4 A
❘
SATURDAY EDITION
❘ NOVEMBER 14, 2015
Siuslaw News
RYAN CRONK , EDITOR
❘ 541-902-3520 ❘
Opinion
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
VIEW FROM UPRIVER
YESTERDAY’S NEWS
Scrubbing my hands
W ESLEY V OTH
For the Siuslaw News
“Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet com-
mit to no labor in its cause? I don’t think so.”
—Mary Oliver, from her poem “What I Have
Learned So Far”
H
ere in my home beside the river, lis-
tening to birds and watching leaves
bud, green, color and fall, some to
become earth, and some to become part of
the river bottom, I do not think about my life
as having anything to do with something like,
say: child slavery and human trafficking in
West Africa.
I have a few indulgences in my life, things
that give me pleasure, make me easier to live
with, maybe help make me more productive.
Coffee is one of those things. It is something
I must consume in moderation, but I make a
huge production out of it. Having lived for a
time on a coffee farm in Hawaii, and know-
ing all the steps from the planting of the seed
to the finished cup, that knowledge is part of
my enjoyment.
EDITOR @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
And knowing the story of the coffee
I drink, where and how and by whom
it is grown, and the fair trade of how
the green coffee beans come to me,
my conscience is clear.
There is, however, another indul-
gence in my life that turns out to be
part of something nefarious, and that is
Dove’s dark chocolate. I like dark chocolate,
liked the taste and texture of these in particu-
lar, liked the moderation of eating two of
these pieces or “promises” each night rather
than dessert. So I focused on this rather than
where that chocolate came from, who profit-
ed from it and who might be exploited in the
process.
Thanks to contacts on social media, I have
wakened up to the child slavery and human
trafficking in the cocoa plantations of West
Africa, where the bulk of big company and
certainly my chocolate comes from.
On the back of the Dove’s packaging is the
statement: “We buy cocoa from Rainforest
Alliance Certified farms, traceable from the
farms into our factory.” What kind of assur-
ance is this supposed to give me, especially
as none of their terms are defined? Dove is
owned by Mars, Incorporated, a company
opposed to mandatory labeling laws, a com-
pany that has paid big money to block my
right to know even whether the sugar it con-
tains comes from beets — and therefore
almost certainly GMO sugar — or cane.
It does not divulge the country or even
continent of origin of the cocoa. When I go to
the website they refer me to, it states “By
2020, will source 100 percent of cocoa from
certified sources,” which sounds a lot like the
language of a new goal to have ended the
worst forms of child slavery and human traf-
ficking that they agreed in 2001 to do by
2008.
I am not opposed to children working; I
did farm labor growing up. But: I was paid,
the farmers were the same social class and
lived in the same quality of house I did. It did
not keep me from going to school. I was not
transported out of my home country by non-
family members and sold. That is what the
big European chocolate companies, but also
Hershey, Nestle, Mars and other U.S. compa-
nies agreed to have no part of by 2008. But
that continues now, according to our own
Department of Labor in reports to Congress
in 2014. The best single site I have found in
researching this, with links to a documentary
film and relevant government reports, is
www.slavefreechocolate.org.
From now on I commit to buy chocolate
from ethical companies; lists are available
online and some such chocolate can be found
locally.
Mary Oliver ends her inspiring poem like
this: “All summations have a beginning, all
effect has a story, all kindness begins with the
sown seed. Thought buds toward radiance. The
gospel of light is the crossroads of — indolence,
or action. Be ignited, or be gone.”
MOMENTS IN TIME
The History Channel
• On Nov. 22, 1718, Edward Teach, also
known as Blackbeard, is killed off North
Carolina’s Outer Banks during a battle with a
British navy force. Believed to be a native of
England, Teach likely began his pirating career
in 1713 on the Queen Anne’s Revenge.
• On Nov. 20, 1923, the U.S. Patent Office
grants Patent No. 1,475,074 to inventor and
newspaperman Garrett Morgan for his three-
position traffic signal. By having a third posi-
tion besides just “Stop” and “Go,” it better reg-
ulated crossing vehicles.
• On Nov. 21, 1916, the Britannic, sister ship
to the Titanic, sinks in the Aegean Sea, killing
30 people. In the wake of the Titanic disaster in
1912, the White Star Line made modifications
in the construction of the Britannic, but an
explosion caused catastrophic damage.
