Justice News

Easter eggs

With Easter now less than two weeks away, it's time once again to talk about Easter Eggs.

Easter eggs are probably the most common and popular symbol of Easter. They can be chocolate, which is most common in Australia, but can also be hard boiled and brightly coloured, as in some European countries.

But what do eggs have to do with Easter?

The egg can be seen as a symbol of the sealed tomb from which Christ emerged after his resurrection, just as the chick emerges from the closed egg. From ancient times it was also seen as a symbol of new life. And since eggs were one of the foods from which people fasted in Lent in the early Church (and many still do), people looked forward to eating them again.

The first chocolate eggs appeared in France and Germany in the 19th Century, but they were bitter and hard. As chocolate-making techniques improved, hollow eggs like the ones we have today were developed. They very quickly became popular and remain a favourite tradition with chocolate-lovers today.

The story of the Easter Bunny is thought to have become common in the 19th Century too. Rabbits usually give birth to a big litter of babies (called kittens), so they became a symbol of new life too. Legend has it that the Easter Bunny lays, decorates and hides eggs as they are also a symbol of new life. It doesn't do all the work alone though! In Switzerland, Easter eggs are delivered by a cuckoo and in parts of Germany by a fox.

These stories and legends are important to us now because … Australians love chocolate! In fact, we consume over $3 billion worth of it each year, which equates to a whopping 32kg a year per person according to the CSIRO.

But behind the Easter packaging and colourful foil wrapping there's a dark side. Around 70% of the cocoa we consume comes from West Africa, where it's estimated that more than two million children and young people under the age of 18 work as labourers in cacao harvesting.

Many of these child labourers are working on farms owned by their parents, a human rights violation of itself; however, a significant number of adults and children as young as 5 are trafficked to work in the cocoa fields, experiencing horrific conditions and abuse. And it's the cocoa they produce that ends up in the chocolate we eat.

What does it mean to be trafficked?

Human Trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery, is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services.

The children of Western Africa are surrounded by intense poverty, and many begin working at a young age to help support their families. Some children end up on the cocoa farms because they need work and traffickers tell them that the job pays well. Other children are sold to traffickers or farm owners by their own relatives, who are unaware of the dangerous work environment and the lack of any provisions for an education. Often, traffickers abduct the young children from small villages in neighbouring African countries, such as Burkina Faso and Mali, two of the poorest countries in the world. In one village in Burkina Faso, almost every mother in the village has had a child trafficked onto cocoa farms. Traffickers will then sell children to cocoa farmers.

The good news for us is that in recent years there's been an increase in consumer demand for ethical and sustainable production methods, which has resulted in growth of certified chocolate products - including ethical Easter eggs.

Therefore, As Easter inches ever closer, please make sure you are looking for chocolate products that have been certified by one of the primary certification bodies available in Australia: Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade, and Cocoa Horizons.

Aldi's Dairy Fine, Choceur and Moser Roth chocolate ranges are Rainforest Alliance- or Fairtrade-certified.
Chocolatier Australia's chocolate eggs, available through David Jones, Myer, specialty stores, some IGA supermarkets, pharmacies and other chocolate suppliers are Rainforest Alliance-certified.
Coles also has a range of branded Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance certified solid block and Easter chocolates.
Woolworths' Homebrand chocolate blocks are certified by either Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance/UTZ.
Haigh's sources 80% of their cocoa from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms.
Divine chocolate eggs and bunnies are Fairtrade-certified, and are available through online stores.
Whittakers Ghanaian cacao beans are 100% Rainforest Alliance-certified and you can find the logo on chocolate that contains these beans. Some blocks with more than 50% cocoa are also vegan (although may contain traces of dairy products from shared equipment).
Darrell Lea sources 100% of their cocoa from sustainable sources through a partnership with Cocoa Horizons.
Koko Black sustainably sources their cocoa through Cocoa Horizons, and their Easter eggs and chocolate can be found in Harris Farm Markets, specialty stores and online.
Loving Earth has organic, fair trade, and Fair Choice-certified vegan chocolate and Easter products. They're available at Woolworths, through specialty grocers and online.
Pico chocolate blocks are Fairtrade-certified, vegan and organic. They're available at major supermarkets, IGA, Harris Farm Markets and online.
Ferrero has 100% independently certified fair trade cocoa in their chocolate products, including from Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Cocoa Horizons.

Claire Hogan

Educator for Justice

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