Chocolate with a heart

The amount of chocolate consumed always spikes around Valentine’s Day: chocolate hearts, Hershey’s kisses and delicious cupcakes all fall into the season’s list of goodies. As you bit into your delicious treat, you likely did not stop to think about where your chocolate was grown or the conditions the person who grew the chocolate faced.
Inhumane working conditions can be found on many chocolate farms and cacao is often farmed in ways that damage the world’s prime ecological systems. With these facts in mind, you may not want to eat another chocolate bar again. Fear not, a more ethical chocolate exists.
By buying fair trade chocolate, as opposed to your typical Nestle, Godiva or Hershey’s, you can ensure that the conditions workers work in are ethical. The term “fair trade” certifies that a company has agreed to pay their workers a living wage and provide safe working conditions. Other purchases, such as coffee and tea, offer a fair trade option.
Shoppers should consider these goods whenever they visit the grocery store because workers who are paid fairly can support their families. Many of these workers live in poorer nations—a higher paycheck can jumpstart the economy.
In addition to looking for the fair trade stamp of approval, consumers should consider organic chocolate. Organic products cause less environmental destruction than a conventional chocolate product would.
Farms that use organic practices do not spray the same level of pesticides or use other environmentally harmful practices. Sometimes conventional chocolate farms cause deforestation, whereas organic chocolate farmers select their farm land more considerately. Fair trade chocolate is usually also organic chocolate, which is good news for consumers.
Once a shopper finds the fair trade label, he or she can know that an ethical purchase is about to be made. The same cannot be said of products tagged as only “organic.” A chocolate bar marked “organic” is just that: the organic label ensures nothing about the treatment of the workers.
Although fair trade, organic chocolate costs more than its mass-produced counterpart, the cost is well worth it. The purchase of these chocolate bars supports many workers’ lives and protects forests that might otherwise be destroyed. Furthermore, fair trade chocolate is often higher quality chocolate. Not only is this chocolate more ethical, it also tastes better! 

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