Boycott non Fair Trade Chocolate!

Ok, just call me another angry person on the internet today, because I'm hoppin' mad.

You see, I read this story a friend posted on Facebook the other day, and it got me to thinking. (Ya gotta hate when that happens.)

You see, most of the chocolate that kids are going to be getting for Halloween is actually a result of forced child labor (See above link for more info. I'm not going to rewrite what she wrote. She said it so well.).

Why is the church not all over this? I have a feeling that if Nestle came out and said they were pro-homosexuality some Christians* would be all over that.

Or, if Hershey's made the statement that they were for "Biblical marriage"** holy rollers would be lining up around the block to support them (like they did for a certain fried chicken joint a few months ago. Do. No. Get. Me. Started.).

So now, when it comes to an industry that has been knows for YEARS to employ unjust labor to provide us with junk food, we are SILENT!

(Flames shooting out of ears.)

I really wonder what God would have to say about that. Oh Wait. He already did -

"Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully." - Prov. 28:5

"The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern." - Prov.  29:7

"Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow." - Isaiah 1:17

There are tons more, but you get the picture.

I will be the first to admit that I don't like to be controversial or come off as judgmental. I don't want to make people feel bad, but that is a fault of mine, because the Bible clearly calls for believers to fight for justice.

I know that I can't abolish slavery by just boycotting chocolate. I know that I do not have a big enough circle of influence to get  the chocolate industry to even notice.  I also know that I have readers who are married to pastors. I know that I have readers who go to seminary and have professors and connections to other pastors. I know that each one of you has some sort of circle of influence you can use to get the word out. Ripple effect, ya know? Maybe someone who reads this today knows a guy who knows a guy who knows a super influential pastor at a megachurch?

What if all of you readers get hopping mad, and you write on your own blogs that you'll be boycotting non Fair Trade chocolate? What if you share it as your Facebook status and tell your Sunday School class and your Mom's group and your neighbors and your coworkers? What if you tell all the moms with kids who come to your house on Halloween night? Yea, people might think you're a little nuts, but we already know what Jesus has to say about being weird for doing the right thing.

I don't have much influence. This little blog has a couple hundred readers maybe, but I can't not use what influence I have to inspire others to be an agent of change.

But what about all of the other industries that employ slave labor?
I know that slavery is everywhere, believe me. I wish I didn't. I'm just thinking here, though, that if we Christians, who proved with "the 'eat more chicken' incident" that there are enough of us out there to be influential, used that power to fight for justice. Add to that number the people who didn't care to take part in that little display, and we could really have an impact, you know? What if we take 'em down one at a time? Chocolate, coffee, sugar....ok, I'm dreaming big here, but I can't help it.

*Please note that I am a Christian, I love the church and Christians, but we have some serious issues to address here. If you are not religious, please, still take this message to heart. I aimed this post at fellow believers because I hold Bible believing Christians to a higher standard since the Bible is so clear on issues of social justice.
**I'm not even going to tell you how I feel about gay marriage because that is not the issue here. Don't get sidetracked from the real issue!

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Book club check-in

We're halfway through August now, so I want to check in with you who are joining in on the "Life Changing Book Club." How's it going? Are you reading "Not for Sale"?

I've only got a few chapters left to go, and I found that at about chapter four I got really overwhelmed. I'm surprised it took me that long, really. I mean, human trafficking is a huge issue that will not be resolved anytime soon, and it's going to take a lot of highly trained professionals to do it. I even asked myself why I need to know this if I can't do anything about it. I will tell you that it gets much more encouraging towards the end, especially in chapter six.

We'll talk more about the book after everyone has had a chance to finish it, but here is the major message I'm getting right now:

Take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of you.

I will not be traveling to Thailand to work in a home for escaped sex slaves anytime soon. I can pray for those workers, and I can give money to help those that are able to be "in the trenches", but it will be a long time before my responsibilities here ease up enough that I'll be working overseas again.