• On Nov. 19, 1969, Brazilian soccer great
Pele scores his 1,000th professional goal in a
game in Rio de Janeiro. It was a major mile-
stone in a legendary career that included three
World Cup championships.
• On Nov. 18, 1978, Peoples Temple founder
Jim Jones leads hundreds of his followers in a
mass murder-suicide at their commune in a
remote part of Guyana. Many of Jones’ follow-
ers willingly ingested a poison-laced punch,
while others were forced to do so at gunpoint.
The final death toll at Jonestown that day was
909; a third of those were children.
• On Nov. 16, 1988, in Pakistan, citizens
vote in their first open election in more than a
decade, choosing as prime minister the populist
candidate Benazir Bhutto, daughter of former
Pakistani leader Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. She was
the first woman leader of a Muslim country in
modern history.
• On Nov. 17, 1998, DaimlerChrysler begins
trading its shares on the New York Stock
Exchange. The company had formed five days
earlier, when the American Chrysler
Corporation merged with the German conglom-
erate Daimler-Benz AG.
(c) 2015 King Features Synd., Inc.
LETTERS
A Veterans Day story
I was attending college in Wisconsin to
become a teacher when World War II started.
Because most of the teachers were men at this
time, they were soon drafted and the country
schools were left without teachers, especially
in the rural communities.
The solution was to put the students (I was
one of them) out in the county schools during
the day to teach and have professors visit them
and do the instructing in the evenings. It
seemed to work out well and I loved having
the freedom to do my own thing in the class-
room.
One afternoon, one of the farmers (who was
also on the school board) arrived at the school
on his manure spreader. He said, “We need
you and the kids to come out to the fields and
help pick milkweed pods. They are needed for
the war.”
For several weeks we spent every afternoon
out in the fields picking milkweed pods. All
we knew was that inside each pod was fluff,
like when a dandelion is finished blooming.
I never knew what they were used for, but at
the age of 89, I was telling the story and my
son-in-law went to his computer and soon
announced, “I know what they were for. They
used the fluff to make flotation devices to use
in the storming at Normandy Beach on June 6,
1944.” So, I guess we were indeed part of the
war effort after all.
For 70 years I never knew that story. Maybe
that’s why I feel part of every Veterans Day
celebration.
Ann (Braun) Koprowicz
Florence
Homegrown service
The Siuslaw Watershed Council (SWC)
would like to give a special thanks to Kelsey
Terry (chef and owner), Jody and Jim Terry,
Jen Nelson and others of the Homegrown Pub.
Without your passion and drive, we would-
n’t have had the level of success that we had
this year at our annual Celebrate Salmon
event. SWC brought in three times the net
profit this year, and a large part of it has to do
with great service, delicious food and the cost
savings Homegrown was able to provide by
being our caterer.
In the past, it had been a struggle to find the
locally grown food that we provide for our
event. Homegrown really helped with the bur-
den this year as they talked to their personal
vendors on our behalf to find us items for the
buffet; much of which was donated.
The feedback this year was excellent. We
heard again and again how delicious the food
was and how much better everything was than
in years past. Homegrown’s menu for us
included lamb, salmon and a gorgeous vege-
tarian chickpea dish with an apple bake for
dessert — all of which was provided by local
farmers and vendors.
Of course there are many people that helped
out with our event. However, the SWC wants
to highlight and give a big thank you to
Homegrown Pub. It was a delight working
with you and we can’t tell you how much we
appreciated everything you did for us. Hope to
work with you next year.
Tom Burke
SWC Treasurer
the editor concerning issues affecting the
Slash burning
and phone number for verification.
I recently saw the despicable results of slash
burning that occurred here over the last few
days. These unhealthy conditions were created
with no regard to the health and safety of our
residents. As I understand it, more burning and
resultant smoky conditions will occur in the
weeks ahead.
Mayor Joe Henry is promoting the City of
Florence as a great place to locate a new busi-
ness or expand an existing business. Would
you even consider moving here given these
conditions? I don’t think so.
Ron Duzy
Florence
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Pres. Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments: 202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Gov. Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, OR 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line 503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email:
Sen.ArnieRoblan@state.or.us
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753/FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
State Rep. Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email:
rep.caddymckeown@state.or.us
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio (4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416/ 800-944-9603
541-269-2609/ 541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan (Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
West Lane County Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email:
Jay.Bozievich@co.lane.or.us