For years, chocolate lovers felt guilty about their sweet habit, but recent research has proven that moderate levels of dark chocolate can lower your blood pressure. That's great news, but unless you're eating fairly traded chocolate, you should still feel a degree of guilt. Now, first of all, what do I mean by "fair trade"? Fair trade can be defined as companies negotiating directly with the growers or producers of products to establish a fair price for the product (afsc.org). In addition, fair trade seeks to improve the working conditions and quality of life of the growers and producers of fairly traded goods. According to globalexchange.org: "284,000 children toil in abusive labor conditions in West Africa’s cocoa fields" and "Cocoa companies pay prices so low that many cocoa farmers cannot meet their families’ basic needs." That's why it's vitally important to buy only fairly traded chocolate!
There are many delicious fairly traded brands out there. I have personally indulged in Divine Chocolate's delicious 70% dark chocolate bars and have given out these decadent delights as Christmas gifts to my family and my coworkers for the past four years. This farmer-owned company gets its chocolate from Ghana and directly improves the livelihoods of small cocoa farmers in West Africa. I have also had the distinct pleasure to experience the joy of Equal Exchange's fair trade chocolate bars. Equal Exchange's cocoa comes from farmer cooperatives in the Domincan Republic and Peru. I especially enjoyed the Organic Dark Chocolate with Pure Cocoa Nibs---it was sooooo good! The Art Bar, sold out of Ithaca, NY, is a certified fair trade chocolate bar that includes a postcard with a work of art on it (there are 24 collectible postcards in all). A creation of Ithaca Fine Chocolates, this bar was the first fair trade certified chocolate offered for sale by a U.S. chocolate company! 10% of the proceeds from the sales of these bars go to fund art programs in Ithaca and Washington, D.C. 
I could go on and on about all of the wonderful fair trade chocolate bars out there, but I'm afraid that I'll short-circuit my computer if I drool on it anymore!
Steven,
Thanks for telling folks about Fair Trade, Equal Exchange, and other Fair Trade companies like Divine.
Right now there's alot wrong with the cocoa/chocolate industry, including price-fixing scandals, support for corrupt African governments and rebel groups, as well as chronic poverty amongst the farmers.
As for the forced child labor issue, folks can get a summary of that, and what some of us are doing about it at:
http://www.equalexchange.com/v-day-s-dark-side
In the meanwhile we appreciate that you're letting folks know that there are some positive options out there for shoppers.
Posted by: Rodney North | February 26, 2008 at 05:48 PM