Posts
Chocolate-free for a YEAR! Oh no!
Monday, 4 August 2008
I'm going chocolate-free for a year. I started on August 1st, and so far, so good.
It's a year-long resolution.
WHY ON EARTH WOULD I WANT TO DO A HALF-CRAZED THING LIKE THAT? I hear you ask. Or not.
Mainly because of the food miles involved. And a few other nasties, like child slavery.
You see, even though we have a whopping big chocolate factory right on our doorstep (actually, it's two kilometers away, but you get the picture), the chockie isn't local.
- The cocoa beans are from halfway around the world - mainly Africa and South America (rainforest removal anyone?) Most chocolate sold these days is not Fair Trade, and child slavery is rife in the industry.
- The sugar is from Queensland, but some is from Malaysia (yay for MORE rainforest removal).
- The peanuts are from Asia, China and Australia, and some even from the USA and South America. In other words, everywhere. They cannot confirm that is it NOT genetically modified. Aflatoxin may be present, and that's nasty.
The only local ingredient is the milk, but as I'm into the dark chocolate, you can scrub that.
In fact, when you do the chocolate factory tour, you really start to appreciate how luxurious chocolate is, and how it truly must have been a product for only the supremely wealthy before globalisation.
So that's why I'm off chockie. I'd like to have the guts and courage to say I'm swearing off chocolate forever, but this is REALLY TOUGH for me. Much tougher than going veg, or quitting smoking, or losing weight, or any of that.
If I fail, don't be too hard on me. I'm only human, after all. And chocolate is very, very cunning. My spirit is willing but my flesh (especially my taste buds) is rather weak.
Anyone out there willing to try a year of NO CHOCOLATE with me?
UPDATE: Molly from Cross Roads has very kindly created a widget for those of us taking the plunge. Here it is, and here is the code:
<a href="http://cluttercut.blogspot.com/2008/08/chocolate-free-for-year-oh-no.html"> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3278/2745808218_36c6377b0d.jpg?v=0" width="200" alt="Chocolate Free for a year!"/></a>
List of people going choc-free for a year:
21 comments:
Oh wow! Good luck!!
Actually I gave up chocolate for many years when I was a teenager as it had a rotten effect on my skin (and now gives me migraines - but I put up with that at times :) ).
Is there a local source of carob? I don't know where you are, but I just did a quick Google search and found these in SA - http://www.carob.com.au/
Carob is quite nice once you get used to it - still not chocolate but not a bad substitute!
Sorry, just remembered you're in NZ so that link won't help! The food miles are reduced though :)
Oh dear - I sooooo wish I could be as brave as you, but I am getting cravings just thinking about you going without. So yeah, I won't be joinging you on the 'no chocolate thing' - but boy will I be cheering you on if you go the year!
I'll join you!!! And I'm a REAL addict (Green and Blacks being my fix of choice {:-)
As I type this, I wonder if I can really do it but it fits perfectly with my deep desire to wean myself of that old devil, sugar.
So, my last bar was eaten on Saturday, 2 August. Yikes.
Hi Kez,
There *may* be a local source of carob - but I never met a carob that didn't taste like dirt to me. I know some people like the stuff, but I'd rather go without. In the meanwhile, I'm moving on to eaing more fruit and drinking peppermint tea more - which can't be too bad for me!
I'm actually thinking about trying to go 100% locavore for a month, to see how I fare. Could be an interesting experiment. And by 100% local, I'm talking within walking distance for food sources. Hmmmm...maybe I'll wait until summer - then at least I can live n berries and apples if the going gets too tough!
Hi Garden Nut,
It isn't brave - it's stupid. Or so all my friends are telling me!
I'm a chocoholic of the worst sort. If I did an assessment of a typical day in our pantry, I'd probably find about half a kilo of chocolate sitting around. We buy *bulk*. And it's all dark chock - I love the hit it gives me.
Saying that, I'm several days in and no real desperate cravings yet, although I'm looking rather longingly at the block of choc nib on top of the fridge that the male of the species thinks he's hiding from me.
Look, at the worst, I fail. At most likely, I prove to myself I'm not as useless as I think I am, and maybe lose a bit of extra lard, and save a few carbon kilos in the process.
At best. I decide I never need the stuff again, and make a small but significant change for the better in this world that needs all the small but significant changes for the better she can get! :-)
So, why not?
Hi Anna,
Welcome aboard the Choc-Free Train of Twitchiness! (*shake* *twitch*)
;-)
Yeah,the G&B choc is *good*, isn't it!
