> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://thechocolatelife.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Updated – Slavery on Trial - URL: https://thechocolatelife.com/slavery-on-trial/ - Published: 2021-08-04T12:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2021-08-08T17:50:19.000Z - Description: A room on Clubhouse was scheduled for July 28th with Special Guests Terry Collingsworth of International Rights Advocates and Ayn Riggs of SlaveFreeChocolate_org. - Author: Clay Gordon - Tags: TCL Originals, Clubhouse ## **Listen to the Podcast** ## **Topics Discussed in the Room** 1. What the recent Supreme Court decision means in practice; 2. How the current International Rights Advocate suit under the TVPRA in the DC Circuit Court differs from the ATS suit; 3. What the Customs Border Protection (CBP) petition is about; 4. Other strategies and tactics – boycotts, petitions – in addition to legal challenges and their effectiveness; and 5. What possible – and desirable – outcomes would be, should either suit result in a decision favorable to the plaintiffs in either case. > Are there other topics you’d like to see discussed in this room? Leave them in the Comments. \[Jul 28 11:30am EDT\] – Clubhouse links have been removed because they expire when the room ends. --- ## **TVPRA Update – August 2nd** [Nestle, Cargill, Mars, Hershey, Mondelez, Olam and Barry Callebaut Respond to New Cocoa Slavery Case With Blatant, Objectively Verifiable Lies!Contact: Terry Collingsworth, Executive Director tc@iradvocates.org Twitter @tpcollingsworth![](http://iradvocates.org/sites/iradvocates.org/files/favicon_0.png)International Rights Advocatestciradvocates.org![](http://iradvocates.org/modules/file/icons/x-office-document.png)](http://iradvocates.org/press-release/nestle/nestle-cargill-mars-hershey-mondelez-olam-and-barry-callebaut-respond-new-cocoa?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Link to Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss](http://iradvocates.org/sites/iradvocates.org/files/7.30.21%20Defs%20Memo.%20in%20Support%20of%20Motion%20to%20Dismiss.pdf?ref=thechocolatelife.com) (PDF, 59 pages) ### TL;DR The defendants argue, in part, that the plaintiffs lack Article III standing, saying “the plaintiff’s alleged injuries are not fairly traceable to the defendants,” and there is no direct connection between the plaintiffs and the defendants or their alleged traffickers; nor are there any indirect connections. There is more of the same in the memorandum to dismiss and it makes for interesting reading, though difficult treading at times if you’re not familiar with reading legal documents like these. The arguments being made, IMO, are entirely technico-legal in nature, engaging the language of the complaint with respect to the provisions of the TVPRA, essentially dismissing out of hand the industry’s voluntary commitments under Harkin-Engel. For Reasons. I get that lawyers are supposed to vigorously defend their clients. It is their responsibility to do so. However, I find the arguments presented on behalf of the defendants in this case – Barry Callebaut USA, Cargill Incorporated/Cargill Cocoa, The Hershey Company, Mars, Incorporated/Mars Wrigley Confectionery US, LLC, Néstle USA, Inc., Mondelēz International, Inc., and Olam Americas, Inc. – not only morally bankrupt and indefensible they are reprehensible. I have already made the conscious decision not to purchase any products from any of these companies where it is possible for me to readily identify their involvement – in any way – in the growing, manufacturing, or distribution of these products. I am also going to take the extraordinary step of refusing to cover or review any new product introduction from any of these companies or their affiliates / brands. --- ## **Links to Background & Resources** ### **The Recent SCOTUS Decision** [Nestlé USA, Inc., Petitioner v. John Doe I, et al., 19-416 (U.S.)Case docket for Nestlé USA, Inc., Petitioner v. John Doe I, et al., 19-416in Supreme Court of the United States, filed 09/27/2019.![](https://www.docketalarm.com/site_media/img/favicon-128.png)Docket AlarmDocket Alarm, Inc.![](https://www.docketalarm.com/site_media/img/logo_button.png)](https://www.docketalarm.com/cases/Supreme%5FCourt/19-416/Nestl%C3%A9%5FUSA%5FInc.