In each chapter, I noticed a theme  developing: One person recognized problem in front of him/her and took responsibility to act. No one is expecting to eradicate slavery single handedly. I think it becomes much more manageable when we quit trying to solve the problem and just ask ourselves two questions.

What do I see that needs fixing?
I firmly believe that there are plenty of opportunities to fight for justice around us, we just aren't used to looking for them. We just need to pray, open our eyes, and not hesitate to respond unselfishly when we see a need. This is my prayer for our home right now.

Am I doing everything that I can?
I am guilty of trying to simply do something, or only doing "enough to feel better". I don't see that as a true sacrifice or answer to a call. My prayer is that I will give of myself so deeply it hurts and that I will teach my children to do the same. Part of that is by raising my own awareness by reading difficult books like "Not For Sale" and making it a point to keep this at the front of my mind and heart.

So, what does this look like for me?
For our family, it looks like educating ourselves and challenging each other daily to be focused on what really matters. Dennis and I have a dream taking shape for a future in helping the least of these, and we are preparing ourselves now in every way we can. Maybe some day I can elaborate on this  more.

For me as a blogger, it looks like using the little bit of a voice I have with this blog to raise awareness and get you folks in on the conversation. I think we should all use our circle of influence, no matter how big or small, to raise awareness about the huge problem of human trafficking.

For me as a mom, it looks like raising kids with a heart of service and eyes open to the suffering around them.

For Dennis and I, it looks like inviting an orphan from Ethiopia to join our family forever and call us "Mom" and "Dad". This is continually at the forefront of my mind right now, so I've chosen a book about orphan care to be our book for next month. It's not just about adoption, but also about the orphan crisis worldwide and the many ways we can all help. I'll be talking more about it later, but if you want to go ahead and get it ordered, the book is "Orphanology" by Tony Merida and Rick Morton.

Click this picture to order yourself a copy now!

What does making a difference look like for you in your life? Know that I am praying for your readers as you join me in this journey.

The Life Changing Book Club

I got an Amazon.com gift card for my birthday from my mom (thanks, Mom!), and most of it went to ordering books. I ordered enough books to last me most of the year, considering the fact that I have two  babies around and I can only read a few pages here and there once in a while.

I've gotten really passionate about the issue of human trafficking, and specifically how my lifestyle might be financially supporting it. I really want to know what everyday people like me can do to fight slave trade in the world today.

Of course, I feel fairly small and helpless even thinking about it, and I don't really know what to do. I've written about ways I hope to be more responsible with my stuff, time and money, but when it comes to a global level, I figure the best place to start is with educating myself.

So, I'm going to start an online book club with my blog. You're all invited to participate! If you have a blog, feel free to start your own chapter so that you can read and discuss with your readers. Or, you can invite them over here to join me.

I'm going to call it "The Life Changing Book Club", which is a little dramatic and tongue in cheek, but it portrays the purpose of this book club pretty well, I think. I want to read and discuss books that will actually change the way we live our lives.

Here's my stack o' books, underneath my necessary-to-life-right-now coffee.

We're going to start with Not For Sale by David Batstone. As the description on Amazon.com says -

Human trafficking generates $32 billion annually and enslaves over 30 million people, half of them children. Award-winning journalist David Batstone, whom Bono calls "a heroic character," profiles the new generation of abolitionists who are leading the movement. This groundbreaking global report is now updated with the latest findings, new stories, and statistics that highlight what is being done to end this appalling epidemic—and how you can join the movement.

Click this image to order yourself a copy!

We'll take the month of August to read through this book and discuss it together. I plan on trying to make it through a section every two days.

I did go ahead and start reading it a few weeks back, but decided to wait until I could invite you to read it with me to. I learned a very important lesson in chapter 1 - this is not bedtime reading! I  know. I should have known that going in. This book deals with some very disturbing material. We are talking about modern days slaves here. It's the kind of stuff that makes me wish I didn't know it, but I know that willful ignorance can't be an excuse for ignoring this problem.

