As Pope Francis reminds us, any purchase is a political act and perhaps none more so than when we buy chocolate eggs to celebrate Easter. Key issues to consider are child labour, trafficked labour, fair-trade and environmental sustainability (high water usage, food-miles, landfill, greenhouse emissions, opportunity cost of agricultural resources).

Challenge yourself to become more aware of the issues and maybe even post on social media when you've found the right egg (it might not even be chocolate!) 

Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH) is running the 'Be A Good Egg This Easter' campaign to raise awareness about slavery in the chocolate industry.  

ACRATH reports that much of the chocolate sold in Australia is made using cocoa beans picked by children, many of whom have been enslaved or forced to work in exploitative conditions. 

The International Labour Rights Forum estimates that more than 1.5 million children are working in the cocoa sector in West Africa, where about 70% of the world’s cocoa is produced.

The 'Be a Good Egg this Easter' campaign invites us all to be 'good eggs' and commit to buying slavery-free chocolate. On top of that, the campaign challenges us to create awareness about the exploitation of people, particularly children, in the production of chocolate.

You can do this simply by talking to your family and friends, or take it up a notch and post on social media when you've found the ethical egg (you can use the 2023 Chocolate Score Card to help you do this. 

You can also place the 'Be A Good Egg this Easter' Poster on your parish or school noticeboard to encourage others to do the same.  

To read more from ACRATH about the 'Bitter truth of Easter Chocolate' 

You might also like to read "Know a Good Egg?"