New edition of the newsletter!

In the U.K. Save the Bacon stocks up big for the holidays...and now they're willing to share their leftovers. Organic duck, turkey, venison...check it out.

If your holiday gatherings found you a little short on party supplies, now's the time to stock up. Wine Enthusiast is currently running a sale of up to 70% off on holiday accessories and up to 75% on selected glassware.

Beyond wine, if you're looking for some really classy kitchen goods, Sur la Table is also running specials on all kinds of things.

Need to fill those glasses? In the US, Jeriko Estate is offering cases of their 2002 Merlot at 40% off, at $186 plus tax. Contact me if you'd like the tasting notes.

Feature Article: Organic Chocolate

Chocolate. Just the word gets the imagination running and the mouth watering. How fortunate that something so pleasant comes with health benefits in the form of bioflavonoids and antioxidants. But of course this pleasure is double-edged - the fat and sugar prevents us from enjoying this treat as often as we'd like (or it should, in any case!)

Given its downside, it makes sense to choose as wisely as possible when you choose to enjoy chocolate. Make it even more special. Why should organic chocolate be your choice?

The amount of certified organic ingredients in organic chocolate must equal at least 95% of all those used in the production process. As with all organic products, there must be no chemical substances like pesticides, insecticides, or herbicides used on plants and no growth hormones or irradiation in animals. Since chocolate contains both plant- and animal-based ingredients, and additives used on those ingredients ultimately end up in your body, both of these matter. They would also end up in soil, waterways, and even air, so the effects multiply. When you buy certified organic cocoa you can be sure that beans aren't fumigated with methyl bromide, which depletes the ozone layer and is dangerous when inhaled.

Organic farming means also no use of genetically modified ingredients. In the case of cocoa, the beans are cut open and in most cases removed by hand from the open pods, some 400 of which are required for a pound of chocolate. No chemical substances are used during further fermentation and production process. Fine organic chocolate also contains no cocoa-butter vegetable fats or cocoa butter enhancers.

As always, the choice to buy organic affects more than your own body. The producers of organic chocolate care for the environment, encouraging biodiversity of rainforests that are not only the perfect places for raising cocoa plants but also serve as shelter for migratory birds, butterflies and other species.

Much organic chocolate is also fair trade. The world's best regions for growing cocoa, cane sugar and vanilla are Central and South America and Africa. Consider that in Ghana, for example, a cocoa farmer receives about a penny for his contribution to a candy bar that sells for 60 cents. Fair trade chocolate not only creates a market for small farmers in such economically disadvantaged regions. It guarantees both a fair price to the farmers and the assurance that no child or slave labor is used.

Producers of organic chocolate give you more than just that delightful feeling of chocolate melting in your mouth - when you buy it, you do something good for the environment and hard-working Third World farmers.