The Dark Origins of Easter Chocolates

Easter, a time for family gatherings, pastel-coloured decorations, and of course, mountains of chocolate. Whether it’s bunnies, eggs, or novelty bars, chocolate consumption skyrockets as millions celebrate the holiday with sweet indulgence. But here’s a thought to ponder between bites of that Easter egg: could your moment of pleasure be fuelling human rights abuses?

Nothing says ‘celebration’ quite like child labour and corporate greed wrapped in shiny foil. While we fill our baskets with festive treats, children toil in hazardous conditions to harvest the cocoa that makes those treats possible. But don’t worry - the industry assures us they’re ‘working on it’ (and have been for decades).

The Dark History of Chocolate

Cocoa, the key ingredient in chocolate, comes from the Theobroma cacao tree, a tropical plant native to South America. It produces colourful, football-shaped pods, each yielding 20–50 cocoa beans, surrounded by a sweet, tangy pulp. Once harvested, the beans are fermented, dried, and processed to create cocoa products.

It was first used in Mesoamerican civilisations like the Olmecs, Mayans and Aztecs. In the 16th century, Spain and Portugal introduced cocoa to their colonies, where it became a lucrative commodity reliant on enslaved African labour across the Caribbean, Brazil, and later, West Africa. Even after the 19th-century abolition of slavery, plantation owners turned to coerced labour, particularly in São Tomé and Príncipe, where Portuguese plantations continued exploitative practices into the 20th century.

By the early 1900s, British chocolate manufacturers, including Cadbury, were exposed for sourcing cocoa from these plantations. William Cadbury, facing public backlash, vowed in 1909 to cease purchasing cocoa from slave-labour sources, yet rather than ending exploitation, production simply shifted to the Gold Coast (now Ghana), where similar abuses persisted.

The Child Labour Crisis Today

Today, West Africa, particularly Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, produces more than 50% of the world’s cocoa. Unfortunately, the region also has a well-documented issue with child labour. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor, approximately 1.56 million children work in cocoa farming, often under dangerous conditions. These children endure long hours of physically demanding labour, using machetes to harvest cocoa pods, exposed to pesticides, and carrying heavy loads, all while being deprived of basic education. Some are even trafficked and forced into labour against their will. This modern slavery exists not in the shadows but in the supply chains of the very companies profiting from the Easter chocolate boom.

The Corporate Shell Game: Promises Without Action

Surely, industry giants like Nestlé, Mondelēz (Cadbury’s parent company), and Mars have eradicated child labour by now, right? After all, they’ve been promising to do so for over 20 years. Back in 2001, the world’s biggest chocolate companies signed the Harkin-Engel Protocol, pledging to eliminate child labour from their supply chains by 2005. When that deadline passed, they extended it. Then extended it again. And again. Fast forward to 2025, and child labour in cocoa farming is still rampant.

Their excuse? “It’s complicated.” Yet, it doesn’t seem too complicated to increase profits year after year. The reality is simple: these companies benefit from cheap labour, and addressing child exploitation would mean higher costs. So instead of making meaningful changes, they rely on PR campaigns, vague ‘sustainability goals’, and consumer ignorance – yes that’s you!

Every chocolate you’ve eaten likely involved child labour or slavery.

Keep reading that line until it sinks in.

Jesus Died for our Profits

Don’t let those pesky ethical concerns ruin your sugar rush. Easter isn’t just a holiday; it’s a financial goldmine for chocolate manufacturers. Easter stands as one of the most profitable seasons for the confectionery industry. In 2024, U.S. Easter chocolate and candy sales were estimated to have topped $5 billion, per the National Confectioners Association. The U.S. confectionery market is valued at $191 billion, with Easter sales averaging $26.31 per household. Chocolate eggs are the most popular Easter treat, with Reese’s peanut butter eggs leading in consumer preference. (2) In Australia, a staggering 75% of annual chocolate sales occur during the Easter period, with consumers spending $62 on average (1). Germany produces 230 million chocolate Easter bunnies, with 122 million exported, while France's Easter chocolate sales exceed 300 million euros. As Easter nears and consumer demand surges, it’s impossible to ignore the children wielding machetes in fields when they should be in classrooms learning

Who Really Pays the Price?

While consumers are paying more for their chocolate eggs, the farmers who produce the raw ingredient see little benefit. The average cocoa farmer in Côte d’Ivoire earns around $1 per day, far below the living wage required to support a family. This economic desperation fuels the continued reliance on child labour.

What Can You Do?

Buy ethical chocolate, demand transparency, nag companies, or go toil on a Ghanaian plantation yourself—yada yada, whatever. Fundamentally, we care about human health and nutrition, humans should not eat chocolate - full stop. There is no biological requirement for ethically or unethically sourced chocolate, so the best way to make sure you can go to bed on Easter Sunday with a clear conscience is to avoid it completely.

Final Thoughts

Easter should be a time of celebration, not exploitation. Yet, as long as consumers blindly purchase chocolate without considering its origins, manufacturers will continue their cycle of profit over ethics. Because at the end of the day, a moment of pleasure shouldn’t come at the cost of a child’s future. The chocolate industry has created addiction, hedonic pleasure, diabetes, dental caries, lots of money for a few conglomerates, and, of course, child suffering. So, before celebrating Jesus (the least indulgent man in history) by consuming a frivolous treat built on child exploitation, consider skipping the chocolate egg; eat a real egg instead.