Child Slavery & Coffee

It would seem that child-labor is a big issue where coffee is concerned. So I spent some time researching the topic to try to get a handle on what exactly are the issues. And while I am certainly no expert I wanted to respond to a few of those issues. The specific article that I read is what I felt was a fairly balanced article on the subject. If you care to read it you will find it here: www.teaandcoffee.net.

"Recent census statistics show that populations in Latin American countries, contrary to those in the U.S. and Europe, are increasingly younger, ranging from 38-52% of inhabitants under the age of 18"

This was the first statement that caught my attention. Is this comparison between Latin American countries and the United States meant to inform us of how bad the Latin American countries have it or of how good America has it? It is possible that neither were the intention as we needed a base from which to demonstrate the Latin American statistical data. However, my first reaction to the comparison was "That is horrible! Those poor children."

"Accurate statistics on the prevalence of child labor in coffee are scarce, though anecdotal evidence indicates that the occurrence is widespread in coffee producing countries around the world."

I am not trying to discredit the plight of child laborers but I am an automatic cynic to everything and so I naturally wonder what the heck "anecdotal evidence" means? So I did what every intelligent ignorant person does when they don't know something - they go to Wikipedia. Here's what Wiki had to say;

"The expression anecdotal evidence has two quite distinct meanings.

(1) Evidence in the form of an anecdote or hearsay is called anecdotal if there is doubt about its veracity: the evidence itself is considered untrustworthy or untrue.

(2) Evidence which may itself be true and verifiable is used to deduce a conclusion which does not follow from it, usually by generalising from an insufficient amount of evidence. For example "my grandfather smoked like a chimney and died healthy in a car crash at the age of 99" does not disprove the proposition that "smoking markedly increases the probability of cancer and heart disease at a relatively early age". In this case the evidence may itself be true, but does not warrant the conclusion.

In both cases the conclusion is unreliable; it might happen not to be untrue, but it doesn't follow from the "evidence".

So what I take from this is that concerns about child labor is, at best, an unsubstantiated problem in the world coffee market. Am I saying that the problem does not exist? Not at all, but rather that the problem that exists may (or may not) be what we Americans suppose that it is. And further the article states:

"Among the products that children help to harvest are cocoa, coffee, coconuts, cotton, fruit and vegetables, jasmine, palm oil, rubber, sisal, sugar cane, tea, tobacco, and vanilla."

So now it seems that the unsubstantiated claim that children labor has tainted the world coffee market is equally unsubstantiated in the harvest of many of the world's commodity agricultural markets. Huh! I have never been asked about the child labor used to produce my Q-Tips nor my car tires or morning sugar-cereal. However, now that I am roasting my own coffee beans people decide to ask about the ethical decision to do so "because green coffee beans use child labor you know."

The article continues too define the various problems and how proposed solutions may or may not have the desires affect on riffing the world of child labor abuses. When I was in a Global Market Business class the discussion was on Nike's use of foreign manufacturing plants which used children to make its shoes. The solution was to boycott Nike products until it ceased employing these plants. As I thought about this solution I thought about the children in Thailand where many children (both girls and boys) are sold by their parents into the sex trade so that the family can survive. I wondered how many children would rather work in a manufacturing plant rather than be sold as prostitutes. As I thought about the Nike plant closing up shop because we Americans were appalled at the inhumanity of child labor in the making of our shoes I suggested as much and I was chastised that my thoughts were preposterously ignorant of the facts. Hmmm, maybe they are, but I wonder if my boycotting the company because of my offended American sensibilities is the proper approach.

"Most child welfare advocates agree that the proper place for a child is in the schoolroom, not the workplace."

As my wife and I discussed the issue of child labor probably being used to pick the beans that I am buying, we decided that boycotting would probably not be the appropriate approach for change. We agreed that children should be allowed to go to school if they have the opportunity but we understand that most children do not - even if I were to not buy the coffee, the cotton, the rubber, the cocoa, the sugar, or anything from Walmart. Boycotting did not seem to be the most expedient solution so we have decided that we are doing the best that we can do for four children already. We sponsor four children through Compassion International from around the world to go to school. Is this going to change the fact of child labor abuses? Certainly not for everyone but for the four children that we send money to every month I am sure that it helps.

Is there a better solution than just sponsoring the children's education? There may be but I am unaware of it. The article confesses as much:

"Child labor is a complex issue primarily rooted in poverty. A “one size fits all” solution developed in a vacuum in order to avert a potential public relations scandal will not put an end to child labor."

So in the end am I just rationalizing my purchasing of the coffee beans that have not been "Fair Trade" certified? It is possible (like you, I am very good at rationalizing and justifying the things that I desire) but as for now my conscience is clear. If it were certain that my boycotting of certain coffees would put an end to the poverty that demands the use of children in the picking of that coffee - I would. Then I would boycott the makers of my Q-Tips, my sugars providers, my tire company, and the like as well.