Hot Cocoa? With milk? (rice, soy, or cow or even water buffalo)

Check out what we've been reading about the chocolate we so readily smush into our mouths.  

The problem:  Millions of cocoa and sugar farmers face economic ruin because the price paid for their crops is often less than their cost of production.  The volatile world price for these cash crops leaves growers facing a cycle of poverty and debt, and they are often forced to abandon production with no easy alternative means of income to support their families.  Low prices mean poverty and hunger for cocoa and sugar growers all over the world.  Forced labor practice

(child slavery) is also common within the cocoa industry.  

The solution:  Fairtrade is a way out of the poverty trap.  The extra income from the minimum price, as well as the premium paid to fund the development, means that cocoa and sugar growers have enough money to ensure their families are fed, their kids can go to school, and that their community has funds to invest in health, education, and environmental products.  Appropriate labor conditions prevent the use of forced labor. Through Fairtrade, rural communities around the world have been able to afford the basic necessities that allow them to survive and develop.