So, if you'd like to join my bookclub, order yourself a copy of this book and get started reading! Let me know you're reading along with me, and comment on this blog as you find topics you want to discuss. I'll be writing a few posts as I read it, too.

Are you in?

Trafficking in Humans Report 2012

I made some scary commitments on Wednesday. I didn't really want to be that honest in such a public way, but I need the accountability, and I need help knowing how to follow through. I may be taking this blog in a new direction for a while, so I hope you'll stick with me and learn along with me.

So far, I've ordered some great books on the subject, which I'll share with you when they come in and I have a chance to look over them. (I have a good friend, who's ahead of me on this journey, and she's been making recommendations. Thanks Ashley!)

I've found a great website, the CNN freedom project, that highlights stories about slavery worldwide. Through it, I found out that the day after I wrote Wednesday's post that something called the "Trafficking in Humans Report" was released for 2012. This report rates countries based upon their efforts to minimize all forms human trafficking, including commercial sex, bonded labor, child labor, involuntary domestic servitude or child soldiers.

Photo Credit

Secretary of State Clinton Describes it this way:
"This report ... gives a clear and honest assessment of where all of us are making progress on our commitments and where we are either standing still or even sliding backwards...This could mean enacting strong laws, stepping up their investigations and prosecutions, or simply laying out a roadmap of steps they will take to respond." 
You can read her full report (or watch it) here.


In this document, countries are rated Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 watch, or Tier 3. The criteria are as follows:

Tier 1 ranking indicates a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, has made efforts to address the problem, and meets minimum standards.

Tier 2 is countries whose governments do not fully comply with minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.

Tier 2 watch is countries where governments do not fully meet minimum standards, and although they may be making significant efforts the country has a particularly large number of victims, or is not providing evidence of its efforts

Tier 3 is countries that do not fully comply with minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Tier 3 countries face the possibility of US sanctions because of their poor human trafficking record.

You can read the full Trafficking in Humans Report for 2012 here. (Scroll down and click the links titled "country narratives") 


The countries are listed alphabetically and begin by listing the countries rating as well as a profile of human trafficking in that country in recent years, followed by what that country is currently doing and what it should do to help minimized slave trade in that nation.


You probably won't be able to read the whole thing, it is insanely long, wordy, and official. I would love for someone to have this condensed into a user-friendly manual that lists what countries are safest to buy from. I always look at the tags of the clothes I buy and wonder what the factory they were made in looks like. Imagine a little list, sort of like the "dirty dozen" list of fruits and vegetables that we need to buy organically.


I may start to work on something like that for myself. Perhaps a list of all of the Tier 1 ranking nations.
This document is really long, I've skimmed some of it, but I truly hope to look over the whole thing to get a better picture of what's going on in my world today. 


Please come back for Monday's post. I'll be sharing some exciting news about something that's been in the works for a while in our home!


Have you heard of the Trafficking in Humans Report? Is it just me, or should it be bigger in the news?

Thief, Slaveholder, Murderer

For July's challenge, I had originally intended to do a series on saving money or exercising or something. I felt like I didn't need to do anything too challenging, being that I just had a baby and all.

But then I got convicted, and I have a confession to make to you.

I am a thief, a slaveholder, and a murderer.

I wasn't convicted in a court, it goes much higher than that. I was convicted by that still, small voice that says "You can't live like you don't know this. You can't ignore how serious this is anymore."

Why do I carry this weight? Why do I believe these things about myself? Well, let me walk you through it.

Thief


I have a closet full of clothes, and people are freezing to death every winter. I even have more than one winter coat. I live in south Louisiana, one is more than enough.

I have a fridge and pantry loaded with food. Not only that, if I don't like what I have or I don't feel like cooking, I just go out to a restaurant and pay someone else to do the work for me and I have a whole menu to choose from.
Meanwhile, people are starving to death. Mothers in other countries will have to choose which one of her children will get to eat today.


How, as a Christian, am I able to live like this?

