other common goods don't necessarily know who makes their products and where the raw materials come from. It was noted that businesses acquire child laborers in order to create such products. We talked about how the use of child labor/forced labor is cheaper than using actual legitimate workers that would have to be paid fairly. Once recognizing that, we made a connection between chocolate products that are "hand-made" versus "processed" and how the quality and ethics behind the production of chocolate could be improved through the implementation of actual adult workers who weren't forced into labor. The question we formulated out of that was whether businesses would trade their profits for better ethics and appeal more to the morals of consumers rather than their economic success. It's highly doubtful that businesses would do that and it was inferred among us that profits would go down significantly if forced labor was eliminated within the hidden parts of businesses. It was certainly an eye opener for Martin, Sarah, and I to have discovered the truth behind the production of goods that we consume almost everyday.
 * Reporter:** Julius Gingles
 * Recorder:** Martin Guzman
 * Class Period:** 5
 * Central question:** How does the way chocolate is created affect an individual's perspective on eating/buying the product?


 * Reporter:** Lily Xiao
 * Recorder:** Ben Bjarnson
 * Class Period:** 5
 * Central question:** Would consumers still buy chocolate if the front labels had pictures of slaves?

When discussing this question, my group came to an agreement that pictures of slaves on the labels of chocolate would discourage occasional consumers of chocolate, but wouldn't have any effect on those who frequently buy chocolate. For an example, cigarettes have warnings and labels but people continue to smoke and purchase cigarettes. Overall, the effect would be small because it would not change the snack they love to eat. Consumers do not have a responsibility so they do not care about where the product came from. These labels have the in-the-moment effect because it would cause consumers to first think about it but then they would forget about it.

Is there any monetary value assigned to a slave, if any?

My group discussed that it all depends on supply and demand and the ability of the slave. For an example, if the supply of slaves were low then the demand would be high. The abilities the slave can perform would change their worth. We agreed that there is a monetary value of a slave but it certain factors contribute to the assigned monetary value of a slave.

We agreed that the answer is dependent on the person. People typically tend to gravitate towards things that will benefit themselves. With that said, although some people may have a change of heart, others will not. We concluded that consumers would not buy those products. In seeing these products, consumers are being confronted head on with the issue. This will provoke some form of emotion within them. Although this stirred quite a bit of discussion, we came to a decision that by adding a monetary value to a human life, we are considering the laborers as machines or as a form of property. Instead, human life should continue to remain priceless.
 * Reporter:** Ijeoma Ike-Amaechi
 * Recorder:** Nadia Hacket
 * Class Period:** 1
 * Central Question:** Would people still buy products if they rose to prevent slavery?
 * Question #2:** What, if any, monetary value do we assign to a human life?