Responsibility in progress . . .

When I was first presented with the horrible truth that one of my favorite treats was brought to me courtesy of child slave labor I considered throwing out my considerable stash and giving it up cold turkey.  My impulse, though admirable, was in no way sustainable as I am a full fledged chocolate addict.  After this initial chock the danger for me when confronted with a horrible truth like child slavery in the cocoa fields of West Africa is moving on.  Being horrified, sickened even, wanting to help, knowing the problem is too big and moving on.  Blinking and reading the next tweet, skimming  the next story, watching  the next episode.  I do it all the time.  I move on.

After all it is so far away and I really can’t be held responsible for knowing not only what is in everything I eat, but also where it is made, by whom and under what conditions.  That is simply too much to ask of this busy American consumer.  It’s not as if I am writing checks to Slaveholders R Us and liking their status on Facebook.  Or am I?

Before I could blink my way past this atrocity and talk myself out of some sense of responsibility my love of American history reared its tricorne covered head.  I thought of the cotton wearing northerners of  nineteenth century America blithely allowing the institution of slavery to flourish without raising a finger or a voice to stop it.  Wearing the fruits of the labor of hundreds of thousands of people held, under law, as property.  It is sickening, maddening and almost inconceivable.  Yet as I pop a bite size Snickers in my mouth am I not doing the same thing?  I don’t believe in slavery, but it exists anyway.  I don’t support it yet without me and my fellow chocolate lovers would it still exist in this market?  Just as the suffering of people they could not see, whose cries they never heard was ignored by Americans of the north and west for over a century ago am I ignoring the suffering of people I do not know, will never meet and whose lives I cannot imagine simply because I can shut my eyes, stop up my ears and close my mouth pretending not to know?

So then even my deep and abiding love of all things chocolate would not permit me to remain blind to the truth that the money I spent feeding my habit was sustaining a harmful, oppressive and evil reality.  I then shifted my thought process somewhat, but my intent/interest remained inherently shallow and basically selfish.  I wanted to be able to eat my chocolate without feeling guilty and I began to research the cocoa industry with that small goal in mind.

What I have discovered has led to me to a desire to not simply not support slavery but to find a way to help be part of a movement that would eliminate its existence in this world in my lifetime.  It has also led me to many additional questions about the cocoa industry, fair-trade, international markets, child trafficking and so much more.

This blog entry is sort of the narrow focus.  I’ll start by defining some terms and sharing general facts that I think give context then a brief history of the international awareness of this issue and finally the short answer on what chocolate has cocoa from the places involved in child slavery and forced labor.

Facts:

Cocoa is the main ingredient in chocolate.

70-75% of world’s cocoa supply is produced on small farms in West Africa mostly in Ghana and the Ivory Coast.

40% of the world’s cocoa is produced in the Ivory Coast.

820,000 children in Ivory Coast and almost 1,000,000 in Ghana are working on cocoa related activities.

The US State Department estimates that over 100,000 children in the Ivory Coast work under worst forms of child labor and that 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement.  A 2007 Unicef report puts the number closer to 200,000. The conditions for these children involve long hours, dangerous tools, exposure to pesticides and traveling long distances in grueling heat as well as beatings and other forms of severe punishment.  Some children are stolen from their homes, some families are tricked in to sending their children to work there and some plantation owners pay tariffs to traffickers who round up children for them.

How the problem came to international attention:

In 2001 a documentary and several related articles exposed to the world the reality of child labor and slavery, trafficking and other horrible conditions present on the cocoa farms of West Africa.  As a result US lawmakers put pressure on cocoa industry to reform.  They created the Harkin-Engel Protocol. Named after the two senators who took lead in its negation.  It is an international agreement aimed at ending the worst forms of child labor and forced labor in the production of cocoa.  It was signed in 2001, but its actual impact on the atrocities it sought to eliminate is unclear. To avoid legislation that would have forced that would have forced chocolate companies t label their products “child labor free” the  industry pushed back and eventually they agreed to end child labor in the Ivory Coast by 2005.  But lo and behold in 2005 they needed more time and so the deadline was extend to 2008.  What happened in 2008 you ask – that’s right the deadline was again extended to 2010.  And in 2010?  Well read on because the chocolate companies are getting more creative in avoiding the actual problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harkin-Engel_Protocol

Short Answer – what chocolate is safe?