Slaveholder


I know that the tomato products I buy to make our favorite spaghetti and pizza are very likely grown and harvested by slaves or something close to it, yet I think it's ok to keep supporting this industry because giving these products up would be too difficult. It's not just tomatoes either, I know that it goes much further than that.

I know that it's highly likely that the clothes I buy are not ethically produced. I know, and have known for years, that it's very common for factory workers overseas (and sometimes here) to work 15-20 hour shifts in unsafe environments for as little as 6 cents an hour. Yet, I continue to support this industry.

I even know that the toys and clothes I buy for my children were potentially made by workers who are children themselves. Often these children are sold to factory owners because their families are starving, and these child slaves are watched by guards and sometimes beaten for working too slow.

I know these things, and I continue to support the industry with my money. I am a mother, and I still give money to support child labor. I'm disgusted with myself.

Murderer


I said this already, but people all over the world are starving to death, and I continue to live in extravagance.

I don't know if you caught the gravity of this, but it rips my heart out and I'm going to say it again, and I want you sit and dwell on it before you read on -

Mothers in other countries will have to choose which child gets to eat today.


People are freezing to death because they don't have warm clothing, and my problem is that all of my coats are taking up too much room in my closet.

Families are dying because the only water they have available is plagued with parasites, and I am concerned that the abundant, treated water flowing from my tap might be unsafe.

I have a nice sized savings account and a decadent lifestyle and I'm not willing to share.

The truth is, if I take a broader view of it and look outside the borders of my nation, I am the one percent. I live extravagantly while my brothers and sisters overseas are dying of need.


So, I've told you the crimes I've been convicted of. What is my sentence?


My sentence is to stop ignoring these hard facts and start living out these difficult truths.

Beyond that, my sentence is to swallow any pride or fear that I may have over being labeled abnormal or radical.

My sentence is to confess these crimes to anyone who is willing to listen and ask them to come alongside me in my journey to recovery from this life of crime.

How, in God's name, am I going to do it?


This is where I am stuck. I've been living this way so long, I don't know how to live a life free of these crimes.

The part that makes me really angry is that I grew up in the church, I grew up in a Christian family, and I still don't know how to stop stealing, killing, and destroying.

Don't get me wrong, I don't blame my family, nor my pastors, because they are like me. They were raised without being taught how or why not to do these things, either. Somewhere along the lines, the church decided it was more important to keep the government in line than to be a voice for the oppressed and starving.

I AM NOT OK WITH THIS.

Again, how am I going to do this?


This has been on my heart for a while. Years actually. It's been growing lately, and I had originally intended to wait until I had some heart wrenching facts and some snazzy resources to show you. I was going to wait until I had a plan in place.

The thing is, there must not be as much money in reporting social injustice in mega companies as there is reporting on politics and war, so the resources are not that easy to find.

And I couldn't wait anymore to get this off of my chest.

I don't know anyone living a life free of these crimes, so I don't know how to change.

This is where you come in. If you are willing, I'd like for you to take on my sentencing.

I'm going to be dong some heavy researching on what companies are safe to support and which ones aren't. I'm going to try to restructure the way we shop and live so that I don't have to feel ashamed anymore.

I need your help, I need us to pool our resources and start a conversation and I need you to give me ideas on how to do this, because I'm scared.

I'm scared I will compromise. I'm scared I'll be afraid of looking too weird or that people will stop taking me seriously.

I don't want to live like this anymore, but I don't know how to stop.

You may think I'm being overdramatic, or taking too much of a burden on myself. I've made these excuses for myself, but what if it was my daughter or son starving to death? Freezing? Working long hours in a garment factory? It's someone's children, and that someone is no less of a person just because he or she is poor and very far away.

This post was shared at Mom's the Word, Homestead Barn Hop
, Works for Me Wednesdays, Women Living Well, Raising Homemakers, Frugally Sustainable,

Ethics at the grocery store part 2: Decoding your coffee label

So I talked a lot on Wednesday about my convictions in regards to shopping in our home. It's not always fun, but I can't ignore them.

