TPA’s First Friday Film Night for February: THE DARK SIDE OF CHOCOLATE

 

Child labor and human trafficking continue to plague the cocoa fields of Africa, according to emerging evidence featured in the documentary, “THE DARK SIDE OF CHOCOLATE”. The film will be screened by the Topanga Peace Alliance  on Friday, February 3, at 8:00 p.m. at Yoga Desa.
Nearly a decade after the major players in the chocolate industry promised to resolve these problems, filmmakers Miki Mistrati and U Robin Romano document how children continue to be kidnapped and sold into slavery in the Ivory Coast, in spite of the UN treaty banning slavery after 2008.
This screening is part of the “Raise the Bar, Hershey!” Campaign, led by Green America’s Fair Trade Program, the film’s producer, along with a coalition of nonprofit organizations calling on the cocoa industry to end child and forced labor and trafficking in their industry, and to start sourcing Fair Trade cocoa, which prohibits these practices. The Campaign is currently pressing Hershey to take the lead in this effort.
After the screening, there will be a discussion of the issues raised by the film and actions will be taken to end the exploitation of children in the cocoa fields and ensure that cocoa is a source of joy for all children. Filmmakers Mistrati and Romano have generously made the film available for screenings in order to send one clear message to the chocolate industry: “We will not tolerate abusive child labor and trafficking in the cocoa fields. ” 
One of their recommended actions: when you buy Valentine’s candy for your loved ones this year, make sure that it is Fair Trade chocolate. (Fair trade is the practice of paying the person who produced it higher wages to ensure decent living and working conditions.) Also visit the websites related to the film for more suggestions, www.RaiseTheBarHershey.org and www.FairTradeAction.org.
The film is distributed by Green America, formerly Coop America, a coalition of organizations and businesses working for a just and equitable world. We will have a fair trade sale before the screening.