But it's so yummy...

Yesterday we stopped by the co-op so Sebastian could have a quick puke on the floor of the deli (true story) and we could pick up some milk and eggs and yogurt. Over near the eggs is a little kiosk where they often have samples. Not yesterday. No no. Yesterday, Sebastian's friend, the education coordinator for the co-op, was passing out bags of chocolate and pamphlets for "Reverse Trick-or-Treating".

What is reverse trick or treating, you may ask? Well, that is when your child goes around the neighborhood as he normally would, begging for candy from strangers. After receiving a piece of chocolaty yumminess, he then hands the person a card with a piece of Fair Trade chocolate attached and says one of the following things:

• Thank you! Here is a piece of Fair Trade chocolate for you!
• Here is a card about how to end child slavery on cocoa farms!
• Here is a card on how you can help end poverty for cocoa farming families!

So, now we have this propaganda in our house and Sebastian wants to participate, but he doesn't really understand what it is about and, I think, just wants to make his friend happy. While I appreciate the sentiment of this exercise, I have a few problems with this.

1. I think it is rude to take the candy that you are saying is wrong and tainted by the blood and sweat of children. If you don't want that candy and don't think people should be buying it, then don't take it in the first place. If you just throw it away, the efforts of those little slave children will be totally wasted.
2. Why not just hand out the propaganda and leave the candy for people who want it? Raising awareness is a good thing, but making someone feel bad for giving out candy to neighborhood children is just plain mean.
3. This cause is probably not the cause of 95% of the kids who will be passing these out on Halloween. This is their parents' cause. This is child exploitation, too. All the information that came in the packet makes it clear that a child should be giving this out. For example, if you go to a community event instead of door-to-door, the instructions read, "As you walk around the event, your child can approach other parents..." Don't make your child your pawn, people!

Obviously, I don't want kids suffering for my chocolate addiction. Bloody chocolate probably doesn't taste as good. But I don't think that this method of informing people about the business practices of "Big Chocolate" is appropriate. If you want to pass out Fair Trade chocolate at your house and give out a pamphlet with it, go ahead. Maybe I will just pass these out with our organic lollipops, but Sebastian will definitely not be carting them around our neighborhood.