Trick-or-treat without slave-candy this Halloween

Source: Read This and Hack! A decade ago I screened the documentary, The Dark Side of Chocolate, which marked what I call my "official" entry into intentional activism and scholarship for social justice. The documentary was a follow up to the chocolate industry's fight against a "slave free" label requirement, promising instead to regulate itself...

How ‘fair’ is fair trade?

Happy New Year! 2020 symbolizes many new beginnings for people. 2020 is new year, a new decade, and many a milestone (e.g., 100th anniversary of US women’s suffrage, the 75th anniversary of the United Nations). It’s also the year I’m reviving this blog (once again). Reflecting on the last decade and the ups and downs...

Muhammad Ali and Other Black Celebrities Didn’t ‘Transcend Race’

Transcending is a perpetual one-way street for black people, yet famous white people like Antonin Scalia, David Bowie and Merle Haggard weren’t asked to transcend their whiteness for black people to recognize their importance. They didn’t have to transcend being Italian-American, British or an Okie from Muskogee. They were just accepted for being who they...

“Save an animal, exploit a human”: The problem with one-track-minded, holier-than-thou Global North vegans

Eating animals is wrong, vegans say. But so is eating slave-made chocolate, or wearing sweatshop clothing. Guess which one vegans of the Global North care about? Not that one issue is more important than another, but it is more than frustrating when I see vegans (mostly vegans of the global north) say "this is cruelty-free"...

Are your pineapples ethical?

Here's a quick post on the situation in Costa Rica about pineapple union workers and exploitation they face: Banana Workers’ Strike Highlights Abuses by Corporations in Costa Rica Consumers International also has a case study on pineapples, which investigates working conditions in the pineapple industry and its impact on communities and the environment in Costa...

Don’t give the gift of slavery this Valentine’s Day

The issue of slavery in cocoa production has gained lots of awareness in recent years, but some people are still are not aware (or don't care) that children and slaves in West Africa are forced to harvest and process cocoa. You just might be giving your loved one a gift of slavery. Below are a...