Before you buy your next bar of chocolate......

[TooTicky]

.....please read this

Thanks
What you are going to do sounds great.

Well, fingers crossed I pass LOL

At work we have a conversational group that meets at lunch times. I gave two presentations on the slave trade. The first focused on the transatlantic trade and how Britain derived its wealth through the trade as well as through the exploitation of African slaves in 1700/1800s. The second talk focused on modern slavery and the many different forms of slavery that now exists.

On another thread, someone gave me this link to Tearfund and they provide a free resource that you can use to raise awareness. I sent off for it and have used it raise awareness amongst my colleagues.

Also, for those interested, this months BBC History magazine has a 30 page pull out feature on Slavery.

thanks for this. Sometimes I feel like I'm just being some middle class Ocado t**t buying fairtrade, so its good to have a reminder of why I actually doing it.

Ooh thanks Speedy- will have a look for that magazine

will only buy fairtrade choccie from now on! Usually try to get fairtrade tea, coffee, bananas but will try much harder in future, thanks x

sweet jesus, is this true? I am so ashamed, I also buy fairtrade coffe/tea.mangos and bananas but I never thought about chocolate. My children are going to read this tonight when I get home. I feel very ignorant and naive....

One thing the website does say though- that whilst yu should choose fairtrade or ethical produuce when you can, if not you shouldn't boycott the companies who make the non-fairtrade brands- these people are disposable, God only knows what would happen to them if they became surplus to requirements. We need to make it a viable option for the producers to convert to fairtreade, not exaccerbate the suffering of the victims!

Thank you, I've not read whole thread yet but I've downloaded the book. My mother will be circulating it.

It's terribly sad that people are treated this way for £. I am pleased I found this thread, I would have had no idea about chocolate otherwise.

I try to buy fairtrade, but I had always thought it was purely about getting a fair price for the smaller producers - how very naive of me

When someone I know saw that I buy fairtrade sugar, for 20 pence more, they looked at me as if I was crackers!! I am a bit of a pain in my friends ears because I go on about organic and fair trade and free range - it does plenty of eye-rolls - but having read this I am certainly not going to stop... what good it does I don't know

does get plenty of eye-rolls. oops.

Actual;ly I think fairtrade makes a difference

And I thought it was about just fair prices too until I read all this- i'm so glad I make the effort now!

(NB the sugar- tate and lyle were one of the big profiteers from the transatlantic slave trade anyway!)

Tate & Lyle were two sugar refiners who started their businesses after abolition of slavery in the British Empire and around the time of abolition of slavery in USA (the firms were founded in 1859 and 1865). They would have benefited, though, from the infrastructure that had originally developed from the slave trade. - plantations, cheap labour.
What about Fair Trade bananas and the problems that small producers in places like the Windward Isles have had with the EU?

When I said "what good it does, I don't know" I meant going on at my friends about buying fairtrade etc, cos I don't think they care what I say! I know it makes a difference

so do we all switch to fairtrade for chocolate and know that we are helping 'the little people' or do we carry on buying chcolate from the huge companies who don't care how the cocoa beans for their chocoate s produced and try not to think abut the children the same age as our children currently stufing their faces with an aero...or we do all start bombarding Rowntrees/cadburys et al with letters demanding to know where their raw materials come from and how they are rpoduced. Or will it never make any difference

Thats what I meant Lily, thank you. Well I think- I was quoting my Professor by using that name I must admit!

of course, its un likely there would have been the funds for the industrial revolution ahd there not been the funds gained through the slave trade (agin, according to my Prof), we ALL benefit from slavery, in reality I guess.

FMV the anti-slavery site I linked to seemed to bre saying, please don't boycott, but do choose fairtrade when you can. I admit its a bit confusing though.

I certainly boycott Nestle though, because they are bad in so many ways. Incidentally, did you know that Nestle own 28.8% of L'Oreal, who bought the body shop - so much for the fluffiness of the Body Shop! And L'Oreal being nasty animal testers, how could Roddick have sold to them anyway? Principles seem to dissolve in large amounts of money
And Nestle still aggressively market formula milk in third world countries, and so many babies die as a result (I think it's one every 12 seconds ). I saw a heartbreaking poster of a mother with her twins - a big healthy (breastfed) boy and a tiny skinny (formula fed) girl. She had been told that she wouldn't be able to bf them both. The little girl died. The poor mother wanted the photo to be used to raise awareness and help others.

FMV - are you or were you FMF? I still have two Ecologists here... of course, if you weren't FMF this will make no sense whatsoever

Tooticky - I am indeed FMF! I thought I had CAT'd you about the Ecologists but maybe not. still interested if you're up for it? Shall I cat you again?

Peachy, I have just posted the latest book swap book onto you (yesterday, 1st class) but not 'seen' you on that thread for ages to tell you.

Thanks FMV_ I have a bit of a backlog but I need to blame it on Uni- oops! Will catch up quickly though now I think. term alomost at an end.

Tooticky- I agree with Nestle TBH, I don't boycott but I minimise it (I find I struggle to shop as it is because of the dairy intolerances 3 of us have / gluten intol ds1 has- poor excuse in type probably ).

That poster sounds both awful and brilliant. Trouble is, these big companies would need a soul for them to work.

Bumping again - DD has spent today helping her youth group make a Stop the Traffik wall in an empty shop in Wokingham - I think they're still there if anyone wants to go along & support them.

They were spray painting banners for the campaign outside the Baptist Youth club last night when the police turned up - apparently someone had told them some yobs were vandalising the church! Wish people would get their facts right! Though I suppose DD's bf might look a bit intimidating - he's 6'3" with various piercings, but he's a real sweetie.

FMV, I think you did email me but to my shame I never got around to doing anything about it. I am HOPELESS! (Mitigating circumstances, 4 dcs, voluntary work, mumble mumble). I WILL post them, just let me know where you live...

Rustybear, your daughter sounds great and rather how I imagine my dd1 in years to come.

That's wonderful PC. How old is he?

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