Black Gold is a revealing portrayal of a reality most people choose to ignore. It forces us to reevaluate the everyday choices we make that seem insignificant, when in reality, they are worth the lives of thousands of people. The movie left me distraught and wondering how I could help Tadesse and the thousands of farmers in Ethiopia and other struggling nations.
When the movie ended, I felt empowered to become an informed consumer. Buying fair trade products—coffee, tea, fruit, sugar, chocolate, vanilla, herbs and rice—is an incredible way to support and protect coffee farmers, fruit farmers, and other foreign workers, from exploitation. When purchasing coffee and other goods, it is important to buy products with the fair trade certified sticker intact. Fair trade is not only about fair prices. It also embraces fair labor conditions, which means safe working conditions, fair wages, and absolutely no child labor. Fair trade farmers and workers also invest in community development projects, such as business development and scholarship programs. Buying fair trade is also much more beneficial for the environment, since workers only use environmentally sound procedures without harmful chemicals.
TransFair USA, a non-profit organization, is the only third-party vendor of fair trade products in the US and has myriad ideas on how to support fair trade. Hosting a fair trade house party is an imaginative way to get people informed by discussing the fair trade movement. Other ideas include writing letters to your local newspaper about fair trade, attending fair trade events, and even traveling on trips around the world with Trans Fair USA to gain a better understanding of fair trade and to interact with workers and farmers who are the backbone of the fair trade movement.
As the world seems to be falling apart around me—brimming with famine, poverty, war, devastating environmental issues, violence, racism—it is impossible for me to stay naïve about the value of our choices as humans and consumers. Our decisions—however small they may seem—will always make a positive or negative impact on the lives of others. A minor decision made by many people can positively modify the planet and make it a better place to live for everyone, regardless of what side of the globe we reside.
