That Candy Bar Left A Bad Taste In My Mouth

When my mom was a kid, she used to go to a candy store called Benny’s, spin a wheel for one penny and gratefully receive whichever sweet the wooden arrow landed upon, tootsie rolls, caramels, squirrel nut zippers, and toffees.

When we were kids, Melissa and I would walk on a Sunday to St. Mary’s Church in Wappingers Falls, stop in at the local delicatessen with a quarter (part of my tithe for church) and fill a little brown paper bag with candy, usually the same penny candies Mom ate, but occasionally a pack of Big Red for the walk home.

Our progeny have their choice of multi-mega shopping emporium, where for a mere pittance they stand like slack-jaw pilgrims before the altar, where a wealth of sweet pleasure provisions hang within their tiny reach. If only Mom would give us another minute to decide! Put you in mind of the cereal scene from the Hurt Locker?

I think a fair philosophy for our generation might be “With great power, comes great responsibility”. More than anyone before us, we have no excuse for ignorance. (We have Wi-fi!) So while it may come as some surprise to you, I hope my next words will create a small ripple for change. Ready? Here they come…

S L A V E R Y   S T I L L   E X I S T S

Forgive me, in no way do I mean to imply your ignorance. I do find that sometimes I forget, and on the heels of my visit to Chocolate Town U.S.A., I thought a reminder was needed regarding child trafficking and slavery for CHOCOLATE.

Slave Free Chocolate is a coalition to end child slavery in West African cocoa farms. When you visit this site, be sure to watch The Dark Side Of Chocolate a courageous film by Miki Mistrati & U. Roberto Romano which investigates the rumor that the chocolate we eat may be produced with the use of child labor and trafficked children.

Meanwhile, when you are at the store today with your moppet, steer them towards that fair trade candy aisle, hug them, kiss them, thank God for their health and clean clothes, and then say a prayer for the children of the Ivory Coast.

I love this bar from THEO

“Change happens by listening and then starting a dialogue with the people who are doing something you don’t believe is right.” Jane Goodall