The Way You Shop can End Modern Day Slavery in the 3rd World

Supporting Businesses That Are Committed to Being Slave Free

By Susan Patterson

Posted June 24, 2016

Hey all you athletes, you know how important nutrition is to performance. But have you considered eating in a way that reduces Labor Trafficking in the Third World? If we all refused to purchase products produced by slaves, then two-thirds of the world’s 32 million slaves would be spared a life of misery. Children are often enslaved and forced to work in the agricultural industry in China, India, Africa and Indonesia. When the raw materials for food products come from countries in the Third World we need to be concerned regarding what kind of labor was used to grow and distribute products like coffee, tea, chocolate, sugar and tropical fruits like bananas. For these products we need to vote with our dollar and only purchase these products if it states Fair Trade on the label.

In many parts of the Third World it has gotten too hot to grow food, so it is not unheard of for families to sell their oldest child in order for the rest of the family to eat. One of the most powerful actions you can personally take to reverse climate change is to become more vegetarian. The production of meat protein uses 18% of all fossil fuel on the planet, ten times more than vegetable protein. By supporting those companies that value “slave free” and reversing climate change, we are doing our part to end Human Trafficking on the planet. One example is Whole Foods with their “Whole Trade” line. Many small farmers cannot afford the “Fair Trade” certification so Whole Foods personally inspects those farms and with their “Whole Trade” line, they are personally certifying that no slaves were used in the growing and distribution of those food products. The majority of Starbuck’s coffee’s is now “slave free.” Ben and Jerry’s values both Fair Trade and reversing Climate Change. There are many others.

If you are looking for more actions to take to fight Human Trafficking, one of the best resources out there is the book “How You Can Fight Human Trafficking, Over 50 Ways to Join the Fight.” Thanks for being our partner in the fight against Human Trafficking!