Recently I wrestled with a new burden. The burden of knowing that the chocolate sold by the biggest manufacturers in our country was produced using cacao beans harvested by two hundred thousand child slave laborers in West Africa. It made me weep and it made me angry. And it forced me to decide if I was going to hide my eyes or respond.
Do I stop eating chocolate? Does living radical mean I must give up my beloved M&Ms? Could I truly enjoy them now that I know? Would it even make a difference? Me, just one person among millions choosing to avoid certain chocolate brands. Does it matter if it makes a difference, if eating slave chocolate would betray my own conscience?
After publishing this post, it dawned on me that the greatest chocolate sacrifice I would have to make was not M&Ms, rather it would be my husband’s chocolate chip cookies. His are no ordinary chocolate chip cookies. They are the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had! Among our family, friends, and his co-workers, his cookies are famous and highly sought after. The thought of giving them up made me want to stomp my foot and give the slave-laborers a piece of my mind. How dare they make me have to give up my husband’s cookies!
Well, much to my delight, we have found Fair Trade chocolate chips. The cookies are spared! There is so much I don’t know, but here is what I have learned: Fair Trade Certified products, including coffee, tea, and chocolate can be found with very little effort. We found Fair Trade chocolate chips at Whole Foods. Now I can enjoy my favorite cookies without betraying my conscience. Now I know I have options that don’t exploit innocent children.
Don’t they look scrumptious!
And for all our friends who have asked {and online friends who may be curious}, here’s the recipe so you can make them for yourself:
Of course, for those who are near and dear, Eric will still keep making them for you, too!
In hope {and licking my fingers},
Shelli
About Shelli Bourque