Invisible No Longer
A professor of women’s studies/is speaking to high school students/about chocolate and the country/where much of it is produced,/Côte d’Ivoire.
1
Good morning. Today, I would like to discuss with you/something related to this (showing chocolate).
Chocolate is one of our favorite foods,/right? Japan has some of the biggest chocolate companies in the world,/and you each eat around two kilos of chocolate a year.
When we talk about sweets,/we think about taste, price, and nutritional value. But today/I’d like you to take a moment to ask:/“Where does chocolate actually come from? Do chocolate farmers make decent wages? Are their work conditions safe?”
Chocolate is made from cacao beans. Almost 40 percent of the world’s cacao beans/are produced in Côte d’Ivoire,/which is, in fact,/the world’s largest producer. Now,/look at the map on the wall. Can you find Côte d’Ivoire?
The work on cacao farms is dangerous. Women do most of the work,/yet they make very little money. One woman farmer says,/“Women do everything,/right until the cacao dries. But the men take it,/sell it,/and never take us women into account.”
Today,/I’d like to talk to you/about these women farmers. Some people call them/the “invisible women”/at the heart of the chocolate industry.
A professor of women’s studies/is speaking to high school students/about chocolate and the country/where much of it is produced,/Côte d’Ivoire.
1
Good morning. Today, I would like to discuss with you/something related to this (showing chocolate).
Chocolate is one of our favorite foods,/right? Japan has some of the biggest chocolate companies in the world,/and you each eat around two kilos of chocolate a year.
When we talk about sweets,/we think about taste, price, and nutritional value. But today/I’d like you to take a moment to ask:/“Where does chocolate actually come from? Do chocolate farmers make decent wages? Are their work conditions safe?”
Chocolate is made from cacao beans. Almost 40 percent of the world’s cacao beans/are produced in Côte d’Ivoire,/which is, in fact,/the world’s largest producer. Now,/look at the map on the wall. Can you find Côte d’Ivoire?
The work on cacao farms is dangerous. Women do most of the work,/yet they make very little money. One woman farmer says,/“Women do everything,/right until the cacao dries. But the men take it,/sell it,/and never take us women into account.”
Today,/I’d like to talk to you/about these women farmers. Some people call them/the “invisible women”/at the heart of the chocolate industry.