I came across an article that I really want to share with you all, especially with Easter coming up on Sunday which, for many of us, means Easter baskets. I don't know about yours, but mine is usually filled with chocolate (ew, jellybeans? why would you eat those!?).
The Bitter Truth Behind the Chocolate in Your Easter Basket
Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate.
(There recently was a lot of buzz about the KONY2012 campaign, and how horrible it is that children are used as soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army. Agreed. But, does anyone else think that, while yes, they are "just" being used to harvest cocoa beans, these children would be equally as enslaved into a harmful system?)
The article then goes into describing how you can buy chocolate that is less likely to have been produced by children who are enslaved, or those who work in deplorable working conditions. My point in sharing this is perhaps to share something specifically about chocolate production and how we can stop being passive in ways that harm others, but more about the larger movement of seeking out ways to consume without harming others.
I've become increasingly more interested in ideas such as Fair Trade over the past few years, and while sometimes I think it gets pigeon-holed, and then sometimes written off, as as super progressive, or liberal-minded, I don't think that's a fair conclusion. If you have qualms or critiques of the Fair trade movement, that's fair. Let's talk about that. But we can't throw the baby out with the bath water. For me, considering where what we consume comes from (food, clothes, or other items) and what effect it has on not just ourselves, but other people, is a Christ-like way of approaching how we care for our sisters and brothers.
I love me some chocolate. But just because I love it and desire to continuing consuming it doesn't mean that I should ignore how my pleasure could cause pain and injustice to others. I almost see it as someone who likes to shoot guns at moving targets but instead of paying money to go to a range and use those moving people-ly things (can you tell I have little idea what I'm talking about with this analogy), they opt for the cheaper alternative of shooting people. Yes, that's a bit extreme, or is it?
Basically, the choices we make, especially as American who consume (so many) products from all over the world, effect others. Do we want them to be negative effects, or positive ones?
Here are some sites that I have found helpful for purchasing items that pay their creators a fair wage and/or make sure that working conditions are positive. Consider what your paying a few dollars more could do in the long-run. Consider how we are effecting others, whom we have the ability to "not see".
(LWR stands for Lutheran World Relief)
LWR Coffee Project Web Store
I can vouch that people I know who love coffee, love the blends offerred through Equal Exchange. Many of you reading this are Lutheran (or main line Protestant) and you know how much coffee is consumed at fellowship hour right after Sunday's service (or Men's Breakfast, or Women's Bible Study, etc, etc). Consider talking to your pastor and council about how you can make sure that the coffee you drink is having a positive effect on those who brought it to you.
Eco-Palms
I had never even thought about where the palms we get on Palm Sunday come from before I heard about this site. I may be a week late, but you know you have to think about next year, too!
SERRV
All around, SERRV is a pretty cool organization. They offer coffee & tea, chocolate, handcraft accessories, and REALLY AWESOME HOME DECOR! (Frankly, IKEA has nothing on this place.) Again, we know how bad that cheap Easter chocolate is anyway (you know, the stuff you force down just because it's chocolate, you got it as a gift, and you can eat it but you would never actually buy it for yourself?) Instead, buy some really tasty chocolate :) Everyone is happier that way!
Also, here is a list compiled of ethical chocolate companies. I can't confirm they are (since, I don't know much about the people who put the website together, but it seems like it could be legit), but places to start, maybe look into them further from there. Divine Chocolate is on there, so I know that is legit (see chocolate link under SERRV).
So, let me know: what do you think of all this? Do you seek out Fair Trade items? Any recommendations for websites or stores? And, how much bad Easter candy will you get this year? ;)
The Bitter Truth Behind the Chocolate in Your Easter Basket
Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative. The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate.
(There recently was a lot of buzz about the KONY2012 campaign, and how horrible it is that children are used as soldiers in the Lord's Resistance Army. Agreed. But, does anyone else think that, while yes, they are "just" being used to harvest cocoa beans, these children would be equally as enslaved into a harmful system?)
The article then goes into describing how you can buy chocolate that is less likely to have been produced by children who are enslaved, or those who work in deplorable working conditions. My point in sharing this is perhaps to share something specifically about chocolate production and how we can stop being passive in ways that harm others, but more about the larger movement of seeking out ways to consume without harming others.
I've become increasingly more interested in ideas such as Fair Trade over the past few years, and while sometimes I think it gets pigeon-holed, and then sometimes written off, as as super progressive, or liberal-minded, I don't think that's a fair conclusion. If you have qualms or critiques of the Fair trade movement, that's fair. Let's talk about that. But we can't throw the baby out with the bath water. For me, considering where what we consume comes from (food, clothes, or other items) and what effect it has on not just ourselves, but other people, is a Christ-like way of approaching how we care for our sisters and brothers.I love me some chocolate. But just because I love it and desire to continuing consuming it doesn't mean that I should ignore how my pleasure could cause pain and injustice to others. I almost see it as someone who likes to shoot guns at moving targets but instead of paying money to go to a range and use those moving people-ly things (can you tell I have little idea what I'm talking about with this analogy), they opt for the cheaper alternative of shooting people. Yes, that's a bit extreme, or is it?
Basically, the choices we make, especially as American who consume (so many) products from all over the world, effect others. Do we want them to be negative effects, or positive ones?
Here are some sites that I have found helpful for purchasing items that pay their creators a fair wage and/or make sure that working conditions are positive. Consider what your paying a few dollars more could do in the long-run. Consider how we are effecting others, whom we have the ability to "not see".
(LWR stands for Lutheran World Relief)
LWR Coffee Project Web Store
I can vouch that people I know who love coffee, love the blends offerred through Equal Exchange. Many of you reading this are Lutheran (or main line Protestant) and you know how much coffee is consumed at fellowship hour right after Sunday's service (or Men's Breakfast, or Women's Bible Study, etc, etc). Consider talking to your pastor and council about how you can make sure that the coffee you drink is having a positive effect on those who brought it to you.
Eco-Palms
I had never even thought about where the palms we get on Palm Sunday come from before I heard about this site. I may be a week late, but you know you have to think about next year, too!
SERRV
All around, SERRV is a pretty cool organization. They offer coffee & tea, chocolate, handcraft accessories, and REALLY AWESOME HOME DECOR! (Frankly, IKEA has nothing on this place.) Again, we know how bad that cheap Easter chocolate is anyway (you know, the stuff you force down just because it's chocolate, you got it as a gift, and you can eat it but you would never actually buy it for yourself?) Instead, buy some really tasty chocolate :) Everyone is happier that way!
Also, here is a list compiled of ethical chocolate companies. I can't confirm they are (since, I don't know much about the people who put the website together, but it seems like it could be legit), but places to start, maybe look into them further from there. Divine Chocolate is on there, so I know that is legit (see chocolate link under SERRV).
So, let me know: what do you think of all this? Do you seek out Fair Trade items? Any recommendations for websites or stores? And, how much bad Easter candy will you get this year? ;)
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