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Sunday, February 25, 2007
Friday, February 16, 2007
Coacoa Equity Issue
I wanted to fill you in on something I've been thinking and reading about that applies directly to our conversations in small group and Sunday school.
We all know about the necessity for Fair Trade coffee and have even committed (at some level) to serving it at church functions. However, I've recently become aware of (through the Simply in Season website - a cookbook connected with the MCC) the child slavery used to produce about 40% of the world's cocoa. Young boys in West Africa are often sold or tricked into slavery and then are forced to harvest the cocoa beans which eventually ends up in the inexpensive chocolate that you and I enjoy. This is a clear case of the wealthy enjoying the "good life" at the great expense of the poor and helpless of the world.
If you'd like to read more about this please go to this site. This and other websites state that about 40% of our non-fair trade chocolate has "slave chocolate" in it. Apparently gaining some extra pounds in no longer our only guilt in eating those yummy chocolates. Of course there is something we can do and this is where I would like a response from you.
The "Equal Exchange" brand of fair trade coffee and tea also sells chocolate bars, hot cocoa and baking chocolate. While perusing through their website I discovered that they have a wholesale program through which churches and fellowships can purchase their goods in larger quantities for significantly less cost as well as a decrease in shipping (even possibly no shipping). Actually, buying Equal Exchange coffee this way is even cheaper than I can buy the same brand at Acme. I had a thought that perhaps we could start a "co-op" of sorts through the church. This way we could keep a regular supply of fair trade coffee at the church as well as take orders for those who would want to make purchases of coffee, tea, and/or chocolate for their home.
I spoke with a woman from the Equal Exchange office yesterday and she said that it takes about two weeks for an order to arrive. I'm thinking that an order could be made every couple of months to allow us to order a greater quantity and therefore, keep our costs lower. Please take a look at the church wholesale page. You'll notice that the chocolate is significantly more expensive than what you can buy it for at the drug store but that's because the cocoa in it is guaranteed to have been produced by those who were actually adult workers rather than CHILD SLAVES!! It seems to me like a fair price to pay for my luxury item so that I can be assured that child slavery did not go into producing it for me. I guess it will teach me to eat less and savor more.
By the way, I read that they will only take chocolate orders until April as it is out of season April - October. Wow, I never realized that chocolate had a season (but maybe this has more to do with the temperature while shipping ???)
I talked to Ginny about bringing this idea to the deacons at their March meeting and then opening it up to the church as a whole. However, she didn't seem to think there would be anything wrong with offering a "test run" of sorts through our Canton small group. After taking a look at the Equal Exchange website could you let me know if you would be interested at all? I would take care of taking orders and paying for it.... of course you would reimburse me for your order. If you wouldn't want an entire case of something, I would try to coordinate with others to share a case. Anyway, perhaps those are details to work out later. Just let me know what you think.
from Pamm's email
We all know about the necessity for Fair Trade coffee and have even committed (at some level) to serving it at church functions. However, I've recently become aware of (through the Simply in Season website - a cookbook connected with the MCC) the child slavery used to produce about 40% of the world's cocoa. Young boys in West Africa are often sold or tricked into slavery and then are forced to harvest the cocoa beans which eventually ends up in the inexpensive chocolate that you and I enjoy. This is a clear case of the wealthy enjoying the "good life" at the great expense of the poor and helpless of the world.
If you'd like to read more about this please go to this site. This and other websites state that about 40% of our non-fair trade chocolate has "slave chocolate" in it. Apparently gaining some extra pounds in no longer our only guilt in eating those yummy chocolates. Of course there is something we can do and this is where I would like a response from you.
The "Equal Exchange" brand of fair trade coffee and tea also sells chocolate bars, hot cocoa and baking chocolate. While perusing through their website I discovered that they have a wholesale program through which churches and fellowships can purchase their goods in larger quantities for significantly less cost as well as a decrease in shipping (even possibly no shipping). Actually, buying Equal Exchange coffee this way is even cheaper than I can buy the same brand at Acme. I had a thought that perhaps we could start a "co-op" of sorts through the church. This way we could keep a regular supply of fair trade coffee at the church as well as take orders for those who would want to make purchases of coffee, tea, and/or chocolate for their home.
I spoke with a woman from the Equal Exchange office yesterday and she said that it takes about two weeks for an order to arrive. I'm thinking that an order could be made every couple of months to allow us to order a greater quantity and therefore, keep our costs lower. Please take a look at the church wholesale page. You'll notice that the chocolate is significantly more expensive than what you can buy it for at the drug store but that's because the cocoa in it is guaranteed to have been produced by those who were actually adult workers rather than CHILD SLAVES!! It seems to me like a fair price to pay for my luxury item so that I can be assured that child slavery did not go into producing it for me. I guess it will teach me to eat less and savor more.
By the way, I read that they will only take chocolate orders until April as it is out of season April - October. Wow, I never realized that chocolate had a season (but maybe this has more to do with the temperature while shipping ???)