%5FPetitioner%5Fv.%5FJohn%5FDoe%5FI%5Fet%5Fal/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) The Docket of Filings (in reverse chronological order) [Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Meet the “John Does” – the Children Enslaved in Nestlé & Cargill’s Supply ChainTerry Collingsworth, co-counsel in Nestle/Cargill v Doe, tells his clients’ stories. He writes that demand for cheap cocoa has created the child slave trade in cocoa production - and that corporate immunity maintains it.![](https://i2.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/cropped-logo_dome_fav.png?fit=192%2C192&ssl=1)Just SecurityTerry Collingsworth![](https://i2.wp.com/www.justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Child-3-1-e1608577338377.jpg?fit=550%2C299&ssl=1)](https://www.justsecurity.org/73959/nestle-cargill-v-doe-series-meet-the-john-does-the-children-enslaved-in-nestle-cargills-supply-chain/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Nestlé & Cargill vs John DoeA ruling is expected before the end of the term in this long-running and highly consequential case.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/06/NestleCargillFeaturedlmage1920x1080-1.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/nestle-cargill-vs-john-doe/) Clubhouse Podcast featuring special guest Shawn Askinosie. [Docket for 19-416](https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/19-416.html?ref=thechocolatelife.com) The official docket (list of filings, etc) in the SCOTUS case. ### **OpEd About the SCOTUS Opinion** [Justices scuttle lawsuit against Nestlé, Cargill for allegedly aiding child slavery abroad - SCOTUSblogThis article was updated on June 17 at 7:15 p.m. The Supreme Court on Thursday threw out a lawsuit alleging that two U.S.-based companies, Nestle and Cargill, facilitated human-rights abuses on cocoa plantations in the Ivory Coast. By a vote of 8-1, the justices ruled that the lawsuit cannot go f![](https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/scotusblog-amp-logo.jpg)SCOTUSblogamy-howe![](https://www.scotusblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Nestle-alignment-01-scaled.jpg)](https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/06/justices-scuttle-lawsuit-against-nestle-cargill-for-allegedly-aiding-child-slavery-abroad/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) --- ### **The CBP (Customs & Border Protection) Petition** [Link to the petition ](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OyaRbLJsN5sCwDQpi5ueYIDzzbyc%5FDyz/view?usp=sharing&ref=thechocolatelife.com)[filed by International Rights Advocates](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S04Md6Dnyglx9tj8Ks0n4orDhR5ZegTu/view?usp=sharing&ref=thechocolatelife.com)[ (PDF)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OyaRbLJsN5sCwDQpi5ueYIDzzbyc%5FDyz/view?usp=sharing&ref=thechocolatelife.com) --- ### **The TVPRA Suit in the DC Circuit Court** [Link to the complaint filed by International Rights Advocates (PDF)](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1S04Md6Dnyglx9tj8Ks0n4orDhR5ZegTu/view?usp=sharing&ref=thechocolatelife.com) **TVPRA** – [William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (PDF)](https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/memos/William%20Wilberforce%20TVPRAct%20of%202008%20July%20212010.pdf?ref=thechocolatelife.com) on uscis.org [About the TVPRA![](https://freedomcommons.ijm.org/sites/all/themes/tfc/favicon.ico)The Freedom Commons | International Justice Mission](https://freedomcommons.ijm.org/resources/about-tvpra?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Increase In Hazardous Child Labor In Cocoa Production Amid An Expansion Of Cocoa Farming In Cote D’ivoire And Ghana | NORC.orgCHICAGO, Oct. 19, 2020 – A new report from NORC at the University of Chicago finds that children engaged in hazardous child labor in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana cocoa growing regions increased by 13 percentage points over a 10-year period (from 2008-09 to 2018-19). The increase coinc…![](https://www.norc.org/publishingimages/favicon.png)![](https://www.norc.org/PublishingImages/share-this-placeholder.jpg)](https://www.norc.org/NewsEventsPublications/PressReleases/Pages/increase-in-hazardous-child-labor-in-cocoa-production-amid-an-expansion-of-cocoa-farming-in-cote-d%E2%80%99ivoire-and-ghana.aspx?