We’ve talked about this before, but Global Exchange wants us to think about the provenance of our chocolate (especially for Valentine’s Day — sorry I didn’t get to posting this earlier!).
If your chocolate isn’t fair trade, it was likely produced by child labor and slavery. Even if the ingredients look “cruelty-free,” that surely isn’t.
You can read more about fair trade chocolate here on Global Exchange’s site.
(Two books I’ve read recently make me wonder just how effective fair trade is, really, but it does seem like it’s better than the current deal that producers get — though that isn’t saying much & in the end may not amount to enough…)
Vegans of Color 
I just blogged about this myself… http://tinyurl.com/c8f3cq
I know this is off subject, but what are your thoughts on the New York Post cartoon featuring the chimpanzee as the person who wrote the new stimulus bill? I just read it and wanted to know what others think.
I don’t know what the solution is but I think vegans need to protect all animals. Since animals include humans, I don’t think we have the right to call our food cruelty-free if humans suffer for goods we buy. I’d like to see vegans at the forefront of changing food policy. I’d like us to join with other movements that aren’t vegan but are working on issues of fair trade and farmers’ rights.
Does this muddy the waters? I don’t think so. I was just talking to someone last night that it’s hard to say you’re vegan if your berries were picked by slaves and your almonds were cross-pollinated by trucked bees and your organic kale grew in farmed animal manure.
I honestly don’t know enough about food production to formulate solutions. I have more confusion and questions than anything else. Going vegan, however, opened my eyes to food production like nothing ever has. I think as I grow as a vegan, I’ll focus less on what the ingredients list of grocery store items mean for me and more on what they mean for the growers, pickers, packers, the fields…
Well said, Joselle. Being vegan is just a small part of being a conscious consumer. Problem is that ingredient lists are much easier to find than information about source, growing conditions, harvest practices, etc. I try to do my best, but I’m sure I’m supporting some forms of cruelty somewhere along the line. Sigh….
[…] link them all); racism among vegans & AR activists (ditto); whether a vegan diet is cheaper; how vegan doesn’t always mean “cruelty-free”; factors that affect access to vegan food (this has come up in numerous posts & comments); etc. […]