I first heard of Fair Trade certified foods when I was in college, around the time I started working at the natural foods store near my school. I learned that most coffee farmers are little more than indentured servants, working year in and year out growing coffee, only to be payed less that what it cost them to produce the coffee. This puts them into a cycle of debt that they can't even begin to dig themselves out of. Most of the cost of our coffee goes to pay middle men who buy the coffee from the farmers, then raise the price exponentially to sell it to our major coffee companies. It's not just coffee, either. I've seen fair trade certification on sugar, chocolate, tea, and even bananas.

Since my first meeting with the Fair trade logo, which looks like this, by the way -

-I've seen all kinds of logos. I've seen Fair Trade, Fairtrade, Direct Trade, Whole Trade, and Rainforest alliance certified. I used to just think to myself "Well, it's better than nothing." and buy the product, not knowing what exactly I was supporting. I've finally decided to do some research and share it with my readers here. Which one is best? Well, I guess that depends on what your priorities are. Are you looking for farmer-friendly? environmentally friendly? tasty?

Fair Trade: Fair trade certified products, which have the logo pictured above, cover a few different bases in terms of being ethically produced and traded. Farmers must follow environmental and social standards, and they are in return promised a well-regulated minimum for their coffee. The downside is that there are no regulations regarding quality, and there is a cost to a farmer who wants to become Fair Trade certified. Some smaller farmers cannot afford this fee.

Fairtrade: This is basically the same thing as Fair Trade, it is simply the global term used to refer to Fair Trade. If you purchase an imported product, it may have this label. 

I know that Wal-Mart has a Sam's choice brand of coffee that is both Fair Trade and very affordable. I can't vouch for the taste, I don't think I've ever tried it.

Direct trade: With Fair Trade, there is a set of regulations that is the same for every coffee grower and buyer must be followed for certification. Direct trade (which doesn't have a logo) differs from this in that each buyer makes a deal with a specific coffee grower, and the agreement may be different for each buyer and seller. This means that you may want to do some research before settling on a direct trade brand, to make sure that the trade agreement is indeed fair. However, this is a pretty good bet because the "middle man" has been cut out. Hence the name "Direct Trade". Direct trade agreements are usually geared more toward specialty coffee companies or shops that want to focus on quality and wish to have a more direct connection with the coffee they sell. This is a good bet for people who are more picky about the quality of their Cup 'a Joe. I know Target carries a store brand direct trade coffee, but the options are limited. I haven't tried this coffee, either.

Rainforest Alliance Certified: With Rainforest alliance certified products, the farmers are given incentives to practice sustainable, earth friendly farming. There is no minimum buying price guaranteed, so this certification is more about protecting the environment than civil rights. It is also interesting to note that a product only has to contain 30% Rainforest alliance certified coffee beans to earn the label. While better than nothing, this label doesn't seem to carry much weight. Lipton teas are Rainforest alliance certified.

Whole Trade: If your coffee carries the "Whole Trade" guarantee, first of all, it must have come from a Whole Foods market. In order to earn a Whole Trade label, a coffee must meet all standards of a Fair Trade product, plus Whole Foods Market's standards of quality. This may be the best of all worlds because Fair Trade standards provide for the coffee grower and the environment, while the additional quality stipulations by Whole Foods make sure that you're getting a good cup of coffee. The last bag of coffee I bought carried the Whole Trade label, and I must say, it was some of the best coffee I've ever tasted. 

I've found that none of these products run much more pricewise than their non-certified counterparts, when we're talking about coffee. When I start looking at sugar, tea, and chocolate, the gap widens significantly. I haven't found a good alternative for these things, so we use them sparingly. We are mostly using honey and molasses to sweeten at our house now, and we buy chocolate as an occasional treat. I use a lot of tea making kombucha, and haven't found a consistent source for tea that has a certification other than Rainforest Alliance.

Do you know of any other certifications? Do you have any good sources for affordable fair trade products? 

