Sunday, January 21, 2007

My Life is Over

A relationship has ended. It was tragic, heartless, and ungodly. No, I haven't ended things (again) with the current boyfriend. My relationship with my first love, the one and only chocolate, has ended. Because of conversations with the beau about fair trade and companies who hold to those standards (and especially those that don't-- like Starbucks, for example-- sorry to those who have a deep and intimate relationship with that company as well. I will be holding a mourning session for those who need it at my house tomorrow night at 6:30pm). Anyway, I went onto the Internet to see if my lover, Hershey's, was a Fair Trade company. (I feel really techno-savy because I just linked it... I'm a dork, I know! Back to what I was saying...) If you haven't guessed it already, they are not. I don't know what to do with myself. I have a giant Hershey's bar sitting on my desk right behind my laptop taunting me, "eat me! eat me!" However, all I can hear are the cries of the poor slave children who picked the cocoa beans to make my delicious piece of heaven! The devil has cursed it! My solution, however, because throwing away an unopened piece of chocolate would certainly send me straight to hell, is to eat the remaining chocolate in my room (you'd be surprised how much that is...) then try (key word!) to only buy chocolate that has been approved by Fair Trade organizations and/or sold at places like Wild Oats that sell only organic, fair traded food. Why do these companies have to be so crappy by using slave labor yet make such delicious addictions? I'm having such a crisis over this-- I don't think most people understand the devastation I am experiencing. I wanted to curl up in bed and cry and eat... chocolate! UGH! Vicious circle! The one thing that always makes me feel better, no matter what, is now the enemy-- how am I supposed to cope with this? My shrink is going to have a field day with this one ;-)

10 comments:

Ari said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Makeesha said...

one taste of REAL, fair trade chocolate of any flavor and you will be ashamed that you ever loved the poser we call "Hershey's"...truly, your adventure with chocolate has just begun.

Unknown said...

Never fear. Here is a list of free-trade chocolate:

Here's a short (incomplete) list of companies known to sell slavery-free chocolate and cocoa products:

Clif Bar
Cloud Nine
Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Denman Island Chocolate
Gardners Candies
Green and Black's
Kailua Candy Company
Koppers Chocolate
L.A. Burdick Chocolates
La Siembre
Montezuma's Chocolates
Newman's Own Organics
Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company
Rapunzel Pure Organics
The Endangered Species Chocolate Company

Note: No organic beans are produced in Ivory Coast, but an organic label is no guarantee that the product is slave-free. Newman's Own, however, is both. Newman's Own contracts with Costa Rica producers who are closely monitored to comply with labor laws and organic standards.

(Source: Food Revolution, by John Robbins)

This group: www.deliciousorganics.com
even delivers!

Kate said...

Thanks for the encouragement. With people's support, I know I can get through this...and eating some slave-free chocolate as well!

Unknown said...

Maybe You should transfer your addiction from chocolate to Jesus!! LOL!! You Are awesome and you love for people is extravagant...

David said...

I just switched to fair trade cocaine.
It does the trick.

David said...

On the serious side, I saved your Fair Trade link.
:-)

Makeesha said...

I cannot believe you just said that David...fair trade cocaine ..ROFLOL...wait, I can believe it.

Paul - I love Green and Blacks, it truly is the best ever, besides this really amazing crazy expensive stuff that is made by some tiny company in Jamaica. I can't remember the name of it but it was amazing...and cost prohibitive.

It's like an office chair I recently was drooling over. I need a new one desperately and I was looking at eco conscious furniture, this chair was $900 - NINE HUNDRED DOLLARS! Ok now seriously. Isn't that going just a bit too far? yes, yes I think it is.

Kate said...

Fair trade cocaine-- David, you crack me up! I laughed out loud for like 5 minutes!!!! :-D

Danimal said...

Just FYI, you can go into any starbucks and ask for fair trade coffee. If they don't have it brewed, then they are supposed to brew it. I know it is hip to hate the corperate, but it makes more sense to encourage others to ask for this when they go to popular places. Imagine a world where the major players were also concerned about fair trade. Also, avoid Shell oil. They may not be in terror oil, but they utilize slave labor in africa... oh yeah, don't get me started on diamonds... but hey mass produced cocaine is the best.