Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Thank you so much for this insightful interview about a very important topic! Sam raises so many important issues in this interview. Reliable organic certification is also important when it comes to workers' rights since the use of pesticides has serious health implications.

Thank you for also raising the issue of child labor. Child labor has been an ongoing problem in cocoa production in West Africa (especially Cote d'Ivoire) and as Sam correctly notes, a good organic standard should also including social and labor provisions. This is a really important point because while organic certified chocolate is certainly better for workers as well as the environment, organic certification standards often do not include standards to protect workers' rights. I hope that consumers will ask those difficult questions and look for companies which respect both the environment and workers. It's also important to tell the companies that do NOT respect workers and the environment that you want to see better behavior.

For more about cocoa and child labor, please visit the International Labor Rights Forum at http://www.LaborRights.org.