This last Wednesday we headed to San Francisco for our date night....which included getting to see Fritz, a great friend from our church in Portland. He is a professional photographer and has recently put together a series of images that tell the stories of many people who have faced or are still dealing with eating disorders. His work is being displayed at a gallery in SF where we joined him for the opening night!
Of course we couldn't pass up the old photo booth! It was so good to re-connect...but just wish Shannon, his wife, could have been there too! Next time! We love you guys!
We next explored somewhere new to us...Ghiradelli Square! Since it was late, it was quite peaceful to wander around without people everywhere. I really enjoyed the piano music in the background...perhaps Jim Brickman!
...and then the ice cream shop....which WAS full of people!
Matt waiting....
YUM!!!
...but difficult once again to pass up so many amazing chocolate options! The subject came up again as we ate...does it really matter that we don't choose chocolate? Should we even be buying ANYTHING at ALL from this company since they are SELLING chocolate? I've personally started to give in and just eat the chocolate that is offered to me at various times...cuz it's SOOooo good...and i WANT it....and it's easier to convince myself that my dollar and choices don't really matter...or that what I've heard really isn't true. As we passed by the piles of shiny bags of chocolate on our way out, I realized that I want to remember again why I've turned down chocolate for the last couple of years...and renew my decisions....so here i am...
Q: So what IS the chocolate issue? Why ARE we passing up most chocolate these days?
A: For us, the issue with chocolate (as well as rice, coffee, tea, bananas, etc.), is that we cannot ignore the reality of where it came from and HOW it came to us. Just because we WANT it or THINK we NEED it are NOT good reasons. That's just American thinking. The truth: Eighty-some percent of the world's chocolate (cocoa beans to be exact) come from the west coast of Africa, with about 43% coming specifically from Cote d'Ivoire. Why is this bad? Because the primary way in which the cocoa bean is harvested in these places is by child slave labor. CHILD SLAVE LABOR. If you don't believe it just do a web search for "chocolate and child slave labor" and see the facts.
No, I don't think that we will change the world by not eating and buying chocolate here and there. But I DO know that I am finished with pretending in order to protect my own pleasures. I am going to face the reality that most, if not all of the chocolate offered to me has been made possible by the work of young children...who most likely were sold by or taken from their families, who probably work around 12 hours a day in unsafe conditions, who have had their chance for education stolen from them, etc. I can't enjoy it. I don't think that I SHOULD. I don't WANT to.
So where does that leave me? Every time I turn chocolate down, I can let it be a reminder to talk to God about it...to ask Him to care for the kids...to end this mess. I can find out what WILL help to stop this madness. I can get the word out. I can buy ethically sourced chocolate ("Fair Trade" stamped- Dagoba, Theo, Green & Blacks, etc). I'm not going to pretend that it isn't real just so I can enjoy what I think I must have. If I eat the chocolate, I AM taking part. I'm not pretending anymore.
So what about stores that sell things sourced from sweat shops- Walmart, Khols, etc? What about "made in China" on almost everything we buy (they persecute and torture Christians)? If I follow this thinking through, will there be ANY store left that I can shop at? Will there be ANY foods left that I can eat? Will we go broke because the ethical things cost more?
Well, these are things that I'm researching, praying about, etc. I think, though, that I can no longer turn away from these things just because facing them will most likely cause me many inconveniences. If Jesus thought this way, would I even have a Savior? I'm not sure....
what do you think?
I love that you posted about and feel so passionately about this Cheryl. :) It's something so important that I feel we're loosing as a culture, is the value of of the things we comssume and buy. We need to understand where the things we eat come from, how much work they take to produce, who actually produces the things we eat, how much good or bad they can do our bodies... all of this adds to the value and what is fair and right to pay for it. We've become so focused on getting the most for our money that we have become disconnected with what value should actually be. It seems to me a good value is something of good quality, being produced both ethically and well, that will actually serve a good purpose for our lives. I think this goes for vastly more than just food too. Value is something we could all do with a redefining of.
ReplyDeleteHey Cheryl, it's awesome that you think about these things. I think it's important to not just go though life following the path of least resistance, and even if at times you have to make hard decisions and buy things or do things you feel uneasy about simply out of necessity, you change the world because you know and care.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the reasons we love as much as possible to get as much of our food as we can from as close to home as we can (besides that it usually tastes better that way anyway), but we can be more sure that it was produced ethically because we can go see the farms if we want.
Of course in terms of coffee or chocolate, we can't really get ones that are grown locally, but we can get it from roasters or producers who only source free trade beans, and I think that's important, to realize that what you choose to buy actually influences someone other than yourself.
And I think your obvious deep care for people is admirable and beautiful. Best wishes!
Thanks for sharing friend. I actually haven't even considered these things, I'm just not up on the news of the day, but I definitely agree and will do some reading myself. Love and miss you. Hope to see you soon?
ReplyDeleteemie