Also, as a side note, how do you keep your coffee tasting fresh? We don't drink much coffee around here, so our bag always ends up going bad before it runs out. I'm currently keeping it in a sealed glass container in our fridge, and that seems to work ok, but not great.

This post was shared at Real Food 101, Traditional Tuesdays, Fat Tuesday, Simple Lives Thursday, and Fight Back Friday.

Ethics at the grocery store Part 1: The Why

I know that the Holiday season is coming up, and I'm not really sure that this little mini-series is much going to put you into the spirit. It is what's been on my mind a lot lately. Maybe it's because, with all of the fun and fellowship that comes with the holidays, there is a disturbing level of consumerism that permeates the season, as well. Regardless as to why, I hope you'll take some time to consider the info in my next two posts.

I like to consider every dollar I spend a vote. A vote for the product I'm purchasing and everything that was involved in producing and delivering that product to me.

Or maybe I should say I don't like to consider every dollar I spend a vote, but I have to. To be honest, it would be much easier to live in ignorance of how that product was made and how it got to me. Then, I could buy whatever I wanted without giving a second thought about the hands that made it and the life of the person that is attached to those hands.

However, I call myself a Christian, and I can't seem to find a verse in the Bible that says: 

"Turn a blind eye to the injustices around you and continue to invest in those things that are responsible for that injustice. 

Unless, of course, its easy or convenient or makes you feel good."

Instead, I find verses like this one:

 ⁶ “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 
to loose the chains of injustice 
   and untie the cords of the yoke, 
to set the oppressed free 
   and break every yoke? 
⁷ Is it not to share your food with the hungry 
   and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter— 
when you see the naked, to clothe them, 
   and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 
⁸ Then your light will break forth like the dawn, 
   and your healing will quickly appear; 
then your righteousness^[a] will go before you, 
   and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 
⁹ Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; 
   you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I."

 - Isaiah 58 verses 6-9

Ouch. I can't find anything in there about convenience or personal comfort.

I wrote a couple of weeks ago about modern day slaves in America and a few ways Dennis and I try to avoid supporting slavery with our dollar.

Maybe it's because we lived in Guangdong province, China. I can barely go a day without picking up something that says "Produced in Guangdong, China." Or sometimes it will say the actual name of the city we lived in. Our city is sometimes referred to as "sweatshop city."

Maybe it's because of a book I read when I was in college called "The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical." This guy is radical and at times a bit out there, but the book changed my life and I have since been through many copies because I just can't resist giving it away.

Sometimes I wish I'd studied international law, so I could go off somewhere and help those people I feel so burdened for and so powerless to help. 

But, this here is my life, and I have to say that I really do love it.

So, I'll do what I can, spreading the word in my circle of influence and, whenever possible, using my dollars to vote for products that were ethically produced.

In my next post, I'll be getting a little more specific on some ways to do just that. There are a lot of labels out there, "Fair Trade", "Fairtrade", "Direct Trade", "Rainforest Alliance Certified", and countless more. I've done some research and I'll be sharing what each of these terms and more really mean on Friday (after we've all come out of our Turkey-comas).

Is the issue of human rights and modern slavery a new concept for you, or have you been fighting the same battles I have? What are some ways that you choose not to support slavery and sweat shops? Please share, I would love for this to become a discussion we can all learn from.


This post was shared at Simple Lives Thursday and Fight back Friday.

Agriculture slaves in America (Why my backyard garden makes me feel like a hero)

In our house, we try to be very conscious about what our money goes to. We do not want to support any business that does not treat its employees fairly. This task can be so discouraging sometimes, when we have so little information about where what we buy comes from. It really seems impossible, too, when almost everything I buy was made far far away from where I am.