There is a legal principal that says remedial efforts cannot be admitted as evidence of wrongdoing.  Meaning that when the landlord is being sued because someone fell through the floorboards the fact that he subsequently replaced all the floorboards cannot be used as evidence that they were bad in the first place.  The idea is that we don’t want to discourage landlords (or anyone) from fixing a problem out of fear that that will then confirm their guilt.  The short lesson on legal principals is due to the following:

Over the past few years Nestle, Hershey and Mars have all issued very eloquent and earnest statements saying all of their chocolate will be basically fair-trade certified by 2020.  Great.  So since we are not in a court of law I feel completely comfortable taking this as meaning -  yes right now our cocoa comes from fields worked by stolen, captive children but we get that that’s bad and give us a decade and we are pretty sure we can stop it.  Admirable.  Glad you acknowledged the problem, but why is it going to take ten years to make a change?  Also, remember what has happened with promising in the chocolate industry over the last ten years – a lot of not much.

I guess this is not turning out to be the shortest of short answers so here it is:

So what you want to look for is chocolate that is certified Fair Trade.  Just a warning - Fair Trade certified stuff currently makes up only about .5% of the market.

The Fair Trade certification means workers are paid fair wages free from abusive and exploitative labor practices, work in healthy and safe conditions and use environmentally sustainable methods

Long story but there are two types of Fair Trade Certification

Fair Trade USA and Fair Trade International – the former’s standards are somewhat lower than the latter’s and there has been some criticism about how easy it might be to get the Fair Trade USA certification so I vote Fair Trade International for now at least

Go to Whole Foods – they seems to have the highest amount of fair-trade chocolate in the area.  Look for chocolate with the Fair-trade certification on the label.

You can also get Fair-trade chocolate online, but chocolate being what it is I think melting could be a concern.

                Cadbury – Cadbury gifts direct

                Divine Chocolate – www.divinechocolateusa.com

                Lutheran World Relief – www.lwr.org

Ghirardelli has issued a statement (http://www.amazon.com/Fair-Trade-chocolate-fair-trade/forum/Fx29RC6LN8C9N1B/TxDETGP6RBDVYY/1?_encoding=UTF8&asin=B000KNFBJC) essentially saying that almost all of their cocoa comes from Central and South America where there have never been the same concerns about forced, slave and child labor as in West Africa.

So that is a little bit about how to make sure your dollar isn’t going to support child slave labor in this industry at least . . .next up is some ideas on how we might go further in urging the major chocolate companies to speed up their commitment to Fair trade and ending these deplorable practices.

A Fan's Lament in progress . . .

To the Current Patriots Organization:

Let me begin by saying that I am the reason you can do what you do.  Why you get to own and manage a team and coach and play a game for a living.  I am a lifelong, tried and true Patriots loving, game watching, merchandise buying fan.

 I bet on the 86’ Patriots to win the Superbowl when I was in third grade. You let me down then, but you didn’t lose me. I loved you in the lean years.  The years that the Superbowl was a day to watch other teams contend and my life did not need to be rearranged around the playoffs.  I loved you through the Parcels years and the Carrol years.  And then came Bill Belichick and Tom Brady and I’ll admit I may have started to love you just a little but more. 

Over the years we went from the Patriots Rock Radio Network to the Sports Hub.  We lost Gino and gained Scott.  A new owner, a new coach, a new stadium and an ever changing roster but I was the same.  You had me at every coin toss, every first down, every overtime nail biter.

