» Column:

Buying the right way

By Krissy Tripp

Published Oct. 15, 2010

Ethical buying habits have been a rising trend, which means the use of ethically produced and traded products is becoming a lifestyle.

Whether you’re buying local to reduce emissions and help the economy, buying eco-friendly to help the environment or buying fair trade to promote quality of life for artisans, you’re doing your part for the world. These habits are beneficial for the world, but also yourself. I feel great every time I purchase something from a locally owned business and put it in my reusable bags rather than store plastic.

Imagine my excitement when I found out I would be baking a dish in an effort to help with the Mustard Seed’s Artisan Show and Sell. I made a fair trade-friendly dish — white chocolate blondies with blueberries and macadamia nuts with raspberries.

I copied the recipe from "Divine Heavenly Chocolate Recipes with a Heart," which can be found at Mustard Seed next to all the chocolate. The volunteer who helped me find the recipe said she was making cupcakes using fair trade coffee as an ingredient.

The idea behind these recipes isn’t searching and making sure every single ingredient is ethically produced and traded. It’s about finding ways to incorporate ethical products into every day life, such as food.

For my blondies I used free range eggs, which means the chickens laying the eggs are allowed to move rather than spend their lives sitting on a nest. I also used fair trade white chocolate, meaning the producer was paid promptly and fairly for both his or her time and product. Fair trade also means a premium is paid above market value to ensure community development.

There are plenty of other ways to eat ethically.

Fair trade coffee is one of the easiest examples. I’m willing to assume by the sheer number of coffee shops in Columbia that many readers have a cup or six a day. Simply replacing your regular morning brew with something fair trade, available at a large variety of retailers in Columbia, will help the cause.

For those of you who want to see the results here in your community, buying from local restaurants and grocery stores rather than large chains helps the local economy. According to Time magazine, buying locally keeps twice the money in the community rather than buying from a large chain. It also makes the money circulate more quickly.

Also, with food vendors such as the farmers market and The Root Cellar, the goods aren’t being shipped too far. This means less emissions and a better environment.

As a vegetarian, I’m always telling people (I prefer to think of it as informing rather than preaching) about how large industrial slaughterhouses or industrial farms treat animals. You might not care, but buying from small local farms makes it much more likely the animal was treated well before its death.

It’s not about making a total overhaul of kitchen changes. One ethical buy at a time will lead to a lot of incorporation.