Chocolate is one of life's greatest pleasures, but for the children working in slavery conditions in cacao fields across West Africa's Ivory Coast, the reality behind it is anything but sweet. Some 70 to 75 percent of the world's cocoa beans are grown on small farms in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast, according to the World Cocoa Foundation and the International Cocoa Initiative . The CNN Freedom Project reports that in the Ivory Coast alone, there are an estimated 200,000 children working the fields, many against their will, to satisfy the world's hunger for chocolate. The average American eats around 11 pounds of chocolate each year, and the weeks leading up to Easter show the second biggest United States sales spike of the year next to Halloween – 71 million pounds according to a 2009 Neilsen report. A recent press release from Kraft claims that worldwide, more consumers purchase chocolate during Easter than any other season. So how does a chocolate lover ensure that the treats filling their family's Easter baskets are not supporting a life of slavery for a child half a world away? Opt for organic Gene Tanski, a supply chain expert and CEO of Demand Foresight says that the most basic way to ensure that you don't purchase chocolate that is made with slave labor is to insist on organic. “There are no organic growing techniques, capability, or much interest in West Africa or the Ivory Coast or Ghana. Most of the trees there were planted about 25 years ago and they're on the downside of their productive life,” Tanski says. “If you're buying organic chocolate or cocoa you're nearly ensured that there is no slave labor involved in the growing or production of that chocolate, and you can track the chain.” Consider the origin Tanski says to pay attention to where the chocolate is grown and produced. Because of measures like the Harkin-Engel Protocol or “Cocoa Protocol” which was enacted in 2001 to enlist companies to voluntarily certify they had stopped the practice of child labor, as well as some of the components of free trade, consumers are starting to be able to track where cocoa comes from. “If it comes from Africa, there is most likely slave labor involved. If it comes from South America or Asia, chances are that there is not. That's not to say there aren't poor conditions, but it's not the slave labor that's highlighted in the CNN report. The tracking is getting better and better all the time,” he adds. Look at the label “You should be looking for chocolate that's a bargain for you, that's delicious for you, and that's good news for people who took part in the production,” Stop the Traffik founder Steve Chalke tells CNN's Richard Quest. He says to look for a Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance symbol on the packaging, because it shows that there was no slavery involved in the production of the bar. Later this year, chocolate consumers will be able to purchase a new version of Hershey's Bliss brand, which will be 100 percent made from Rainforest Alliance-certified farms mostly in Ivory Coast and Ghana, according to a press release from the company . Click to watch video “It'll still make you fat,” Chalke jokes, “But you'll be ethically fat.” Go straight to the source Kristen Hard, the owner of Cacao Atlanta , puts her money where her customers' mouths are and travels to farms in places like Brazil and Venezuela to deal directly with the growers. For her, it's a matter of quality control – both for her product and the lives of her producers. “Whatever you're purchasing is funding something; it's a choice that you're making every day,” she says. “Buying fair trade can benefit the environment and the social status of the farmers. Or, you can do the opposite and promote child labor.” While Hard believes that fair trade is better than the commodity system, with the recent rise in small-scale chocolate production, direct trade is a better solution, and pays off for customers in the form of a better product. She says, “We purchase beans from farmers at a much higher price than commodity, so they can value what they do, stay happy, and not just put food on the table. What we negotiate is quality and a schedule, and all of the things that should be important to a consumer.” Develop a taste Hard knows that people form a passionate bond with the flavor of chocolate early in life, and it's most often the inexpensive and widely available kind. Still, she believes, people will be willing to pay more once they taste the difference. “Once they taste the quality product, they'll understand,” she says. “A lot of times when people are farming a commodity, they'll cut corners because they want to make their money faster and it can can destroy the flavor. But, if this more premium chocolate is not what you're used to, the initial reaction can be, 'Oh, I don't like that.' It's like having fresh juice rather than sugar water. Whatever you grew up with programmed to like, your body is going to say, that's unfamiliar; I don't like it. Once you try it, you'll wonder where it's been your whole life.” More resources for buying ethically produced chocolate Stop the Traffik Slave Free Chocolate Fair Trade Finder App The CNN Freedom Project sent correspondent David McKenzie into the heart of the Ivory Coast – the world’s largest cocoa producer – to investigate what's happening to children working in the fields. Watch an excerpt of “Chocolate's Child Slaves” and see all Freedom Project coverage on the topic . Once you've gotten the goods, try these delicious recipes from iReport's Fair Trade Chocolate Challenge Take Our Poll

