Chocoholics Unite

Americans crave chocolate, but there are bitter costs: M & M/Mars, See's and others purchase cocoa from Africa's Ivory Coast, where child slavery has been well documented. In addition, rainforests around the world are being cleared to produce high-yielding, sun-grown cocoa, which--unlike shade-grown, organic varieties--relies heavily on agrochemical use.

So what's a responsible chocoholic to do?

Write your favorite chocolate companies, asking them to purchase their cocoa from certified fair-trade, shade-grown and organic farmers (send a copy to editor@thegreenguide.com).

Buy from some companies that already purchase this way:

Newman's Own Organics, 800-272-0257, [link] Rapunzel Pure Organics, 800-207-2814, www.rapunzel.com Green and Black's Organic Chocolate, www.greenandblacks.com

For more information: Global Exchange's slavery-free chocolate campaign, at www.globalexchange.org, includes a prewritten letter you can send.