Guilt-Free Valentines?

By Margot Roosevelt

The timing couldn't be worse for the chocolate industry. A week before Valentine's Day, Nestle, Cargill and Archer Daniels Midland--the cocoa suppliers for virtually every major chocolate producer in the U.S.--will have to show up in court to answer for allegedly supporting child slavery on West African farms, where 70% of the world's cocoa is grown. The hearing, set for this week in Los Angeles, stems from a lawsuit filed by the International Labor Rights Fund, which is also taking aim at another Valentine's Day staple: lovely bouquets that happen to be laden with pesticides. Some 70% of cut flowers sold in the U.S. are imported, mostly from Colombia and Ecuador. A recent U.N. study found that nearly 60% of Ecuadorian flower workers, many of them children, suffered from pesticide poisoning, with such symptoms as dizziness and blurred vision. But take heart, socially responsible suitors: Transfairusa.org helps consumers find chocolates made with responsible labor and eco-friendly practices. Ditto for blooms at OrganicBouquet.com whose CEO, Gerald Prolman, boasts, "Our flowers have a deeper layer of beauty."