Nutella Is Allegedly Contributing To Horrific Labor Practices In Turkey

The things in life that give us the most pleasure can sometimes be the very things that hurt others. Case in point: Nutella. You might be asking how the hazelnut spread could ever be seen as a negative thing, but listen up: The New York Times published an important (and painful) piece that explored the unfair and despicable exploitation of Turkey’s hazelnut laborers.

The issue isn’t removed from our lives. Though these workers might be half a world away, the very result of their labor is probably sitting in your cabinet — and we have a responsibility to know their story.

Seventy percent of hazelnuts are harvested in Turkey. Ferrero is one company that buys an awful lot — one third to be exact — of the hazelnut harvest. Other companies include Godiva and Nestlé.

The conditions that the workers have to deal with are unimaginable, though — which means these companies have some explaining to do.

The piece said that the harvesters — a group that includes families of parents and children, who must work to increase family income — are forced to work on such steep inclines that they must be secured to rocks with a rope. There’s no real regulation of many of these farms, so many of the laborers (like children) go unnoticed.

The laborers are literally forced to endure life-threatening situations to gather hazelnuts. According to the Times, the hazelnut harvesting requires both collecting and hauling:

Syrian refugees looking to make money picking hazelnuts in Turkey perform arduous tasks for long hours and receive only half the pay promised by middlemen, the New York Times [reported] (https://t.co/N7CHcplvAg) on Monday.
“We made... https://t.co/AU5o3Jejfe

— peywendi (@peywendi_news) April 29, 2019

“The collectors grab and bag nuts, while the haulers transport the bags, each about 110 pounds, up and down mountains and onto trucks.”

#Turkey has the largest concentration of #hazelnut farms in the 🌍. On farms that produce 70% of the world’s hazelnuts for Nestlé, Yildiz & Nutella, a growing number of seasonal workers are Syrian refugees vulnerable to abuse. #migrantlabor #decentworkhttps://t.co/lhrMqpYHNY

— Agrarian Political Economy (@FoodIsPolitical) April 30, 2019

Many of the workers are laboring for 12 or more hours seven days per week, and for minimum wage. This is below the country’s poverty line, which means that the laborers still can barely get by (after travel and the day’s food expenses).

Many workers have said that they are just now being paid the wages they were promised, or they’ve had their wages downright stolen by the men in charge.

As the Times reported, “People who don’t have enough family members to work are forced to live in plastic tents by the side of the road… Can you imagine?”

Syrian refugees, fleeing to Turkey to save their own lives, have begun working as well — without work permits or any of the protection those permits could afford them.

So what are companies like Ferrero doing?

Apparently, they’re not fessing up to which farms they secure hazelnuts through — and this lack of transparency is preventing anyone from fighting for fair trade. This is especially concerning because there are no hazelnut farms in Turkey operating under ethical practices, Richa Mittal, who works with the Fair Labor Association, told the Times. 

What can we do?

We can start by understanding fair trade: “Fair trade is a global movement made up of a diverse network of producers, companies, shoppers, advocates, and organizations putting people and planet first.”

Plenty of the organization’s products can be found here. They include Sunset Grown:

Dole, another popular brand, is also fair trade-certified:

Like berries? Driscoll’s is also part of the program.

According to Fair Trade Certified, “While working in a #FairTradeCertified factory doesn’t completely shield workers from struggles, it does equip them to come together, discuss problems, and invest in solutions.”

There are 1,250 companies participating in Fair Trade. Let’s increase that number!

Let’s hope that this piece sheds some light on the inhumane conditions Turkey’s laborers are forced to work in.