On Giving Up Chocolate

Four weeks ago (three at the time of writing), I gave up chocolate entirely. Being diabetic, I didn’t eat much chocolate anyway, but I always kept some around the house in case of low blood sugar, and I would definitely treat myself to chocolate on the weekends. I also ate probably a bit too much sugar-free chocolate. However, I’ve given it up, and, honestly, things aren’t that bad.

The reasons why I gave up chocolate are two-fold. Firstly, it’s bad for me. I shouldn’t be having any chocolate in the first place, and I do very much need to lose weight. I’ve actually managed to lose weight over the last few months, and part of that is because I’ve been slowly cutting unhealthy foods, as well as exercising more – I do a lot more walking than I used to. Cutting out chocolate was just part of eating healthier. The other reason though is that I watched an episode of Last Week Tonight, and realized that most of the chocolate I’ve been eaten, part of it has been farmed by children.

It turns out that the people who farm cocoa earn absolutely nothing, and children often have to work long, hard hours in order to, well, survive. A difficult and thankless life, while the massive companies that buy the cocoa pay almost nothing for it. Plus, most of the chocolate around here is made by Nestle, who are overall a shitty organization. It seems wrong to buy something where the people making it are children. The same applies to things like cheap clothing, which is often made in sweatshops. While I can’t single-handedly stop things like this, I can at least stop giving them my money. Because of that, I decided I’d just give up chocolate overall, because I can’t tell whether the chocolate I buy comes from reasonable sources or not.

There are chocolate brands that are ethically sourced, but I haven’t been able to find them here in Cyprus. One supermarket used to sell some, but they seem to have stopped selling it. Sure, these chocolates are more expensive, but that’s the price you have to pay if you want to make sure your chocolate isn’t made from cocoa farmed by children. The easier route is to simply stop buying chocolate in general if you can’t find any that is ethically sourced.

Unfortunately though, if you want to be more ethical, then you generally have to pay more. Caged hens are generally treated poorly and live in tiny, cramped spaces. The eggs they produce are generally sold for cheaper, but it’s not nice. Free range hens are better (and generally produce better eggs) but you have to pay for that quality. For me though, that’s like double the price. So I’ve decided to just not buy eggs, except for special occasions.

How do I feel after giving up chocolate? Well, pretty much the same. I haven’t really noticed a change in diet or weight or mood. I just… don’t have chocolate any more. That’s it. Sometimes I do crave it, but I just ignore those cravings and do something else. At least it’s healthier for me, I guess…