;)
in 
justice
justice Tuesday
05Jun
put down the m&m's ma'am
Tuesday, June 5, 2007 at 06:46AM 
I know why people don't want to talk about these things. It was a little easier (for me) when I was ignorant. Life is full and busy, who wants to think about such depressing topics? Just pass the M&Ms and leave me alone.
Except for this kind of nagging stuff in the Bible:
James 5: Listen! You have not paid the wages of those who worked in your fields. The money you kept from them cries out to God against you. The Lord of all power has heard the cries of the workers. You have lived on earth in luxury. And you have had all that you wanted.
Do you think He really means that? It makes it hard to swallow the M&Ms, to tell you the truth.
12,000 children have been trafficked into cocoa farms in Cote D'Ivoire
At Lutheran World Relief, we believe in leading by example. That's why, to support the Fair Trade cocoa farmers of Kuapa Kokoo in Ghana, we became an owner of Divine Chocolate — the first farmer-owned brand of chocolate in the world. By uniting farmers, shareholders and consumers, the good we can accomplish is sweet indeed.
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Reader Comments (11)
Oh, that's good to know.
Thanks for the link.
(I'm starting "Disposable People" now. I know its going to haunt me.)
Andrea,
Thank you! I hadn't heard of that book, but it's going on my wish list.
Stop the Traffik is having a huge impact here in the UK. It was very prominent at the Spring Harvest Christian conference over Easter. And we are lucky to have shops selling FairTrade things in our village too. It is really important to know what lies behind our chocolate!
How interesting! I haven't heard anything about chocolate production where I am. Glad to know there is awareness around the world!
I so appreciate the links you share, Tonia...always good things. You help me to be more globally and socially aware.
You are so right. It is easy to just consume/live/carry on without giving it much thought but when you stop and look our choices trickle down to support many things I am sure we are not "okay" with.
Thank you for making us stop and LOOK!
Poet Alison Luterman:
"Strawberries are too delicate to be picked by machine. The perfectly ripe ones even bruise at too heavy a human touch. It hit her then that every strawberry she had ever eaten--every piece of fruit--had been picked by calloused human hands. Every piece of toast with jelly represented someone's knees, somone's aching back and hips, someone with a bandanna on her wrist to wipe away the sweat. Why had no one told her about this before?"
Thank-you, Tonia.
...I think I might just have been given a good reason to stop eating chocolate - or at the very least to only ever buy the fairtrade stuff and pray with each mouthful for those who are not being treated fairly by us, the consumers.
Once again you've helped me in my search for godliness. Thank you
I try to look for fair trade products when they are available. I don't mind the higher price at all. Lucky for me that chocolate is not my cup of tea!
Just curious---have you heard of Invisible Children? It is an organazation working to help the children in Uganda and specifically to help the child soldiers. They have a powerful documentary and if it comes to your area, I highly recommend that you see it. Very eye opening!
As soon as I posted my comment, I realized that my chocolate is not my cup of tea statement is inappropriate. Not enough thinking on my part, no rudeness meant, for sure!
mrs wibbs,
I love the idea of praying for those who have provided the food we are eating. Great idea.
Randi,
I try to buy Fair Trade too...I just tell myself that the higher price is the actual cost of the product, compared to the "deal" I might usually get at someone else's expense.
*grin* Who could ever think you were being rude. I think you are very fortunate not to love chocolate...I'm finding that it is quite expensive!