Chocolate and a Slave Free Easter
In my recent post on ending slavery, I talked about the issues with chocolate. Around 12,000 children have been traffiked into the cocoa farms on the Ivory Coast so we can have cheap chocolate. Chocolate isn't so sweet when you know that children in slavery were forced to make it for you. We talked about this at church one week and listed the companies that buy from farms that make use of traffiked children – companies like Nestle, Hersheys, Mars/M&Ms. Then the very next week someone brought Nestle chocolate for our fellowship food. I have no idea who it was, but I was appalled. I'm sorry but once I discovered the facts, I can't knowingly pay people to abuse and imprison children anymore. Knowledge is power, but we are also responsible for our knowledge. If we know that buying slave made chocolate is wrong and yet continue to do so, is that not a sin?
I can't force people to care or to change. But I can make them uncomfortable. I can keep talking about it. I can keep providing resources. And I can keep pushing for change.
In regards to getting the word out. Please download this free "children's" book – Chaga and the Chocolate Factory. And check out what these kids are doing to promote a slave free Easter. Maybe this year Christians will stop stressing over the Easter bunny vs. Jesus nonsense and think about if the chocolate their kids in their new Easter dresses are loading their baskets with was made by enslaved children. But who am I kidding… I haven't seen any fair trade chocolate bunnies yet, and we all know that you just can't have Easter without them…
UPDATE – I just got my "a greater gift" catalog and discovered that the fair trade company Divine Chocolate has chocolate eggs new for this year. No bunnies, but you can buy slave free chocolate eggs here
julieclawson(at)gmail(dot)com 
Julie,
Am curious as to why you refer to yourself as a 'follower of the way of Christ,' rather than simply a follower of Christ? In my mind, there is an important distinction between the two that isn't simply word parsing, but I think it's possible that you mean it in a different way that I read it. Would you explain?
Thanks,
Erin
Hi-
Good question. First – I do consider myself a Christ follower and a follower of the way of Christ. But I have found that the term Christ follower can be limiting. It is often used just to refer to people who believe things about Christ, who worship Christ the person, or even just acknowledge a baby and a crucified man. That is all good, but many times "Christ follower" has nothing to do with the way of life Christ told us to live.
And Christ commanded us to make disciples who follow this way. As The Message put it -
"Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: "God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you."
Being a Christ follower should involve following the way of Christ and so I want to identify myself as choosing to be a part of that.
And it does tie in well to the name of our church – Via Christus Community Church….
Why can't you have Easter without that bunny character?
I was being sarcastic.