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Link to the NORC (National Opinion Research Center) Report (PDF) on norc.org](https://www.norc.org/PDFs/Cocoa%20Report/NORC%202020%20Cocoa%20Report%5FEnglish.pdf?ref=thechocolatelife.com) --- ### **Organizational and General** [International Rights AdvocatesTogether we can defeat giants.![](http://iradvocates.org/sites/iradvocates.org/files/favicon_0.png)International Rights Advocates![](http://iradvocates.org/sites/all/themes/iradvocates/logo.png)](http://iradvocates.org/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Slave Free ChocolateHelp us eradicate child slavery in the cocoa industry.![](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/54e1536ae4b0ef0a3e3f3bc2/1575407773313-FT5CX6UENA85XJ4IE6S9/favicon.ico?format=100w)Slave Free ChocolateHome![](https://c866088.ssl.cf3.rackcdn.com/assets/facebook40x40.png)](https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) [Dream big Food Systems Summit – we want a label rating everything that mattersConsumers want to know this stuff. Was primary forest destroyed to produce this product? Were indigenous people dispossessed or even![](https://v2r4y3u2.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cropped-Quota_ROUNDEL_CMYK_512px-270x270.png)Quota MediaLise Colyer![](https://v2r4y3u2.rocketcdn.me/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/viki-mohamad-tWXH_zGJrPo-unsplash.jpg)](https://quota.media/dream-big-food-systems-summit-we-want-a-food-label-rating-everything-that-matters/?ref=thechocolatelife.com) *One* way being proposed to inform consumers about the “ethical footprint” of what they are buying. [GoodWeave International - Wikipedia![](https://en.wikipedia.org/static/apple-touch/wikipedia.png)Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.Contributors to Wikimedia projects![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/GoodWeave_Logo.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GoodWeave%5FInternational?ref=thechocolatelife.com) ### ***Related Posts on TheChocolateLife*** [Four Bars Too Far?Their new campaign has many people asking ... WTF were they thinking?![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/01/TonysChocolonelySweetSolutionBanner1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/four-bars-too-far/) [Taking a(nother Small) Bite Out of Tony’sTilting at Windmills? Part 2 in a multi-part series examining the fallout from Tony’s Sweet Solutions campaign.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/02/jason-blackeye-tc5z7vlztuY-unsplash1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/taking-a-small-bite-out-of-tonys/) [Who Decides What’s Fair?I took this image while visiting a coop in Perú in 2015\. My name for it is “The Faceless Farmer” and it illustrates, for me, how cocoa farmers get lost in conversations about chocolate.![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/wordpress/2020/12/claygordon-facelessfarmermontage1280x720.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/chocolatewire-oped-who-decides-whats-fair/) [Have You Been Ponoed?What attributes should consumers reasonably be able to expect to rely on in a “certification” program?![](https://thechocolatelife.com/favicon.png)The Chocolate LifeClay Gordon![](https://thechocolatelife.com/content/images/2021/07/alex-motoc-qxHiV5nIOjc-unsplashPonoed1920x1080.jpg)](https://thechocolatelife.com/have-you-been-ponoed/) --- Featured Image: Original by [Rod Long](https://unsplash.com/@rodlong?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText) on [Unsplash](https://unsplash.com/s/photos/justice?utm%5Fsource=unsplash&utm%5Fmedium=referral&utm%5Fcontent=creditCopyText). (Edited in [LuminarAI](https://skylum.grsm.io/TCL-LuminarAI?ref=thechocolatelife.com).) > Have a question you want to ask our special guests, or have some thoughts you would like shared during the Clubhouse room and with readers here on TheChocolateLife? Add them in the Comments below.