Nourish The Spirit » Kitchen Table Talks

Chocolate activists unite! New film and events stand up for Fair trade

Vera — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:36:44 +0000

from the Cocoa Project website

On Sunday I got a last minute invite to a Global Exchange screening of a new documentary called “The Dark Side of Chocolate.” I asked beforehand, “Is this going to be really sad, sarcastic, or depressing?” God knows I’ve had my share of that with “The Cove,” “Flow” and Michael Moore stuff.

But this was refreshingly different: 45 minutes long, it shows extensive footage using hidden cameras, and features interviews with corporate honchos to actual kids, some who have escaped and with help, returned to their families. Made by award-winning Dutch journalist Miki Mistrati, the movie builds a compelling case against large chocolate companies like Nestle to help stop child trafficking and child labor in the Ivory Coast in Africa. It doesn’t beat you over the head with horrific images either.

Here’s a glimpse:

The Dark Side of Chocolate / Schmutzige Schokolade from We Know Music on Vimeo.

Almost half the world’s cacao is grown in Africa’s Ivory Coast. Most kids working there are brought illegally across the border, first on bus, then on motorcycle. The average child makes no money and is about 12 years old. This should have stopped years ago when laws went into place, but with corporate giants turning a blind eye, it hasn’t. Global Exchange asks that you write to Hershey and get them to stop lagging in joining the campaign.

This February, several events are happening on left and right coasts to promote fair trade and end all this.

Tomorrow the Hub in San Francisco is hosting EXPLORE THE WORLD OF CHOCOLATE
Tasty food, wine pairings, and a ton of awesome chocolate to taste benefit the The Global Cocoa Project.
Tickets going fast here: http://www.explorechocolatesf.eventbrite.com/

A sister event in NY takes place this Saturday: http://www.explorechocolate.eventbrite.com/
This one features truffles : )

On Tuesday, Feb 22, Kitchen Table Talks hosts Chocolate with Dignity at Viracocha, where I held a talk with La Vida Locavore blogger Jill Richardson with Writer and Farm-founder Jason Mark. This event is a $10 suggested donation.

If you haven’t tried my favorite Fair Trade chocolate, I’m giving away a six pack of AlterEco’s Quinoa dark chocolate in time for Valentine’s Month here. It’s good stuff!

“Green foodie” events this January

Vera — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:43:17 +0000

The remainder of this month has a couple of great conscious foodie events close to my home for those of us who lean towards a plant-based diet. One is this Tuesday, January 19th when Kitchen Table Talks kicks off the new year with a gathering on urban homesteading. Though food justice guru Will Allen, Oakland writer Novella Carpenter or the back-to-the-land Dervaes family from Los Angeles won’t be there, bay area folks who are managing to raise their own food, keeping bees, or just living a low-carbon lifestyle will be speaking.

The event is now at capacity and I’m hoping they’ll let me squeeze in. Though I don’t expect to be raising a goat, chickens, or even veggies at my flat anytime soon, reading Novella’s “Farm City” has been fun and educational. I hope to one day at least have a great garden. Slaughtering my own pig or turkey? Unlikely, that’s why I just choose to avoid eating mammals.

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Dine About Town 2010 just started and goes til the end of the month. Urban Tavern, Hyde Street Bistro, Fish and Farm, and The Plant look like some of the more locavore-friendly participants. I enjoyed great Spanish food at B44 the other night. I’d love to go to Waterbar now. The menu gives good detail on how its fish is caught and where it’s from. While I’m still allowing myself to eat fish, I might have to go there next weekend.

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Speaking of which, End of the Line is playing throughout the country at select restaurants that will feature “sustainable seafood.” I wrote about my mixed feelings on this term here a while back and am curious how other green foodies make peace with eating fish.

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Michael Pollan just released a handy pocket guide on what to eat, and he’ll be speaking about it book at the Ferry Building next Saturday. Too bad the event costs $20 for those who are unemployed or tight in funds. I look forward to checking out what he’s put together; I’m sure it’s great.

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Changing our food system through media and education

Vera — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 02:02:03 +0000

Last night I attended a night of foodie-activist mingling and new media at the Green Zebra Remake Lounge. I met Anne from Civil Eats’ Kitchen Table Talks, saw familiar and new faces, and sampled some really good quality chocolate by Alter Eco (great stuff!)

I got to catch up with Executive Producer Erica Priggen from Free Range Studios, who I worked with to make Food Battle in 2007 (the video’s up to 150,000 views on YouTube and gotten a lotta comments) and heard a lot about the latest offshoot from the Story of Stuff video: Cap and Trade. We watched the Meatrix series and Grocery Wars too, love’em!

We also learned of a Low Carbon Diet Calculator designed by the national catering company Bon Appetit, mostly aimed at its college student population. It showed me a few new things I wasn’t aware of.

One would think eating all/mostly vegetarian would make a huge difference, but certain foods have higher carbon emissions than others. Grains and different types of rice even have their differences. Lundberg rice is one that’s grown in an environmentally friendly way, while some in the bulk bin may not be, even if organic.

Tofu, surprisingly, has a higher carbon footprint than locally raised chicken, and so do processed foods in general.

Of course meat and cheese are high in carbon emmissions. This means that even if you are driving a Prius, as a carnivore, you may want to watch what you eat to keep your impact down. A chili with beans has a lower value than one with meat.

But at the end of the day, we can make these changes, yet it’s our food production that most needs to change. A new series called Nourish by Worldlink strives to educate the public to ask these questions. I watched a trailer that looks good night, and would love to get involved with this campaign. The DVD will be available to high schools and educators, and series will air on KPBS next year.

Check it out: