Blood Chocolate

I am a big fan of chocolate--specifically 72%, high-quality dark. The sad, ugly truth about chocolate is that most of it--especially the cheap stuff--comes at a great expense. Child labor, forced slavery, kidnapping and human trafficking, dangerous working conditions, long hours, and extremely low wages are just part of what keeps our chocolate chips and candy bars affordable.

Photo from Green America

No one I know thinks it is OK to exploit children for a profit, and yet the chocolate industry is thriving on this model. Some big companies are responding to consumer pressure and are reworking their policies. Others have a long way to go.

So what can we do? We strive to buy only fair trade chocolate, which ensures safe and equitable working conditions through the supply chain. You can look for the fair trade label. Endangered Species chocolate is ethically sourced and donates a percentage back to nurture the environments where chocolate grows.

We can tell everyone we know the real story behind chocolate. We can tell bakeries, coffee shops, and grocery stores that we care about the people who provide chocolate for us, and that we will support businesses who do the same. Most importantly, we can continue to campaign the big chocolate companies that it's time to change. We can no longer support harmful pracitices for the sake of a little indulgence.

Fair trade isn't perfect, and these are small steps to solve a big problem, but it's a start. What do you think? What do we need to do to ensure our free market system is also ethical? How can we elevate human dignity over the demand for cheap goods?