On this blog, I talk about not buying products produced using slavery. I tell you how to tell which products to avoid, and which ones you can buy instead. But sometimes there are products you can't avoid buying.
Today I have heard of a web page that makes it easy for you to e-mail companies and ask them to take steps toward making their products trafficking free. This is part of the work of Stop The Traffik The URL for this page is http://traffikfree.org/
They have a pre-written message that you can send via your email address without leaving the website. You can edit the message if you like. They have a link in the message to their protocol which will help the company to make changes, and getting your email will show them that the issue is important to their customers.
Saturday 18 October 2014
Saturday 4 October 2014
Know the issues; sugar
Sugar.
Sweet, fattening, diabetes inducing sugar.
While we know it's unhealthy and wish we didn't, most of us eat a lot of sugar.
I don't know about you, but my family has always bought the cheapest bag of sugar from the supermarket shelf. But it would have so much of a better effect on the producers of our sugar if we could buy fairly traded organic sugar instead.
Our demand for cheap sugar creates a demand for sugar to be grown cheaply. Although countries like the US and Australia grow sugar cane, many other countries that grow it are "developing countries" The demand for cheap sugar creates a demand for cheap labour. In many cases people are exploited to harvest it.
One example is Dominican Bateyes.
In the Dominican Republic, migrants from Haiti, more recently, the children of migrants, make up a large amount of the workers for sugar plantations. Most of these plantations have company housing called bateys. These bateys are often badly maintained, and often there is limited access to health care or school, meaning the children born there end up in a cycle, having no other choice but to work in the same industry as their parents. The pay is not very good, and people do not have the means to get out.
Bateyes, and batey like places exist in other countries. In many other countries where sugar is grown, people have similar problems. Our desire for the cheapest sugar available doesn't help the equality of these workers.
There are some groups and charities working to improve conditions in these places. We can donate to these chatities to help, but when we are buying the product, we have an opportunity to make difference. Buying fairly traded and organic sugar means more money can be spent on labour which provides income for farmers and farm workers. It's also a good idea to look for co-operatives that fund community projects like medical care, school uniforms, and education. Most fair trade products come from such co-operatives. It's also worth while finding out what country your sugar is grown in.
Sources and more information;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-j-powers/dominican-bateyes_b_1547082.html
http://www.thebateyfoundation.org/about/
http://bateyrelief.org/work/
Sweet, fattening, diabetes inducing sugar.
While we know it's unhealthy and wish we didn't, most of us eat a lot of sugar.
I don't know about you, but my family has always bought the cheapest bag of sugar from the supermarket shelf. But it would have so much of a better effect on the producers of our sugar if we could buy fairly traded organic sugar instead.
Our demand for cheap sugar creates a demand for sugar to be grown cheaply. Although countries like the US and Australia grow sugar cane, many other countries that grow it are "developing countries" The demand for cheap sugar creates a demand for cheap labour. In many cases people are exploited to harvest it.
One example is Dominican Bateyes.
In the Dominican Republic, migrants from Haiti, more recently, the children of migrants, make up a large amount of the workers for sugar plantations. Most of these plantations have company housing called bateys. These bateys are often badly maintained, and often there is limited access to health care or school, meaning the children born there end up in a cycle, having no other choice but to work in the same industry as their parents. The pay is not very good, and people do not have the means to get out.
Bateyes, and batey like places exist in other countries. In many other countries where sugar is grown, people have similar problems. Our desire for the cheapest sugar available doesn't help the equality of these workers.
There are some groups and charities working to improve conditions in these places. We can donate to these chatities to help, but when we are buying the product, we have an opportunity to make difference. Buying fairly traded and organic sugar means more money can be spent on labour which provides income for farmers and farm workers. It's also a good idea to look for co-operatives that fund community projects like medical care, school uniforms, and education. Most fair trade products come from such co-operatives. It's also worth while finding out what country your sugar is grown in.
Sources and more information;
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-j-powers/dominican-bateyes_b_1547082.html
http://www.thebateyfoundation.org/about/
http://bateyrelief.org/work/
Tuesday 10 June 2014
Know the issue; Human conditions in cocoa production
To see the first part to this series;
In the previous part of this series, I gave some basic information on what cocoa is. In this part I will be giving information on the ethics of producing cocoa. Because a lot of work is involved to produce cocoa, it is not easy to produce it cheaply. There are concerns that low market prices of cocoa can drive producers into poverty, and even cause some to resort to slave labour to make money.