I talked to Ginny about bringing this idea to the deacons at their March meeting and then opening it up to the church as a whole. However, she didn't seem to think there would be anything wrong with offering a "test run" of sorts through our Canton small group. After taking a look at the Equal Exchange website could you let me know if you would be interested at all? I would take care of taking orders and paying for it.... of course you would reimburse me for your order. If you wouldn't want an entire case of something, I would try to coordinate with others to share a case. Anyway, perhaps those are details to work out later. Just let me know what you think.
from Pamm's email
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Individual Actions
(not the starting point or end point, but part of your journey in the liturgical year)
o Examine your own desires and buying habits and learn to eat seasonally
o Buy from farmers’ markets in season (and eat less for the money!)
o Buy grass-fed meats directly from farmers: Eat Wild Ohio
o Review your retirement savings/investments portfolio to see where and to whom your money is going
o Read and study and listen to learn more
• About globalization issues
• E.g., Worldview Forum at Malone on “Wal-Mart, Consumerism, and Global Corporations,” Monday, March 26, 2007
• About our government’s actions on global policies
o Write Congressmen about governmental trade policies, foreign policy, immigration policy, etc.
From Scott's in-class handout
o Examine your own desires and buying habits and learn to eat seasonally
o Buy from farmers’ markets in season (and eat less for the money!)
o Buy grass-fed meats directly from farmers: Eat Wild Ohio
o Review your retirement savings/investments portfolio to see where and to whom your money is going
o Read and study and listen to learn more
• About globalization issues
• E.g., Worldview Forum at Malone on “Wal-Mart, Consumerism, and Global Corporations,” Monday, March 26, 2007
• About our government’s actions on global policies
o Write Congressmen about governmental trade policies, foreign policy, immigration policy, etc.
From Scott's in-class handout
Things that we could work on immediately
o Continue and increase our care for the needy local families and refugee families (local-global connections)
o Bring our own mugs for coffee and tea (less Styrofoam)?
o Stewardship of our building and grounds as a positive example (e.g., energy use, recycling our waste, etc.)
o Connect with what is already happening in Highland Square and Akron (e.g., First Presbyterian Church has a food pantry that could accept volunteers from youth and adults)
from Scott's in-class handout
o Bring our own mugs for coffee and tea (less Styrofoam)?
o Stewardship of our building and grounds as a positive example (e.g., energy use, recycling our waste, etc.)
o Connect with what is already happening in Highland Square and Akron (e.g., First Presbyterian Church has a food pantry that could accept volunteers from youth and adults)
from Scott's in-class handout
New Ideas for Concrete Community Action
(connected to how God speaks to us in the liturgy?)
• New ideas for concrete community actions (connected to how God speaks to us in the liturgy?)
o Learn more in the adult education class about Burma and Liberia and Central America…
o Start a church food co-op as in days of old
• Join Community Supported Agriculture (weekly boxes of seasonal produce)
• Lots of nearby farms are listed at http://www.localharvest.org
• Buy local beef together at Duma’s (Mogadore or Hartville Market)
• Start a weekly grass-fed meat buying club (http://www.eatwild.com/products/ohioresources.htm)
“Paul and Colleen Yoder, Apple Creek, OH, supply products raised on their farm to various small, family-oriented food co-ops who come directly to their farm for weekly pick ups from the Cleveland, Medina and Akron, OH areas. Contact them for more information: (330) 698-0340 or grassfedmeats@earthlink.net.”
o Tend a community garden and do canning together.
o Annual apple-picking/applesauce making (extra applesauce in the Karsten Kitchen?)
o Buy goods for the Karsten Kitchen based on healthy food (not bottom line price alone)
o Hire those in need to help clean the church building and do landscaping for fair wages?
o Other direct, collective political action?
from Scott's handout
• New ideas for concrete community actions (connected to how God speaks to us in the liturgy?)
o Learn more in the adult education class about Burma and Liberia and Central America…
o Start a church food co-op as in days of old
• Join Community Supported Agriculture (weekly boxes of seasonal produce)
• Lots of nearby farms are listed at http://www.localharvest.org
• Buy local beef together at Duma’s (Mogadore or Hartville Market)
• Start a weekly grass-fed meat buying club (http://www.eatwild.com/products/ohioresources.htm)
“Paul and Colleen Yoder, Apple Creek, OH, supply products raised on their farm to various small, family-oriented food co-ops who come directly to their farm for weekly pick ups from the Cleveland, Medina and Akron, OH areas. Contact them for more information: (330) 698-0340 or grassfedmeats@earthlink.net.”
o Tend a community garden and do canning together.
o Annual apple-picking/applesauce making (extra applesauce in the Karsten Kitchen?)
o Buy goods for the Karsten Kitchen based on healthy food (not bottom line price alone)
o Hire those in need to help clean the church building and do landscaping for fair wages?
o Other direct, collective political action?
from Scott's handout
Ideas to Bridge Liturgy and Life
• Ideas to bridge liturgy and life
o Write a belief/faith statement stating how each liturgical season relates us to the rest of the world
o Commit to specific, common actions for each season: “During Lent, we will fast from ____________ together, because we feel God leading us in this direction.” “During Easter, we will _______.”
o Review the Contemporary Testimony of the CRC; it makes connections to social-political life.
o Write a belief/faith statement stating how each liturgical season relates us to the rest of the world
o Commit to specific, common actions for each season: “During Lent, we will fast from ____________ together, because we feel God leading us in this direction.” “During Easter, we will _______.”
o Review the Contemporary Testimony of the CRC; it makes connections to social-political life.
