THOUSAND OAKS, CA. – Jan. 19, 2011) California Lutheran University will screen a documentary that investigates allegations of child trafficking and forced labor in the international chocolate industry at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 9.

“The Dark Side of Chocolate” will be shown in the Roth Nelson Room on the Thousand Oaks campus as part of the Reel Justice Film Series. Screenings of the 2010 documentary are being organized throughout the country in the days leading to Valentine’s Day.

In 2001, consumers were outraged to discover that child labor and slavery, trafficking and other abuses existed on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast, a West African country that produces nearly half of the world’s cocoa. Demands for solutions followed. Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) and Rep. Eliot Engel (D-New York) added a rider to an agricultural bill proposing a federal system to certify and label chocolate products as “slave free.” To avoid this legislation, the industry eventually agreed to a voluntary protocol to end abusive and forced child labor on cocoa farms by 2005. The terms of the protocol still hadn’t been met by 2008 and a new deadline was set for 2010. In this 2010 documentary, filmmakers Miki Mistrati and U. Roberto Romano examine whether anything has changed in the decade since the abuses were discovered.

The Reel Justice Film Series, which examines the themes of equality and social justice, will continue with “The Lottery” on Feb. 23, “The Stoning of Soraya M.” on March 7, “8: The Mormon Proposition” on March 30, and “Living Downstream” on April 6.

The Roth Nelson Room is located on Mountclef Boulevard between Olsen Road and Memorial Parkway.

CLU’s Center for Equality and Justice, Not for Sale club, and Action Abroad Alliance are sponsoring the free event. For more information, contact Sam Thomas at sthomas@callutheran.edu or (805) 493-3693.