A major issue people are becoming more aware of in cocoa production is human trafficking. Children are cheap labour. It is believed that children are sometimes kidnapped, sometimes sold by family members, and sometimes smuggled from nearby countries to work on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. These children are not given proper training to handle the dangerous work involved in processing cacao. (Climbing up trees and cutting fruit down with machetes.) When every company is trying to make their chocolate cheap, it can actually be hard for farmers not to resort to this kind of practice to make their business work. Some people dispute whether cocoa slaves actually still exist. You are free to make you own mind up. In the film The dark side of chocolate, Ali Lakiss, the owner of Saf-Cacao, one of Ghana's biggest cocoa exporters, said "There are no children in the plantations." He obviously has a lot to gain from people believing that. Journalists have filmed children working in cocoa farms. Some children do so part time and also go school. But from what I have seen, I think theirs enough evidence to believe children are being, or have been exploited in cocoa production, and I feel we, those who eat chocolate, should do something about it.
When we buy chocolate, some of the money that companies make will go toward making more chocolate, right? So if you buy chocolate, how can you make sure it doesn't come from these farms that are enslaving people?
I know you want me to tell you what brands to buy, but I can't. There are many different solutions
#1. Fair trading
Fair Trade and other similarly labeled products are purchased from the farmers at more than a minimum Fairtrade price. People believe buying Fairtrade certified chocolate, means there are no issues with the production of the chocolate. Unfortunately, this is not true. Fairtrade chocolate is usually purchased from a co-op where all farmers are paid (and sometimes contracted to) a price. Fair trade can improve the living conditions of people who grow cocoa. This can have positive effects farmers who do the right thing. On their employees, employees' families, and their communities. However, we are worried that some farmers will sell their cocoa at a fairtrade price, and still use slaves. Most of the time the organisations that certify cocoa cannot completely make sure slaves are not used.
#2 Boycotting Ivory Coast Cocoa.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are the only places where people claim cocoa slavery is happening. Many people boycott cocoa from the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Food Empowerment Project has produced a comprehensive list of cocoa brands that buy cocoa from other areas like south America rather than Ghana and the Ivory Coast. They only research vegan products, but have a long list regardless. If there is a company that is not on the list, you can sometimes find information on their website or through sending them an email asking them. While this does provide us with a way not to impact the West African cocoa slaves, boycotting a country is only a temporary solution. Many people in West Africa do rely on the chocolate industry for income. Also, some of the other countries we buy cocoa from could have problems with exploitation, just less reported. What we eventually need to do is to work with producers.
#3 Direct action to improve conditions
The more direct relationship a chocolate producer has with farmers and small co-operatives that have good relationships with farmers, the more control we can have over their practices. In the past, companies have signed famous agreements promising to stop slave labour in West African cocoa farms. So far, not enough has been done. When media attention dies down, it's forgotten about again. If you want to encourage companies you buy from to do more, please send them annoying letters and emails. Some groups are starting to do this well, and to make a difference in the lives of farming families, but many do not.
I believe it is your responsibility to research this for yourself. I have been researching for years for myself. I am passionate about encouraging other people to make good decisions, and although I think my opinion is clear, I am not telling anyone else what to think. Chose which way you are most comfortable buying. But please don't do nothing.
Also visit;
http://www.slavefreechocolate.org/index.html
A major issue people are becoming more aware of in cocoa production is human trafficking. Children are cheap labour. It is believed that children are sometimes kidnapped, sometimes sold by family members, and sometimes smuggled from nearby countries to work on cocoa farms in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. These children are not given proper training to handle the dangerous work involved in processing cacao. (Climbing up trees and cutting fruit down with machetes.) When every company is trying to make their chocolate cheap, it can actually be hard for farmers not to resort to this kind of practice to make their business work. Some people dispute whether cocoa slaves actually still exist. You are free to make you own mind up. In the film The dark side of chocolate, Ali Lakiss, the owner of Saf-Cacao, one of Ghana's biggest cocoa exporters, said "There are no children in the plantations." He obviously has a lot to gain from people believing that. Journalists have filmed children working in cocoa farms. Some children do so part time and also go school. But from what I have seen, I think theirs enough evidence to believe children are being, or have been exploited in cocoa production, and I feel we, those who eat chocolate, should do something about it.
