Green Options

I used to love the foil wrapped chocolate gold coins when I was a child.  I don’t know why I thought they were so cool, but I coveted them.  I was recently sent an email from a friend warning parents not to let their children consume chocolate gold coins, because they contain melamine.  Snopes.com checked it out, and the Pirate coins have been recalled in Canada.

Melamine is has been found in Chinese milk powder and is responsible for kidney stones in infants.  Although melamine is considered nontoxic in low doses, it is described as, “Harmful if swallowed, inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Chronic exposure may cause cancer or reproductive damage. Eye, skin and respiratory irritant.”  The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has issued the following warning on melamine in chocolate coins:

[photo by Becky Striepe]

Halloween is probably my very favorite holiday. I just love carving a pumpkin, putting on a costume, and playing make believe. Of course, this meant I was overjoyed to stumble upon Green Halloween, an organization aimed at promoting what they call “The Three G’s:

I know it’s over a month away, but with the cooler weather that has set in, my kids and their friends are suddenly all a buzz about Halloween.

I usually don’t buy my Halloween candy until Halloween morning. If I buy it any earlier, it doesn’t last until October 31st and I end up buying more that day anyway. But this year, I just ordered my first bunch of Halloween candy. This won’t be candy that I’ll be handing to the kids who knock on my door. It’s candy that my boys will be handing out as they go door to door.

They will be taking part in Reverse Trick-or-Treat, a program that Global Exchange is sponsoring. From their website:

This year, Trick-or-Treaters across the US will unite to help end poverty among cocoa farmers and promote Fair Trade as an alternative by giving Fair Trade chocolate back to adults while Trick-or-Treating door-to-door in their communities. Each chocolate is attached to a card with information about problems in the cocoa industry and how Fair Trade provides a solution.

What is so special about Fair Trade chocolate? For chocolate to be Fair Trade Certified, the farmers who grow the cocoa beans must be paid a fair wage for their crop. Some of the other criteria for Fair Trade Certification include using sustainable growing practices, providing workers with safe and healthy working conditions, and making sure that no abuse of child labor occurs.

Oh yeah, and we got Endangered Species chocolate for trick-or-treaters this year!