You disappointed me with Spygate and worried me when Brady’s knee got taken out (I was at that game!). But still I bought my daughter her Patriots’ onsies and myself a new pair of Patriots sweatpants knowing we would get through it.  The 2007 season was rough for us.  We had our highest highs and then the lowest low.  Losing to the Giants.  In the Superbowl.  To the Giants.  With a Manning at the helm.  To the Giants. That hurt.  And then you did it to me again in 2012.  To the Giants!  But we soldiered on.  Sometimes I wondered at your draft picks or more precisely your seeming unwillingness to use draft picks and propensity to trade them away.  But I trusted in the Patriot way.  Crazy veterans came in and settled down giving us the best they had. Chad Johnson?  Okay you tried, it didn’t work, but that was okay.  You were my team.

You raised ticket prices and parking prices and merchandise prices, but still I couldn’t stay away.  My collection of Patriot paraphernalia grew around my Tom Brady Bobble head to include things like T-shirts and mugs and harder to find items like my Patriots gnome, my Patriots socks, a collection of Patriots Christmas tree ornaments and my Patriots Salt and Pepper shaker.  I didn’t begrudge you the money too much.  It seemed to always go to putting a contending team together which was your side of the equation.  I fulfilled my side pretty well too.  I went to training camp, preseason games, regular season games, I followed the team and players on Twitter, I bought the aforementioned Patriots stuff for me and my friends.  I celebrated your victories as if they were my own and accepted the losses knowing they were not the end.  Your were my team.

I have questioned personnel decisions before. I was not happy to lose number four after so many clutch kicks.  I didn’t love when you let Vrabel go, but I understood.  Harder was losing Deion Branch and Asante Samuels.  Why couldn’t you pay to keep proven players who gave their all and brought the Ws?  But I took a deep breath hugged my Patriot pillow and trusted in the system that had given me so much.

Losing Wes Welker has given me pause.  Could it be that this organization to which I have given my heart (and more importantly to you my wallet) be this idiotic?  This short sighted? This, yes I’m going to say it, disloyal?  I know it’s a business to you, but it’s personal to me.  This is my team.  Your management, your staff, your players and even your coaches come and go but I am here and I have been here and I deserved better than this.  Wes Welker deserved better than this.   

I get it - you obviously think you can do better but here is what my almost thirty years of loving this team tells me – you can’t!  Welker was a PATRIOT in every sense of the word.  He embodied the Patriot Way.  He came back from ACL surgery after like 7 months and was better than ever.  Who does that?  He has led the league in receptions three times.  He has like 10 franchise records that will probably never be broken.  He keeps his head down and does the work. The work of receiving almost everything Brady throws his way.  The work of crazy and seemingly impossible yards after the catch.  He takes the hits and literally pops back up.  You tried to bench him at the beginning of the year because you thought you could do without him.  Did he pop off on Twitter, whine to the media or ever fail to do what he was asked to do?  No. And by the way how did that plan go?  That “we don’t need you Wes watch us win without you” plan?  Yeah it sucked.

Watching him play was watching everything that was good about football, about being a team player about being a Patriot.  Him and Brady were one of best tandems ever to share a field. And now you have taken that away from me because you couldn’t find it in your heart (in your wallet) to keep him.  This is the worst mistake you have made since an eight year old girl with a dream climbed aboard your bandwagon all those years ago.  Shame on you.

I won’t go so far as to say I am rooting for the Broncos next year.  But I will be rooting for Wes Welker, every game, every down.  He is a Patriot and always will be.  I was here before you and I will be here after you’ve gone so I have come to the conclusion that although you get to decide who makes the roster every season I am going to decide who stays a Patriot when you can’t seem to see beyond dollar signs and brinksmanship.

I never had a Wes Welker jersey.  Outside of my Brady bobble head I tend to keep my gear team based because I am first and foremost a Patriots fan more than a fan of any particular player.  I think I would like a Welker jersey now, but I will not contribute to the Patriots coffers.  I think I may buy my first ever non-Patriots piece of football gear when the Broncos start cranking out their own Welker merchandise.

