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John,
Starbucks sells millions of drinks and snacks every day, much of which includes cocoa which has been sourced from West Africa.
West African cocoa production has been linked to inadequate farmer pay, child labour issues, and deforestation of the environment, leading to the endangerment of forest, elephants and chimpanzees.
Starbucks has the kind of influence to make a difference in the region, but it won’t act unless thousands of customers speak up about these concerns.
Send a direct message to Starbucks today to alert them to the importance of being a responsible global citizen, paying farmers a living wage, preventing the exploitation of child labour, and protecting tropical forests and wildlife!
According to the United Nations’ World Wildlife Fund, 70% of the world’s cocoa is grown in West Africa, where most cocoa farmers own just a few acres and cannot afford to buy chocolate themselves.
Due to climate change, farmers in West Africa are expected to struggle with higher temperatures and longer dry periods, which hurt the productivity of cocoa trees. And it’s a time-intensive process: it takes two years for a tree to produce the cocoa found in just one pound of chocolate. Most cocoa plantations are past their prime productive peak, and older trees produce cocoa more slowly.
Child labour is widely used to grow, harvest, and transport cocoa in West Africa. In the 2013-14 growing season, it is estimated that 2 million children were involved in cocoa production in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.
Deforestation due to clearing tropical forests rather than reusing the land for cocoa farming is widespread. This problem is especially serious in the Ivory Coast, where it is estimated that 70% of the illegal deforestation is due to cocoa farming.
Starbucks could follow the lead of cocoa company Barry Callebaut, which has announced a set of sustainability goals for 2025, including zero child labour and deforestation, replanting 2.5 million acres of current cocoa plantations, and paying 500,000 farmers living wages above the poverty level.
Send a message today to Starbucks urging them to develop their own sustainability goals for sourcing West African chocolate!
Thank you for your efforts now to encourage Starbucks to come clean on cocoa.
- Amanda
Amanda Ford, Director
Democracy for America
Advocacy Fund
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