When we buy chocolate, some of the money that companies make will go toward making more chocolate, right? So if you buy chocolate, how can you make sure it doesn't come from these farms that are enslaving people?
I know you want me to tell you what brands to buy, but I can't. There are many different solutions
#1. Fair trading
Fair Trade and other similarly labeled products are purchased from the farmers at more than a minimum Fairtrade price. People believe buying Fairtrade certified chocolate, means there are no issues with the production of the chocolate. Unfortunately, this is not true. Fairtrade chocolate is usually purchased from a co-op where all farmers are paid (and sometimes contracted to) a price. Fair trade can improve the living conditions of people who grow cocoa. This can have positive effects farmers who do the right thing. On their employees, employees' families, and their communities. However, we are worried that some farmers will sell their cocoa at a fairtrade price, and still use slaves. Most of the time the organisations that certify cocoa cannot completely make sure slaves are not used.
#2 Boycotting Ivory Coast Cocoa.
Ghana and the Ivory Coast are the only places where people claim cocoa slavery is happening. Many people boycott cocoa from the Ivory Coast and Ghana. The Food Empowerment Project has produced a comprehensive list of cocoa brands that buy cocoa from other areas like south America rather than Ghana and the Ivory Coast. They only research vegan products, but have a long list regardless. If there is a company that is not on the list, you can sometimes find information on their website or through sending them an email asking them. While this does provide us with a way not to impact the West African cocoa slaves, boycotting a country is only a temporary solution. Many people in West Africa do rely on the chocolate industry for income. Also, some of the other countries we buy cocoa from could have problems with exploitation, just less reported. What we eventually need to do is to work with producers.
#3 Direct action to improve conditions
The more direct relationship a chocolate producer has with farmers and small co-operatives that have good relationships with farmers, the more control we can have over their practices. In the past, companies have signed famous agreements promising to stop slave labour in West African cocoa farms. So far, not enough has been done. When media attention dies down, it's forgotten about again. If you want to encourage companies you buy from to do more, please send them annoying letters and emails. Some groups are starting to do this well, and to make a difference in the lives of farming families, but many do not.
I believe it is your responsibility to research this for yourself. I have been researching for years for myself. I am passionate about encouraging other people to make good decisions, and although I think my opinion is clear, I am not telling anyone else what to think. Chose which way you are most comfortable buying. But please don't do nothing.
Also visit;
http://www.slavefreechocolate.org/index.html
Wednesday 26 February 2014
End it.
Slavery, or human trafficking, is the main theme of this blog.
Slavery was 'abolished' in the US a long time ago, and now the African American people are no longer slaves. However, America, and every other western country, still has slaves. They just can't see them.
A slave is a person who is perceived as being owned by another person, forced to do work or carry out orders, and who is not sufficiently paid. The truth is, many of the goods western society consumes are made by workers in such conditions.
My blog focuses on food. Did you know that it is estimated more than 70% of the coco the in the world is produced in west Africa? Did you know that children are commonly sold or bonded to coco farms in throughout West Africa? Although the general public in these countries often think this is a myth, the evidence, in my point of view, that these children are trafficked in the chocolate industry is overwhelming.
In many places factories where people work long hours for less than legal wages. These people may not be 'owned' (although in some countries they are trafficked into the industry) Workers in China often come from far areas of their country to work in factories and have to live in factory dorm housing, rarely leaving the factory. They are paid very low wages per hours and often work overtime just to make money. Being tired and not having proper safety equipment means there will be accidents in the workplace.
Also there is a kind of slavery we don't all contribute to. Many young girls, younger than myself, are sold to brothels.
It is estimated there are 27 million victims of human trafficking in the world. Today, on the 27th of February, there was an awareness movement where people around the world who drew red Xs on their hands and told their friends about slavery. The X shows that they won't stand for slavery and want it to end. I joined them. And that's why I am putting up this blog post today. To shine a light on the invisible slaves of the world. The world has forgotten them, their pain, and their lives, but we know they are there. I won't allow them to be ignored any longer. I just told you.
My trip to India
Recently, I went on a short term missions trip across India with Teen Missions. It was a great experience.
