Resenha da obra: "CHOCOLATE NATIONS: LIVING AND DYING IN WEST AFRICA" - de Órla Ryan.
Por: * Isabela Gugelmin
Chocolate Nations: Living and Dying in West Africa offers an interesting
insight on the fragile and growing cocoa industry. The book was written in 2011
by Órla Ryan, an Irish journalist who has worked as a correspondent for Reuters
- a position that brought her to Ghana, where she was inspired to investigate the
matter further.
Through a series of interviews and investigative work done throughout
the years, the book not only provides numbers and facts, but also stories of
farmers, families and societies, bringing a very strong human factor into
account.
Chocolate Nations begins with the history of Ghana and Ivory Coast, to allow
a better understanding of the chapters that follow. The main thing to keep in
mind is that the cocoa industry has been shaping those countries’ fates since
their independence in the previous century. And they have been relying on the
commodity very strongly ever since, as they are still majorly agricultural states
without much crop diversification.
Ryan touches on many polemic topics in her book, one of them being child
labour and trafficking - something that the media has been criticizing very
strongly since the early 2000’s. However, there is a side which the media does
not portray that the journalist brings to the surface: On one hand, Human Rights
violations and many others do occur. On the other, many children willingly make
their journey to richer neighbouring countries in search of work so that they
can provide for their families. Sometimes, it is the family itself that forces
the children to work on those farms - and they do it without meaning any harm
to the young.
What is common to all those cases is that the children never expect what
they encounter and are usually disillusioned. Poor pays, poor living conditions,
hazardous and effortful work and no chance of escaping. In other words, child
labour is found in many countries, although there is a big difference between children
that “work” and have their rights assured and what many children as the ones in
West Africa face.
Another interesting topic discussed by Ryan is Fairtrade chocolate and
why as promising as it might seem, Fairtrade may not bring as much change as imagined.
It is important to note that the author does not discourage the consumers to
buy Fairtrade, on the contrary (every change, as little as it might seem, is
still better than no change at all). But she makes the point that Fairtrade
still has many challenges to face and things to learn, especially in the case
of cocoa.
Also, it is difficult for new brands and ideas to enter (and stay in) a
market that relies on millions of smallholder farmers - therefore difficult to
control. A market that has a huge share in the hands of multinationals, such as
Mars, Cadbury, Hershey’s, Nestlé, Kraft and Mondelēz (and this highlights a hidden
truth to many people: People see different names, colors, and sizes on the shelves
and think that they have different options, when in fact they do not).
Add to all that governance issues found in West Africa such as changes
in power and military coups along with lack of technology, science and
training; climate change; corruption; presence of government boards, co-operatives,
NGOs; speculation that might affect prices; and so on.
That is why the book might be overwhelming. It is a lot of information
to take in, what can leave the readers without a definite view or without
knowing what them, both as humans and consumers, can to do to help solve the
problem.
Nonetheless, it is a good read and a good start. The author does a good
job in showing both sides of each story, bringing to the surface the complexities
of the cocoa industry, from when the cocoa is harvested to when chocolate is
distributed.
* Isabela Gugelmin: estudante do curso de Relações Internacionais do Unicuritiba.
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