Yummy and fair!

Cadbury Canada just announced that Cadbury Dairy Milk is receiving fair trade certification in Canada. This is big news for one of the largest candy companies in our country, and for its cocoa farmers in Ghana who will be receiving a fair wage for their delicious crop. Hopefully Cadbury's announcement will trigger other companies to do the same.

Next summer (Cadbury's Fair Trade Dairy Milk bars will be available Summer 2010), when you head to the convenience store for your afternoon pick-me-up, you'll be able to make a conscience choice that will positively effect the lives of Ghana's cocoa farmers.

Speaking of chocolate and afternoon pick-me-ups, I think I'll head out on a break to find some fair trade chocolate to wake me up!

Congrats to (more...)

Congratulations to (more...)

I'll take one please!

For those of you that have read some of my previous posts, you know I just LOVE my chocolate. Actually, it's a bit of an obsessive relationship. I always think about it and I try so hard to refrain from giving in, but at the end of the day the temptation just overwhelms me and I have to have a piece. To all those who empathize with my delicious obsession you'll be happy to hear that today, Cadbury announced that its oh-so-yummy Dairy Milk chocolate will receive Fair Trade Certification. Cadbury's British and Irish markets will be the first to receive certification by Summer 2009, and hopefully soon after, so will Canada.

I've always been a big fan of Cadbury's Dairy Milk, and I especially love the bars I buy at Heathrow airport. For some reason, the bars across the pond so rich and delicious! Now I can buy them with a good conscious that the cocoa farmers in Ghana are being treated fairly. I can't wait until Canadian Cadbury bars will also be Fair Trade Certified.

What's you're favourite chocolate? Do you try to buy Fair Trade chocolate?

Valentine's Day: I could take it or leave it, but pass me the chocolate!

Well, Valentine's Day is here and love is in the air - or in the window of your local drug store. Let's face it, you either love the day, or hate it. But chances are, you reap the benefits of the mass amount of in-your-face chocolate and candy. Personally, my favourite day is February 15, when I head to a store and clear out the 50 per cent off bin – it's filled with Valentines Day themed chocolate. Though I'm usually woozy with delight at the thought of eating chocolate, I try to keep in mind that what we buy affects the environment.

When buying chocolate, I try to ensure that the package states that my bar is Fair Trade Certified, which means that cocoa farmers receive fair prices for their goods. I also look out for the words Certified Organic, meaning the cocoa I'm about to consume was grown without using pesticides and fertilizers.

I read in National Geographic's Green Guide that we should also be looking for the words "Rainforest Alliance Certified" on our chocolate products, meaning that the cocoa plants were grown in a shade, which allows for wildlife habitat to remain protected and preserved.

Some reputable chocolate brands:

Green & Black's - is apparently the world's first organic brand. They are also proponents of ethical trading.

Cocoa Camino - great (a.k.a. delicious!) Fair Trade Certified and organic certified chocolate products.

Organic Fair - It pretty much says it all in the title.

I also recently read about LPK's Culinary Groove, a green, organic organic and fair trade pastry and chocolate shop in Toronto.

Need more ideas for ways to go green this Valentine's Day?

• Find out why you should buy organic roses

• Shopping with a conscience

Do you enjoy Valentine's Day? How do you celebrate it? Will you go green this V-day?