Mars, maker of M&Ms and Snickers, uses cocoa harvested by 5-year-old kids in Ghana: report
Mars, the chocolate giant that makes M&Ms and Snickers, uses cocoa that is harvested by children as young as five years old in Ghana, according to a bombshell report.
An unidentified whistleblower provided information to CBS News indicating that Mars was reneging on a pledge to bar the use of child labor in small subsistence farms in Africa.
A CBS News crew flew to Ghana and found children as young as five years of age wielding machetes that were almost as big as they were in order to harvest cocoa beans that are used in chocolate snacks found on store shelves in the US.
One child nearly lost his fingers while handling a machete to cut open cocoa pods, according to the CBS report.
Munira, a 15-year-old girl, told CBS News that she has been working in the cocoa fields since she was five years of age.
She said her family couldn’t afford the cost of sending her to a school, which is an hour-long walk away.
“I feel sad. I want to be, like, a medical doctor,” Munira told CBS News.
“But my family doesn’t have money for school.”
Field supervisors contracted by Mars told CBS News that they frequently fabricate lists that contain the names of children who were supposed to be kept away from cocoa plantations and put into school.
Mars had pledged that it would ensure the children are enrolled in school, but field supervisors told CBS News that the company never bothered to verify if indeed this was the case.
A US-based human rights lawyer has filed a proposed class action lawsuit against several American food companies, including Mars, alleging consumer fraud, according to CBS News.
“Mars unequivocally condemns the use of child labor,” a company spokesperson told The Post.
“It has no place in our supply chain, and we are fully committed to helping to eradicate it.”
The company said CBS “did not provide specific details of their investigation to Mars ahead of time in order for us to investigate the claims of misconduct at the time of this report.”
The company said it “treat[s] any claim of misconduct in our supply chain very seriously” and pledged to “thoroughly investigate once we have the necessary information and take appropriate action.”
Mars said in its statement to CBS News that its cocoa suppliers in Africa “have agreed to adhere to our robust Supplier Code of Conduct and we have also been clear that they must have a Child Labor and Remediation System (CLMRS) in place by 2025 that complies with the industry-leading International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) standard.”
The company said that more than 65% of its cocoa supply in West Africa is covered by CLMRS, “which is implemented by our suppliers on the ground.”
“To be clear, we condemn the use of child labor,” the company added.
“It has no place in our supply chain, and we are committed to helping eradicate it, which is why we have a robust Protecting Children Action Plan in place that is backed by a significant financial investment.”
Mars also said it was “transparent in saying that we know that more needs to be done.”
The company said it would “continue to work diligently with parties across the cocoa sector to further help advance respect for human rights in the cocoa supply chain.”
The Post has sought comment from CBS News.
