5 Delicious Fair Trade Snacks That Are Good for You and the Farmers!

Image source: Migle/Flickr

Snacks are our trusty day-to-day companions. They satisfy our midday munchies and midnight cravings. Plus, they are always very easy to get to, whether we like that or not.

What if I told you that there is a way to make your snacks better? If you’re already purchasing non-GMO, vegan, organic snacks then you’re well on your way to providing your body with good nutritional options. But, there is even more you can do—something that goes beyond your well-being and takes the well-being of the planet and others into consideration as well. I’m talking about fair trade products. Perhaps you’ve heard us mention them before with our posts on fair trade grains and rice, baking products, teas and coffee.

If not, we’ll give you the quick low-down on why going fair trade is a great thing.

1. The fair trade mark denotes that farmers receive fair prices for their crops and products, providing a more stable, livable income.

2. GMOs are forbidden under the fair trade mark and farmers are dedicated to using little to no agrochemicals on their crops.

3. Precious environmental areas are protected from agricultural development under the fair trade model including natural water and virgin forests.

4. Farmers are the given tools and training to monitor how their activities affect the surrounding environment in order to see how they can lessen their environmental impact.

5. Producers are allowed to become partners with retailers and wholesalers, increasing democracy in trade dealings and allowing healthy relationships to develop.

Nothing’s better than biting into a tasty snack knowing that the product you’ve purchased is helping you, the environment and those who produced it. Take a stand with what you buy. Say no to conventional snacks packed with potentially harmful ingredients and GMOs. Instead, grab any of these five fair trade snacks and munch happily away all day, every day.

1. Chocolate Covered Brazil Nuts

Satisfy your sweet tooth and your cravings in-between meals with these delicious chocolate covered Brazil nuts from Muccha. The Brazil nuts are covered in raw cocoa and are super rich in protein, which will give you some extra energy when you need it during your long day. Not a big Brazil nut fan? Muccha offers other chocolate covered products to suit your fancy like coffee beans, goldenberries, and sacha inchi seeds.

2. Natural Nectar Dark Chocolate Dream Belgian Cocoa Spread

This might just be a vegan’s new favorite product. It’s 100 percent vegan Belgian cocoa spread (as in 100 percent vegan Nutella!). Plus, it’s made with very few ingredients like cane sugar, canola oil, low fat cocoa powder, soy lecithin and coco butter so you know you’re not eating up any icky, unfamiliar ingredients here.

3. Mavuno Uganda’s Dried Mango

Are you a sucker for dried fruit snacks? Then try out these fair trade 100 percent organic dried mango treats by Mavuno Uganada. Mavuno Uganda was started by a Peace Corps volunteer and works to pay farmers a fair price for their crops to help local rural communities. The mango in this snack pack is harvested by the company’s local Ugandan farm partners.

4. Kopali Organics Pineapple

Another great dried fruit snack comes from Kopali. Their dried pineapple is 100 percent organic and has absolutely no added sugar, sulfates, oil, coloring or flavoring. Try out Kopali’s other fair trade products too like dried mango and goldenberry and chocolate covered coffee beans, banana, mulberry, goji berry, and cocoa nibs.

5. Daily Chef’s Montmorency Tart Cherries

Get a dose of vitamin A with these tart cherries that come straight from a family-owned farm in Michigan. The cherries are sweetened with fair trade sugar from farming families in Latin America, Africa and Asia which makes them all the more delicious!

If you loved these recommendations, you can browse through some more amazing product recommendations here!