Sincerely,

A disappointed fan

Guilty or Grateful? A balance in progress . . .

Guilty or Grateful?

Sometimes when I watch my two amazing daughters playing happily by themselves or with one another I get literally choked up with feelings of awe and gratitude. I am awed by their beauty and the joy they bring to the world simply by being part of it. I am grateful for the house they play in, for the healthy food I am able to feed them (they are grateful for the junk food which they definitely also get). I am grateful for their warm coats, our amazing pediatrician, our close knit extended family – the list is endless. These blessings rattle through my mind and overwhelm me.

But then something transforms that gratitude, that awareness of my blessings, into guilt. Guilt that I have what others do not. Guilt that I do not worry about where our next meal will come from when some mothers do. Guilt that I can spend time with my children when many have to work long hours that make this impossible. Guilt that our house is big, at least compared to many. Guilt that our cars run and our well never fails to produce clean water.

More disturbing than the rush of guilt that crushes my warm fuzzy sense of gratitude is that I had previously felt there were only two things I could do with those feelings. First, I could push them away with “I deserves”. Instead of feeling bad for having what others do not I could tell myself I deserve them because I have worked hard my whole life. I had my first job when I was fourteen (unless you count babysitting which started at age 11) and never looked back. I went to school for seven years post-highschool to achieve my dream of becoming a lawyer. A dream we are still paying for! I don’t’ have extravagant tastes and most of what I want is for my girls anyway. I can tell myself that I deserve what I have and so I need to ignore any guilt and dismiss it as a counterproductive emotion that robs me of my hard-earned joy. This reaction is just about as satisfying and productive as it sounds like it would be.

  The other option is to wallow. Wallowing goes something like this - It’s true I have so much more than many people here in the US and most especially around the world. Starting with my freedom and going right down the line to a closet full of clothes I never wear. Why me? I am no better than those who suffer the cold of winter without a coat, the oppression of a dictator or the sorrow of losing a child to preventable disease. So instead of reasoning with my guilt I let it in and feel that somehow if I let it steal at least some of the joy I find in my own blessings I am somehow better off because at least I am acknowledging the disparity and isn’t that more than most people do??

Neither of these reactions really help me or the world around me. What I have learned is that the “right” reaction is the harder third choice. I don’t need to ignore or wallow in my guilt. I can try, try again and try some more to find a balance in my life. A balance between awareness of the great things in my life and awareness of the need around me. In this case I believe the balance is struck with a mindset and intentional behavior changes. The mindset - I believe that I am blessed. That although my husband and I work hard that this is not the only reason we prosper. We have been blessed. That’s where the struggle is – why us and not others? There are people who work just as hard but through different geographic, political, familial or biological circumstances do not have what we have. I don’t know why, but I do know that we are blessed not for ourselves but that we might be a blessing to others. This is where the mindset meets the behavior – I believe I am blessed to be a blessing. That along with the advantages of my life comes responsibility.

That is what has prompted me to start blogging again. I have started to ask some questions of myself and mean to try and work out the answers of how and where I can act to make a difference here as a way of holding myself accountable in the asking and to share whatever it is I may find. The first question I think I am going to tackle (and this one could take a year to work through) is what impact do I have on the world as a consumer? This spans everything from am I buying the products of slave labor to what is the environmental impact of my purchases? There are probably hundreds of questions I could ask and I have a few ideas to start, but am open to new ones as well.

My first project is inspired by the book A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans (this book is Phenomenal!). In it the author brought up the issue of slave labor in the cocoa market. I LOVE chocolate and was mortified to discover that my habit might be enabling the evil institution of slavery in northern Africa. I determined to discover what chocolate might be safe and found that even with the help of my research assistants Google and Bing this information is not so easy to find. So I will be researching and questioning and looking and reporting what I find.

And I’m off . . .