Teen Missions is an organisation dedicated to training young people for futures in missionary work and Christian service. Teenagers are involved with Teen Missions during their summer school holidays. They are trained at a boot camp and then go overseas in teams and help a charity, church, or mission there.
My team was made up of fifteen people; Four leaders and eleven team members from Australia and New Zealand. We trained for ten days at a boot camp in Queensland, Australia. My team's work was based in Vijayawada. We traveled by train from Madras where our plain had landed, to Vijayawada. This was a very exciting 7 hour train ride.
Teen Missions is an organisation dedicated to training young people for futures in missionary work and Christian service. Teenagers are involved with Teen Missions during their summer school holidays. They are trained at a boot camp and then go overseas in teams and help a charity, church, or mission there.
My team was made up of fifteen people; Four leaders and eleven team members from Australia and New Zealand. We trained for ten days at a boot camp in Queensland, Australia. My team's work was based in Vijayawada. We traveled by train from Madras where our plain had landed, to Vijayawada. This was a very exciting 7 hour train ride.
We were comfortably seated on sleeper class trains, which has partitions throughout the cabin. Three bunks hang off each side of each partition. I loved looking out train windows and seeing the landscape in India for the first time. I saw a lot of farmland; cotton and tea fields, and paddocks of buffalo. There was also a lot of cultivation and ponds. Sales people walked up and down the aisles with boxes of delicious smelling food items. None of us had exchanged our personal money into rupees yet, but one friend of mine was given a free piece of food. I couldn't tell what it actually was but it was crunchy, like deep fried egg, and tasted like salt, chilli, and cumin.
That train ride was also my first experience of beggars. When I first saw a crippled Indian man crawling through the aisle and clinking coins in his hand, I was a little shocked by the sight of his permanently folded legs, but I was not afraid. He was my fellow human being. Not a monster that I should fear. I had always heard about these people; now I was seeing one. Is it true that the injuries are inflicted by kidnappers so they will make more money? A documentary I had watched had indicated that child beggars in India were often forced to beg give their funds to criminals. How then could you help these people? I had thought. What if you gave them food? I had no food, and I had no money. I didn't know which language the man spoke, but I didn't make eye contact and he passed by. A few minutes latter a blind beggar followed him.
When we got to Vijayawada, we did some work with an orphanage run by Win Our Natives churches. At boot camp, we had learned to lay bricks, now we assisted a professional builder to build a small room, as well as playing with orphans, and children who lived nearby to the building site.
After a week of working there, we had almost finished the wall and it was time to move on. For the next week and a half, we worked at the Teen Missions India base. This is where Indian Teen Missions participants are trained. Unlike us, they do not go overseas, but travel within their own country and reach their own people. At each Teen Missions base, a bible college is run during the year. We got to know the Indian students here. Our tasks were concreting, and cleaning. We built the foundation for a duck pond and made concrete beams. We also cleaned out a storage room, and I spent a day dusting behind their staircase.
While we were at the Teen Missions base, we got to do a puppet show at a school, and also did some sightseeing and street evangelism.
Street evangelism was a new experience for me. We did it nicely, politely asking people if they would like a tract and giving them one in their native language. We didn't speak it so we had to rely on English's popularity as a second language. We also just asked people if we could pray for them, which many people liked. We also left gospel tracts sitting around, and threw them into car windows.
That Sunday, we ran Sunday schools in rural village churches.
The last place we worked was a Leprosy Missions shelter. Leprosy is a disease that effects the skin and nerves. It is slow to develop and progress, but as it progresses, it can cause the loss of feeling or use in fingers and limbs. This makes it hard for people to work and they are discriminated against. The disease can be treated with antibiotics, but there is such a fear of leprosy in society that lepers are often outcast from society. We met many people and families affected by leprosy. The children were very sweet and we got to play with them, hold them, and pray for them. We also built a dirt road around some of their houses.
We left India via Delhi. We traveled there on a train. We spent 27 hours on a train. On this train, we met a kid called Prince, who spoke very good English.We hung out with him for a long time. As we got into the North the weather got colder. We visited Agra, which has some historical sights like the Taj Mahal. We also saw historical sights in Delhi.
This has been a very long post. I hope you enjoyed hearing about my trip.
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