The horror of chocolate

[cdn2wheeler]

I'm not exactly sure where to put this, but I figured this heading was as good as any.

Unless I miss my guess, it seems that most of the fine folk who populate this board have a pretty strong social conscience. For instance, I imagine those on the board that those who drink coffee are probably more likely to go to fair-trade coffee retailers than the local supermarket. And I also imagine that those who are interested in diamonds are probably more aware of the seedy side of diamond mining and distribution like was dramatized in the Leo DiCaprio movie Blood Diamond.

But did you know that a substantial portion of the world's chocolate production also supports child slavery and buys weapons for repressive regimes?

Award-winning journalist Carol Off has written a book about the subject. Bitter Chocolate: Investigating the Dark Side of the World's Most Seductive Sweet looks at the brutal, horrifying reality of wretched working conditions, child abductions, massive purchases of arms and ammunition and, of course, corporate collusion to keep the money flowing and the bad press under wraps.

You will never look at a chocolate treat in the same way ever again.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I have no financial or other interest in the promotion or sale of Off's book

[openeyes]

At this point I mostly get chocolate from "Endangered Species", with my favorite being Extreme Dark Chocolate:

"This 3oz. dark chocolate bar is made with all-natural, shade-grown, ethically traded, single-origin extreme dark chocolate. At 88% cocoa content, it is one of the highest cocoa content chocolate bars available with a smooth, not overly bitter flavor. The black panther artwork from Judi Rideout is printed on recycled paper using 6.2% soy inks. The chocolate is ethically or fairly traded guaranteeing the workers fair wages and humane working conditions. This product is also certified Kosher by Orthodox Union. On the inside of the label you can learn about the plight of the panther as well as additional information on Endangered Species Chocolate's core value, Reverence for Life, conservation tips and coupons for other Endangered Species Chocolate products.

"Dark Chocolate with a high cocoa content (70% or higher), like our Extreme Dark Chocolate bar, has been found to have many health benefits. The more pure and natural the dark chocolate, the better.

*Vegan
*Kosher
*Gluten Free"

All Natural Extreme Dark Chocolate (88% Cocoa Content) | Endangered Species Chocolate

[Angela]

no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!!!!!!

I am diving back under the covers. This is more than I can bear.

[Livgivare]

I really try to buy fair trade coffee (but it taste not so good to me) and Fair trade chocolate is good at some extent, but sometimes it is boring. I who are a freak and a great taster when it comes to both, need the taste to be at highest quality, and as long as fair trade is not competing with taste as well, I rather try to by half in fair trade and half in good taste...it is sad, but maybe I live in the wrong town...

Love Leelene

[Amadeus]

Yea I am also one that believes in 100 percent of all that Hollywood preaches to us. Maybe they need to put out a movie called Death by Chocoloate with Tom Cruise. I'll never eat another chocolate bar the rest of my life. They told us that global warming was causing all the tropical storm activity in the Atlantic. That is why we have had so many hurricanes this year hitting Florida and the rest of the Gulf............right?

[Zukin]

Well, that sucks.

I give chocolate as gifts all the time. I probably spend much more on chocolate than the average person ($300-$400 a year).

But I guess that puts me in a good position to agitate for change.

Labor exploitation in the chocolate industry - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[openeyes]

The organic co-op I go to sells mostly fair-trade chocolate for 2-3 dollars US per bar. Much of it can also be bought online, so there are other options. Googling fair trade chocolate should give you a start.

[Amandaaa]

I am diving back under the covers.
This is more than I can bear.

ahahaha


...ditto.

[JimOfferman]

Don't panic! Dutch guy to the rescue: Tony Chocolonely

Guaranteed to be slave-labor free!

(Background: this brand of chocolate bars was introduced by one of the people behind a Dutch TV show called "Keuringsdienst van Waarde", because the mainstream chocolate brands would not come out and guarantee on the show that there was no slave labor involved in the production of their bars)

Btw. most Fair Trade labelled chocolates should be good too.