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The bitter truth behind the chocolate in your Easter basket

Kate Krader ( @kkrader on Twitter ) is Food & Wine's restaurant editor. When she tells us where to get our grub on, we listen up. I’ve always believed that the day after Halloween is better than the holiday itself – November 1st being the day when all candy left on store shelves goes on half price sale. If you’re not like me, if you’re already getting sick of the candy you stole from your kids, or legitimately trick-or-treated for yourself, here are some smart strategies for unloading those sweets. Smash it up My hero in this world is Christina Tosi from NYC’s Momofuku Milk Bar. And my new favorite all-purpose snack food is her ingenious Snack Mix, combining sugar-coated pretzels with broken-up mini candies like Reese’s or Take 5’s. If you don’t feel like smashing up mini bars, you can alternatively toss in peanut M&M’s. Bake it At my house candy corn disappears; that’s not true at everyone's home. Candy corn haters can thus rejoice in the chocolate chip cookies that Momofuku’s Christina Tosi created (hers include a tasty cornflake crunch). They’re studded with the candy – you can’t really taste them, but they look super fun melted into the cookies. Drink it I won’t suggest that this is any kind of power drink, but Snickers lends themselves quite nicely to milkshakes. If you chop them up and mix them with milk and vanilla ice cream, you’re set. Next I’ll be experimenting with Milky Ways. Donate it If you want to unload candy, and do a good deed, your excess mini 3 Musketeers, Raisinets and Starbursts can find their way to troops overseas. Both Operation Gratitude and Operation Shoebox will send the candy to U.S. troops. Local food banks are generally glad to accept your candy, too. Make a mosaic Maybe you don’t want to be the world’s most charitable candy donor. Perhaps you want to be the person who makes the world’s largest candy mosaic. If so, you’ve got your work cut out for you. The current Guinness world record, set in 2010 in Shanghai, is a 516-square-foot mural comprised of Jelly Belly jelly beans. It weighed in at 1540 pounds. So hopefully you have a lot of leftover candy. More from Food & Wine: America’s Haunted Restaurants and Hotels Best Fried Chicken in the U.S. Turkey Recipes Best Pizza Places in the U.S. Best Burgers in the U.S.

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Candy is dandy, but what to do with the extra?

The first victim on a violent Monday night in the District was a 16-year-old who was walking down Florida Avenue NE at 8:15 p.m. when, he told police, someone in a ski mask hopped out of a green sport-utility vehicle and fired a single shot. Over the next few hours, four more teens were shot, including a 17-year-old on M Street NW in Georgetown at the height of one of the city’s largest Halloween celebrations. None of the shootings was fatal. Read full article > >

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Six shot on violent Halloween night in D.C.

In four separate Halloween night incidents.

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2 Dead, 13 Injured In NOLA Shootings

When “Dancing With the Stars” falls on Halloween night, that means the band is dressed like there’s a zombie apocalypse in the works, and everyone uses more dance-themed puns than usual — even co-host Tom Bergeron makes a crack about “things that go bump and grind in the night.” The show is only 90 minutes tonight, but we’re guessing it will seem much longer. Read full article > >

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‘Dancing With the Stars’ gets scarier on Halloween

By the time the great snowstorm of October 2011 finally ended early Sunday, more than three million customers would find themselves without power.

