The human cost of chocolate

Seven years after the industry agreed to abolish child labor, little progress has been made. Seventy percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa, where working and living conditions are brutal and many workers are underage.

By Christian Parenti. Photographs by Jessica Dimmock

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Workers at Ecoopaa, a small cocoa farmers cooperative, haul sacks of cocoa to be transported to exporters. Ecoobads director, Kra Yao Julien, was jailed after not being able to return the cooperative's debt.

Last updated February 15 2008: 9:52 AM ET

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The human cost of chocolate

Seven years after the industry agreed to abolish child labor, little progress has been made. Seventy percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa, where working and living conditions are brutal and many workers are underage.