Cool Beans

Child Slavery and Poverty on Cocoa Farms

Everybody has an excuse. From the politicians to the world's largest candy makers, everyone seems to be busy pointing fingers or worse yet, ignoring the problem altogether. The problem is over 284,000 children work in hazardous conditions on West African cocoa farms. Young children, many under the age of 14, are using machetes and applying dangerous pesticides with no protective gear. Nearly 70% of these children don't attend school and face a very grim future. Extreme poverty is the cause of this, with the average cocoa farming family earning between $30 and $110 per household member per year. Think about that for a moment...

The solution is Fair Trade. Fair Trade provides the means for small farmers to make enough money to support themselves while using the premiums to improve their standard of living. Fair Trade is not a charity or handout; it is simply a process of giving a fair exchange.

When you purchase Fair Trade chocolate such as Organic Planet Coffee, Tea and Chocolate, you'll be helping Fair Trade cocoa farmers afford to send their children to school. While the chocolate industry has taken limited steps towards addressing public concern about child slavery, none of their programs guarantee the minimum price producers need. Fair Trade is the only program that guarantees these farmers the wages they deserve and provides consumers with the chocolate they desire.

Click here to read "What the Cocoa Industry Says" about child slavery and proverty on cocoa farms.

Make a difference today by switching your purchasing power to Organic Planet Coffee, Tea and Chocolate!

More Articles on Health Benefits of Green Tea

I think you will be absolutely amazed at the amount of health articles posted at NewsTarget.com, regarding the many benefits associated with consuming green tea.

Green teas offered by Organic Planet Coffee and Tea, feature the taste and tradition of China and Japan. Freshly picked tea leaves are steamed or pan-fried to stop fermentation. This process preserves the delicate green color and flavor.

Studies show that the health benefits of green tea range from strengthening the immune system, to inhibiting cholesterol absorption and is also known to have antioxidant qualities.

Organic Planet teas allow you to experience tea to its fullest with loose leaf. You simply pour pure boiled water over one teaspoon of loose leaves, steep for 5-7 minutes, then filter into your cup. It's truly a soulful experience.

Choose from 6 varieties including:

• Genmaicha - Japanese green tea accented with toasted brown rice. Perfect for afternoon renewal!
• Lemon Ginger - Cooling lemon grass and warming ginger root balance nicely on a base of Japanese green tea. Great pick-me-up!
• Gunpowder - Coiled balls of Chinese green tea unfurl to full size in your cup - fun!
• Green Jasmine - A bit on the naughty side - very exotic and seductive.
• Sencha - Spring-harvested green tea leaves of Japan. Brews a light, grassy-flavored cup.
• Green Vigor - Has your get up and go, gone up and went? If so, you might like this blend. A tasty tonic!

So go now and buy yourself some healthy green tea. I mean after reading all those articles above, how can you not want to bring this delicious brew into your daily life?

By the way, did you know that Organic Planet Coffee and Tea has an affiliate program? You can earn commission just by sharing the products with people you know who enjoy a good cup of brew or award-winning chocolate. Trust me, they'll actually LOVE you for telling them about this and you'll put some extra cash in your pocket. To learn more visit Organic Planet and click on "Affiliate Program" at the bottom.

Saving Chocolate, Saving Monkeys

Brazil’s chocolate-producing cabruca forests provide protection for endangered golden-headed lion tamarins.

In a small region of Brazil’s Atlantic Forest along the coast of Southern Bahia, it’s easy to spot cocoa trees (Theobroma cacao), many of which are nestled under the canopy of relatively intact rainforest. Cacao provides the principle ingredient in chocolate, cocoa beans. The system of planting cacao under the shade of natural forest is known locally as cabruca, and is prevalent in Southern Bahia.

Today, Southern Bahia’s cocoa growing region is a mosaic of cabruca forests, mono-crop agriculture, pasture for cattle ranching, and a few remaining fragments of lowland Atlantic Forest. These remaining forests, along with cabruca and some second growth, are home to the endangered golden-headed lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysomelas), a small arboreal primate endemic to Southern Bahia’s lowland forests.

These beautiful gold-and-black monkeys are declining because of continued habitat loss and severe habitat fragmentation. Populations living in small isolated forest islands are vulnerable to extinction and are apt to lose their genetic variability. Genetic variability is the key to resisting disease and surviving environmental catastrophes, and populations with low genetic diversity become more susceptible to local extinction.

To promote the conservation of this rapidly dwindling environment, researchers at the Smithsonian have begun to collaborate with a local NGO in Southern Bahia, the Institute for the Social and Environmental Studies of Southern Bahia (IESB). IESB is actively involved in helping to create sustainable communities, providing environmental education, and assisting landowners with the creation and management of private reserves. Fortunately for the lion tamarins, as well as many other endangered and endemic species to the coastal forests of Southern Bahia, the cocoa crisis may be slowing its pace. Cocoa prices are again beginning to rise, and newer, disease-resistant varieties are now available. Learn more about these fascinating lion tamarins and the work that is being done to protect them at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park website.

Cocoa Curbs Coughs

Rarely a day goes by that I don't discover more scientific research that proves the health benefits of coffee, tea and chocolate. According to Better Health for Better Living, scientists have found that chocolate may be better at suppressing coughs than standard medications -- and without the side effects! Read the full article here: http://www.bhforbl.com/eliving/el200502/el20050202.html.

I recently subscribed to Better Health for Better Living and I encourage you to do the same. Not only will you receive up-to-date health information, they are also giving aways some great freebies, including a booklet called "Doctors' Famous Kitchen Cures". By the way, I have no affiliation with BHFBL, I just support what they are doing.

Got a cough?? Try some Dagoba Chocolate
from Organic Planet Coffee and Tea!

Coffee May Help Prevent Liver Cancer

A recent study of more than 90,000 Japanese found that people who drank coffee daily or nearly every day had half the liver cancer risk of those who never drank coffee. The protective effect occurred in people who drank one to two cups a day and increased at three to four cups. Click here to read the full story.