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October Snowstorm Sows Havoc on Northeastern States

Three masked people who approached a car at a stoplight in the Petworth area of the District of Columbia and yelled “trick or treat” were no innocent Halloween revelers, police said. It was about 7:45 p.m. Saturday when a motorist stopped for a traffic signal at 13th Street and Arkansas Avenue NW, and three people in masks came up to the car, police said. Read full article > >

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“Trick or treat” robbers try to steal car in DC

Three masked people who approached a car at a stoplight in the Petworth area of the District of Columbia and yelled “trick or treat” were no innocent Halloween revelers, police said. It was about 7:45 p.m. Saturday when a motorist stopped for a traffic signal at 13th Street and Arkansas Avenue NW, and three people in masks came up to the car, police said. Read full article > >

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“Trick or treat” robbers try to steal car in DC

YEKATERINBURG, Russia — Last Halloween, the opposition here put together a daring demonstration , portraying Vladimir Putin as Count Dracula and President Dmitry Medvedev as Frankenstein. Lesser officials were turned into a collection of werewolves and mummies, and licking their lips they boiled and drank the people’s blood — in the form of cranberry juice. Read full article > >

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Russia clamps down on opposition before elections

Every week, we round up our list of the best events this weekend . Here are some highlights: Officially, Halloween isn’t until Monday, but two of the area’s best costume contests are this weekend. DC 101’s Eliot in the Morning takes over Clarendon Ballroom for a Monster Bash of rock covers by Junkfood and music spun by DJs. Up for grabs in the costume contest is a $3,000 prize. Read full article > >

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Plan your weekend: Costume contests, ‘Destroyed’

With the holidays looming and the economy still sputtering, we know you’re probably watching every penny. So your friends here at Weekend and the Going Out Guide have come up with 20 things to do that cost zilch, zip, nada. From Halloween spooks and off-the-Mall museums to visit with out-of-towners to zenful breaks from the seasonal bustle, we have you and your wallet covered. Read full article > >

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Going Out Guide: Free events to round out the year

Many of us, though now old enough to scare half the breathing population even without a costume, continue to dress up for Halloween parties, where the primary trick is apparently to prove that you possess the same basic IQ as pastry cream .Some of us will even assume the persona of food or drink for the night. Read full article > >

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Halloween costumes good enough to eat

PERUGIA, Italy — Meredith Kercher would have been 25. The British student would have finished her degree at Leeds University and perhaps been preparing for another Halloween, a day she loved. Instead, her family awaits an appeals verdict expected Monday against former roommate Amanda Knox, of Seattle, who was convicted along with her Italian ex-boyfriend of murdering Kercher in 2007. Read full article > >

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Meredith Kercher’s family remembers beloved daughter as Knox appeal reaches end

NEW YORK — Northeastern states are facing a jack-o’-lantern shortage this Halloween after Hurricane Irene destroyed hundreds of pumpkin patches across the region, farmers say. Wholesale prices have doubled in some places as farmers nurse their surviving pumpkin plants toward a late harvest. Some farmers are trying to buy pumpkins from other regions to cover orders. Read full article > >

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Northeast farmers warn of Halloween pumpkin shortage after rains from Irene devastate crops

We’ve been hearing rumblings for awhile now, but word has come down and it’s now official: Joseph Gordon-Levitt will be playing a major role in The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s third (and final) installment in his Batman trilogy. So will Gordon-Levitt be playing The Riddler or Joker? Nope, according to Variety – and as previously rumored – the Inception actor will tackle the role of gangster Alberto Falcone, aka The Holiday Killer. Falcone is the son of mafia kingpin Carmine Falcone, played by Tom Wilkinson in Batman Begins. Including the character – who made an appearance in the graphic novel The Long Halloween, where he was behind a series of murders committed against other criminals – seems like a good choice as it brings… Read More Read Comments

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt Officially Joins ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ As …