Ideas for Concrete Action
• Things we are already doing that are in the right direction
o Benevolence fund of the deacons
o Fair trade coffee?
o Karsten Kitchen
o Sharing and giving rides to church (keep on carpooling!)
o Make more use of FreeCycle and even start our own version (Amber Waters’ idea)
o Others?
from Scott's in-class handout.
o Benevolence fund of the deacons
o Fair trade coffee?
o Karsten Kitchen
o Sharing and giving rides to church (keep on carpooling!)
o Make more use of FreeCycle and even start our own version (Amber Waters’ idea)
o Others?
from Scott's in-class handout.
Some Concerns Raised in Our Class
Some concerns and questions people have raised
• All this concern about knowing the workers and buying whole/organic/local foods may not be practical for lower-income people.
• Should we focus on tending our own gardens or on changing society? What about others in society (e.g., kids eating school lunches that are unhealthy)? Do we go beyond boycotts to making demands for changes or does that play into the “liturgies” of politics and markets? Can we/should we work for structural changes in society as a whole?
• Is Wal-Mart really the problem? How can we go against the grain of buying cheap stuff and bottom line thinking and still make ends meet?
• Tradeoffs: If we shift to local purchasing are we hurting people far away (e.g., fair trade coffee cuts out middlemen)?
• How can we engage the positive sides of globalization and embrace the possibilities of relationships with far away people? What’s good with globalization and worth keeping?
• Are there ways to make changes in the world while doing better on fossil fuel usage, building relationships, eating organically, helping the poor all together? Can we engage the world and do all these things?
from Scott's handout
• All this concern about knowing the workers and buying whole/organic/local foods may not be practical for lower-income people.
• Should we focus on tending our own gardens or on changing society? What about others in society (e.g., kids eating school lunches that are unhealthy)? Do we go beyond boycotts to making demands for changes or does that play into the “liturgies” of politics and markets? Can we/should we work for structural changes in society as a whole?
• Is Wal-Mart really the problem? How can we go against the grain of buying cheap stuff and bottom line thinking and still make ends meet?
• Tradeoffs: If we shift to local purchasing are we hurting people far away (e.g., fair trade coffee cuts out middlemen)?
• How can we engage the positive sides of globalization and embrace the possibilities of relationships with far away people? What’s good with globalization and worth keeping?
• Are there ways to make changes in the world while doing better on fossil fuel usage, building relationships, eating organically, helping the poor all together? Can we engage the world and do all these things?
from Scott's handout
CSA options locally...
For those of you who have been in the globalization class … I was investigating the “csa” options “locally” and found the Mud Run farm in Navarre (says it’s about 6 miles south of Massillon). See links below … it’s $400 for a share for 16 weeks. I emailed him and he said that they do have shares available for this season.
Per the website: Each share includes; approx. 12-20 lbs. of organic grown vegetables /wk. 1 dozen organic eggs every other wk.1 free range,naturally grown,chickens,every 4th week. Shares can be picked up here at the farm on tuesdays from noon till 7 pm. No work is required ,but help is always welcome.Additional quantities of produce,eggs and chickens as well as fresh pork and honey maybe purchased at the farm. One of the other links indicates that this is the first season that they are doing this! Would you let me know if you would be interested? I don’t know how to envision what 12-20 lbs of vegetables is like! And don’t know what it would be like to split a share? Or how it works when you’re on vacation … but I’m going to contact him again SO let me know if you’d have other questions you’d like me to ask!
from Marcia's email
Per the website: Each share includes; approx. 12-20 lbs. of organic grown vegetables /wk. 1 dozen organic eggs every other wk.1 free range,naturally grown,chickens,every 4th week. Shares can be picked up here at the farm on tuesdays from noon till 7 pm. No work is required ,but help is always welcome.Additional quantities of produce,eggs and chickens as well as fresh pork and honey maybe purchased at the farm. One of the other links indicates that this is the first season that they are doing this! Would you let me know if you would be interested? I don’t know how to envision what 12-20 lbs of vegetables is like! And don’t know what it would be like to split a share? Or how it works when you’re on vacation … but I’m going to contact him again SO let me know if you’d have other questions you’d like me to ask!
from Marcia's email
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