I'm thinking about sugar (but not quite ready to go there yet), and we've also decided recently to become a margarine-free household. If ants won't touch it (and they eat dog excement), we figure it probably isn't suitable for humans either. Belongs with the McDonalds fries as 'pretend food'. So we're moving back to proper oil for cooking (locally produced olive oil), and local butter for the male.
But chocolate will keep me nervous for a while yet.
Let me know how you go. This is Spring, after all, and a good time for transformation and new life, new changes, and fresh ideas, rejuvenation etc.
Good luck, and well done for giving it a go! :-)
I'm with you Dharja, I've even made the icon to share, you can find it on the right hand side of my blog:)
I have to admit, this is no great sacrifice for me, now if you were to say give up smoking, I might run a mile LMAO!
Blessings:)
Hi Molly,
Good on you for joining the chocolate-free party! Can I beg, borrow and steal the icon?
And when did you go choc-free?
The icon is yours to take, feel free to take any from my site, you dont have to ask, I make them all to share:)
Chocolate free as of last night when I read your post LOL.
Blessings:)
Hi Daharja and thanks for the welcome! I have been eating TWO G&B bars a week (100g each) and it's *far* too much. Trouble is, I kid myself that it's good: organic, decent ingredients, higher cocoa content etc etc but really, sugar is the biggest ingredient (and raw cane sugar is still sugar) and also G&B is owned by Cadburys so do I want to be giving £4 a week to them? NO!!!
I admit, I had a little look at Cacoa Nibs today - raw chocolate that is supposed to be full of antioxidants etc etc. What do you think of it? My gut feeling is a chocolate free year means no raw choc nibs as well {:-(
But, really, I'm happy to be choc- free for three and a half days!
Is there a 12 step programme for choc?
Anna.
Umm.. do you mean cocoa as well?I guess from the ethical point of view, it's the same isn't it?
OK- I think I could try it...oh gosh scary.. but then after reading about the whole slave thing I was only going to eat fairtrade stuff anyway, which is expensive and so far I've only seen it in dark choc, while I'm a milk chocolate girl(well ok any chocolate really-I'm also a total chocoholic)
OK-I'll give it a go with you .So for me, my last chocolate fix was today (of course) August 8.
Would eating 52 chocolate bars on Aug 8 2009 defeat the purpose?
Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think I can join you because I don't think I have the willpower. Good luck!
I have given up chocolate in the past, so I know that I can do it. Right now, though, I choose not to. The chocolate I have on hand is all fair trade and organic. Although the miles are in there, at least it wasn't produced under nasty circumstances.
Good look with this challenge!
Good luck!
I'm not giving up chocolate. I only buy Fair Trade and other similarly sourced chocolates. It's an important food for me. I don't eat meat, seafood, dairy, eggs, HFCS or super processed foods... so, I think I've done my part. :)
Hi Jennconspiracy,
I think you're absolutely doing your bit :-) And if you're going to go Fair Trade, go for the Green & Blacks orange & spices - very yum.
So far it's been nearly a month, and apart from a few times when I've thought "gee, a chockie would be nice" (usually when shopping and in the sweets aisle), I haven't missed it or found it hard. Which has surprised me - I thought I'd be doing it a lot tougher than this.
However, NOW I'm thinking of stopping all processed food for a year. Yikes! I don't know if I can, but watch out for more challenges! :-)
Better late than never. Add me in. I have to give up chocolate. I don't wanna, but my body says I can't have it anymore.
Hi Chile - You're added and in! Whether you choose to just go through to August 1st, or you want to do a whole year from now is up to you :-)
What I can say is there are some great vegan toffee and caramel chocolate alternatives around, and some really yummy recipes online. I certainly haven't suffered! ;-)
Good luck!
Wow! You guys are really going for it! I am finally getting my act together, to stop buying 'bad' chocolate, and hey, it's not as serious as you guys, but I've got to start somewhere... I am going by Eilleen's Slave Free Chocolate list, but also, there was an Aussie company who were in the process of growing their own beans to process... anyone know more about that????
http://www.cocoaaustralia.com.au/
Also, these: http://www.farmbynature.com.au/
http://www.farmbynature.com.au/org.htm
I'd love to join you! I don't eat brown chocolate, but do have a weakness for white. So....guess I can give up white choccy for a year, can't be harder than staying away from the brown variety.
Ophelia
Post a Comment