Let's Talk Chocolate...

When it's a slow day at school and I have already gone to the gym and done all of my homework, I like to read about one of my favorite things on the planet. FOOD! Aside from the obvious effort and research it takes to be a vegan (or even a vegetarian), I think one of the most important things we can do is be educated about the things we are putting in our mouths. Though usually it is information we don't really want to hear because it makes us question the very things we find taste so good, it really does make a difference because, to go along with that age old saying, your dollar IS your vote. Every time you make a purchase you are sending a message about the demand for that product.

It doesn't seem like a lot, and I will admit there are times when I am standing in line at Whole Foods watching them scan the organic apples that I get down on the whole thing. Is that extra dollar really going to make a difference? They don't even know me! It DOES, though. By buying certain products you are creating the demand (not to mention making a healthier choice) and that demand is noticed by the supermarkets. The supermarkets then make the orders to the companies and, though it isn't necessarily an immediate result, it does add up.

Today I was researching chocolate, and I stumbled upon an article written by John Robbins. Can I just say that I love John Robbins? His strength in confronting what he knew was an unhealthy business (and lifestyle) is truly admirable. Walking away from the Baskin Robbins fortune couldn't have been easy... how many of us would really be willing to do that? Everyone should read this article and at the end there is an opportunity for you to fill out a Corporate Responsibility Survey for Hershey's. Encourage them to go Fair Trade and to stop turning a blind eye towards child slavery in the cocoa industry.

http://www.johnrobbins.info/blog/is-there-child-slavery-in-your-chocolate/