Boycott Hershey’s
Recently, Hershey’s responded to a child labor lawsuit and pressure from human rights groups by committing to 100% third-party certified production in Africa, where it sources the majority of its cocoa. The certification should eliminate many claims of child labor, forced labor, child trafficking and verbal, physical and sexual harassment that have plagued America’s biggest chocolate manufacturer. But there’s one problem with this objective: It’s not set to take effect until 2020. With an estimated 1.8 million children currently forced to labor on cocoa farms in West Africa, more than 10 million children will be affected over the next six years. I think that’s too slow, don’t you? With Valentine’s Day right around…
Boycott Hershey for Healthy Halloween Candy
In years past, I’d wait until October 30th before I hit the market for Halloween candy. But I now know that’s a sad trick, because conventional candy is full of food dyes: Blue 1, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6, have all been linked to allergic reactions and behavioral problems in children. The only way to avoid these artificial food dyes is to buy USDA certified organic foods, which are guaranteed by our government not to contain synthetic ingredients. But organic Halloween candy has traditionally been hard to find—especially the night before the big day. Not anymore!
