Teun van de Keuken Sued Himself to Raise Awareness of Slavery in the Chocolate Industry

If you've ever seen Free Trade chocolate for sale, you are aware that the chocolate industry, which was founded on the use of child slave labor, has a dark side. In actuality, the majority of the chocolate you consume was likely made with child slave labor. Investigating labor conditions in West Africa in the early 2000s, journalist Teun van de Keuken discovered this. He was so inspired by what he had learned and motivated to share it that he thought of a creative approach to shed light on the problem.

He consumed chocolate before turning himself into the police and claiming to have benefited from child enslavement. He hired a lawyer and sued himself after the courts were unimpressed and declined to pursue the case. In parallel, he founded Tony's Chocolonely, a firm that sells free-trade chocolate, and it is still operating today even though the courts declined to charge him.

Nationality: Netherlands

Occupation: Producer of television and radio programs