Trick-or-treating is right around the corner! On this Halloween, I hope we remember a couple things that are really important. First of all, we are privileged that our society is capable of having a holiday based around extravagant amounts of candy. Most of the people in the world could never afford this.
We also need to remember where the chocolate we are eating comes from. Many times, chocolate comes from very poor countries where the farmers are not paid enough for their crops. However, there is an alternative that is much better for farmers: Fair Trade. It is very fitting that October is Fair Trade Month.
What is fair trade? It is a certification system that guarantees that farmers are paid a fair price for their products. This makes a tremendous difference in the lives of the farmers, their families, and their communities. A perfect example is fair trade coffee. Market prices for coffee are currently $.60-$.70 per pound, which is barely enough for farmers to have a profit. But fair trade companies pay at least $1.26 per pound for coffee.
So far, I have seen fair trade coffee, chocolate, tea, herbs and flowers. And they are coming out with new products all the time. So look for the seal that you see on the left to ensure that a product is certified. Some great fair trade organizations are Global Exchange, Trans Fair USA, Fair Trade Federation, and my favorite fair trade chocolate: Divine Chocolate.
This Halloween, you can feel a little better about all that chocolate you eat, because you will know it helped make someone's life better, not keep them trapped in an endless cycle of poverty.
-Stephen Donahoe
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