There was quite a stir over Halloween about the immoral practices that Hershey knowingly supports in North Africa. Apparently they find it cheaper and more convenient to buy cocoa beans that were harvested by child slaves. I'm not a huge fan of their chocolate, so that's an easy boycott for me. I do try to shop Fair Trade when it comes to buying coffee, chocolate, tea, and a few other luxuries that are commonly known to be produced by immoral practices. I've also heard of Rainforest Alliance Certified products and Direct Trade products which sound pretty good. I'd like to do more research on the different terms to know which is the best option. I'm willing to pay a little more for these items and have the peace of mind knowing that I'm supporting something good. I have yet to find an affordable option for Fair Trade sugar, though. To be honest, I go back and forth on the sugar because I tend to use a fair amount of it making kombucha and water kefir. I need to either start using less sugar or be willing to fork over another few bucks, I guess.

Also, I have a really hard time buying brand new clothes because I know that many major clothing companies  have their clothes made in sweatshops all over the world. I haven't found a great alternative, though. There are options online and occasionally at Whole Foods Market to buy fair trade clothes, but the prices are steep and there aren't many options. At our home, we choose to buy second hand. This doesn't change how the clothes were made, but it changes the hands our money goes into. Especially if we shop at Goodwill or The Salvation Army, where they hire people who are in need and give some of their proceeds to charity. Not to mention that the prices are great and it's like a treasure hunt every time we shop! Of course, we do end up buying brand new clothes occasionally. It's hard to get around that one all the time. I'm NOT buying second hand underpants...sorry.

Now, the thing that inspired this post was an excerpt from a book I found over on the Mother Earth News website. I never knew that even buying U.S. grown veggies can support slavery. The book is called "Tomatoland." Short name. Life changing message. If you want to read the entire excerpt, go here, but I'll summarize the main points for you in the remainder of this post.

In the book, Author Barry Estabrook investigates the practices of tomato farming in Florida. First of all, most of us can tell the difference between a grocery store tomato and a vine ripened tomato with our eyes closed. The flavor and texture just doesn't compare. It's like apples and oranges almost. Or tomatoes and....icky red balls of mush. So that's no fun, anyway.

Estabrooks tomato journey began when his windshield was almost smashed by a tomato flying off of a truck in Florida. He says the tomato did not burst when it hit the highway, it bounced. Odd. This led him to study these freak tomatoes. He found that modern mass produces tomatoes have far less nutrients than vine ripened locally grown ones, and they are routinely sprayed with at least 100 herbicides and pesticides. Even worse, he discovered that it is not uncommon for illegal immigrants to be the ones harvesting these tomatoes without proper pay or any legal rights whatsoever. Their pay is usually so low that they cannot afford a vehicle and they are forced to live right next to the farm in housing often owned by slumlords. They are charged exorbitant prices to live in trailers we probably wouldn't put our dogs in. I (Sarah) have actually done some migrant missions, and I've seen these trailers. Ten or eleven men in a single wide trailer thats only source of running water is a water hose run through the window. Estabrook says that is not the worst of it, though. He quotes Douglas Malloy, chief assistant United States attorney in Fort Myers as calling South Florida's tomato fields "ground zero for modern day slavery." He says that, in the past 15 years, over 1,000 men and women being held and forced to work against their will have been freed in South Florida, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. There are cases of men and women being locked inside buildings at night with armed guards outside the doors. Some were even in chains. This is not what I think about when I think of a tomato sandwich. This is not something I want to support with my money. Of course, it'll be hard to not buy canned tomatoes or tomato sauce all winter. I'll probably be buying a few. And then, of course, there's ketchup. I know one thing for sure. I'll be growing and canning as many tomatoes as I can next summer now that I know they taste better, they're more nutritious, and no one had to be forced to work in my garden and be chained up at night.

I'll leave you with a few quotes from the end of the excerpt:

"When I asked Molloy [the attorney] whether it was safe to assume that a consumer who has eaten a fresh tomato from a grocery store, fast food restaurant or food-service company in winter has eaten a fruit picked by the hand of a slave, he corrected my choice of words. “It’s not an assumption. It is a fact.”

"It’s a world we’ve all made. And one we can fix."

I don't know about you, but my backyard veggies just got a little tastier.


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