Fair Trade S’more Summer
Summer solstice is today and I’m already dreaming of my first s’more of the season!
One of my favorite memories as a child was practicing how to make the absolutely perfect s’more (marshmallow gooey but not burned, and getting it onto the graham cracker before it fell off) using a Hershey chocolate bar. But since I learned about forced child labor in the chocolate industry, it doesn’t sound very delicious anymore. Tens of thousands of children work in cocoa fields, exposed to hazardous conditions where they spray pesticides without protective gear, use sharp tools, and sustain injuries.
The GOOD news: There are lots of fair trade Kosher chocolates to choose from, and child labor is prohibited in Fair Trade certification.
There are several new Fair Trade Kosher chocolates that we’ve learned about this past year, including Tcho (an artisanal chocolate maker in San Francisco, new milk chocolate mini’s from Equal Exchange, and, finally, a real Fair Trade chocolate bar from Trader Joe’s (Belgian bars in dark or milk chocolate with the IMO “Fair for Life” certification).
Hershey’s is the only chocolate company in the U.S. which is not using any fair trade cocoa beans in its products. Join Fair Trade Judaica and the Jewish community in encouraging Hershey’s to support fair trade and child labor-free chooclate.
I’m looking forward to enjoying my first delicious Fair Trade s’more this weekend!