Child Trafficking and Cattle Herding
When someone brings up child trafficking, industries you might imagine are illegal, underground operations such as illegitimate adoption, organ sales, or drug cartels. You would hardly associate a hamburger or a glass of milk with child trafficking, but an estimated 1.7 million forced labor victims work in agriculture, generating over 9 billion dollars in revenue (Human Rights First). It is primarily children who are responsible for the herding of cattle in pastoral communities. Even in less profitable areas around the world with more volatile markets, slave labor can produce about 50% more profits than free labor (Human Rights First). Little boys are commonly sold into the cattle herding industry as young as four or five years old. This problem persists in countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Niger, Paraguay, and South Sudan with impoverished pastoral communities and little hope for economic mobility.
Herding cattle is an extremely dangerous and unregulated means of meat and dairy production. In less developed countries, children in the industry are often herding cattle over long distances without shoes, vaccinations, or protection from both wild and the animals under their supervision. In more developed countries where agriculture stays in one place, children are still responsible for the cattle in addition to other dangerous work around the farm. Even in a stationary environment, the task of raising and handling the cattle including feeding, harvesting, and harsh manual labor jobs like manuel disposal. Either way, these children are not getting an education, protection from physical harm, or proper compensation for their work.
As some of the world’s greatest consumers of meat and dairy products, it would be wise to start take a look at where these products come from and who is responsible for the process. Eating locally sourced meat and dairy not only helps your community, but it helps to dry up abusive industries. Furthermore, there are great meat and dairy alternatives that don’t use child labor or even animals to make their product. Awareness is truly the first step to making daily choices that have a positive humanitarian impact. Something as simple and integral to your daily routine as food choice has a profound impact around the world. Today, I challenge you to think critically about where your food comes from!