Have a Fair Trade Holiday
Chanukah, however you spell it, is a Jewish holiday known around the world for when one day’s worth of oil lit the menorah for eight nights. Nowadays, it is known for greasy potato pancakes called “latkes,” children getting eight presents and those golden chocolate coins that the kids unwrap in their lunch pails. However, how do we know that the traditional chocolate coins that we enjoy are certified products which are produced in conditions that promote higher social and environmental standards? We don’t.
Courtesy of: Amazon.com
As typical consumers, we don’t normally think of buying “Fair Trade” products. According to the Global Exchange Human Rights Organization, being certified as a Fair Trade product is important because it means that the people who pick the crop are treated fairly and are not exposed to any harm. According to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and Raise the Bar Hershey, children as young as nine years old are picking 70 percent of the world’s cacao beans in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The UNHRC also says that the crops are sprayed with pesticides and that the kids also do not have any protection from the harms of the chemicals. These practices do not exemplify Fair Trade and most people let this happen because they simply do not know where there food comes from.
When a product is Fair Trade, it is properly labeled on the product with a seal that says “Fair Trade Certified.” When you go into the supermarket to prepare your holiday food for whatever you
Courtesy of Telegraph.co.uk
celebrate, just think about how the food was made and how you can make a difference by purchasing a Fair Trade Certified product to make someone else’s holiday season just as worthwhile as yours.