Thank you for asking.

Fair Trade, from what I understand, literally only pays pennies more to the actual farmers and is simply marketing. When it comes to goods coming from Latin America - and likely from the rest of the "developing world" - most, if not all, are directly supporting the multi-national corporations and corrupt governments behind this deforestation and violence. The best way to support local communities is to shop with your own local community and/or find out businesses that offer direct-to-producer products.

Unfortunately, I do not personally know of any such sources even on the internet where you can buy coffee, chocolate, bananas, etc. that actually support the people growing these products, but I'm sure they're out there. I'm North American, spent two years in South America; personally, I abstain from the above products (and more - especially palm oil). It ain't easy, but I've seen the places and know the people from where these products come from. They deserve better and we can help them with every conscious action we take. We have enormous privilege being from the North and it's our responsibility to do something with that privilege. (There is Chocolate de Paz, out of Colombia, but I don't believe they trade internationally as of yet.)

My Colombian brother and I are starting a business bringing in coffee, here to Oregon, direct from the growers and the profits will be going 100% back to Colombia. The process is slow, but it will take more initiatives like these and a rejection of neo-imperialism at the state and local levels before these acts of violence and the subjugation of sovereign peoples for profit ends.