Sunday, March 09, 2008

for helvede! for chocholade!



so, robert has been talking a lot about chocolate, and how most of the chocolate we eat here in the states is grown by slaves.  here's something by john robbins about it:  Is there Slavery in your Chocolate?  now, i like chocolate as well as the next guy, who happens to be my husband.  okay so maybe not quite as well, but since our first date, at a chocolate restuarant, Dilettante, i have become increasingly chocoholic.  sometimes i get to the point where i just say, okay no more chocolate for a while now, dear.  because my beloved has educated me well in chocolateyness, i do not usually eat hershey's or mars bars, or nestle (boo hiss) because i do not like milk chocolate.  but really now, slave labor?  child labor is one thing, and visiting india taught me something about that, which is that sometimes it is about apprenticeship and learning to make a living while you are growing up, and there is a lot to be said for that.  but slavery is a different thing, and as john points out in his article, if the biggies refused to buy slave grown and produced coffee, there would be some change.  even green & blacks and dagoba are now owned by big multinational companies-- green & black by cadbury and dagoba by hershey.  arrrrrgh!  i am not sure what to do with this information.  are you??  

3 comments:

sunshine3080 said...

Y'all should try sweetriot. (The chocolate company Nina helped to launch.) Did we ever send any?

Kigozi Petero said...

Sarah,
This is especially bad news for Robert, who loves milk chocolate in his coffee (another labor-intensive product well known for inhumane labor practices). You CAN, however, buy chocolate and coffee from fair trade companies. The one Jenn suggested is best, and I find it very easy to locate fair trade coffee in the grocery store. The liquid milk-chocolate can be a bit tougher, though. Robert may have to melt things in his coffee for a while...

kp

lisa said...

wow... How eye-opening. I wonder about Scharffen Berger? The Endangered Species dark bars are worth eating, and easy to find.

Your post inspired me to seek out my all-time favorite Teuscher near here and there IS one!!!
http://www.teuscherportland.com
Their chocolates are imported from Switzerland, and are soooo good. I haven't had them in years because San Fran was the closest place to Phoenix and I haven't been there in years. I'll let you what I find out about where their cocoa originates from...