http://unplugyourfamily.blogspot.com/2012/02/before-you-buy-chocolate-this.html
I have so much research to do so I can put together my thoughts on why it matters so much what we buy, everyday, everywhere. I am trying to find out what I want to be when I grow up, and when I read things like the link above, I feel the need to do something that matters when I grow up. I mean, really matters. In the meantime, I can show my kids posts like that one up above and explain why we pay more for fair trade chocolate and why we celebrate holidays with real love, not fabricated crap made by slaves, bossed by disgusting CEO's and their minions. Yes, it sure is fun to put that Hershey's kiss on the valentine, but really, that is spreading evil. Yes, most of the candy that fits so nicely in Easter eggs are evil trade chocolates. But really, does the candy have to fit in the egg? Inconvenient to find an alternative, YES. Doing the right thing is almost always inconvenient. I am trying hard to not celebrate holidays, religious and otherwise, on the backs of child slaves. My kids deserve better than that; they deserve to know that we celebrate by acting with love, including buying with love. And yes, a fair trade piece of art or chocolate bar picked out by one of my kiddos feels like true love, not fabricated crap.
ahhh. now look who taketh away! :) and chocolate no less! actually, i really appreciate this. i kinda knew, but didn't really know. Olivia and I talked about it. we get our chocolate from trader joe's, so we're going to look into where it comes from. hopefully nowhere bad, but if so, we'll tell them because they try to be conscious about that stuff. i would hope they'd be open to change. we shall see! thanks!
ReplyDeleteBut really I GIVE because fair trade chocolate tastes so much better! It forces you to only buy the good stuff. The co-op I go to has the brand Tierra Farm fair trade chocolate chips in "bulk." I haven't done the math, but I am sure it costs more than Nestles ginormous bag from Costco, but since the Tierra Farm chocolate is in "bulk," I can at least *feel* like I am not paying *that* much for my true love - chocolate. I would definitely think that Trader Joe's would have some nice options. I do enjoy that store, but it it a bit farther from my house. Even if it does cost an arm and a leg for fair trade, I think it is worth it, and I must have chocolate. I just bought some raw cacao nibs that I add to my coffee. They are really quite strange, but they add amazing flavor.
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