Here’s a purely theoretical question just in time for Valentine’s Day: Would you give up chocolate if you knew it was ethically or environmentally problematic?
Because of course it’s both.
When Kevin and I got engaged (as in, we had a calm discussion and came to a satisfactory mutual agreement for future plans), I sneered at the thought of an engagement ring because of the many issues with gold and diamonds. I barely skipped a beat when I went vegetarian and bid farewell to beef chow fun and bacon. But spending the rest of my life without so much as a chocolate chip cookie? Now that makes me quail a little. Fortunately (or unfortunately), giving up chocolate might not be something we have to choose: some experts predict that climate change will drastically reduce cocoa production in West Africa in the next few decades.
Chocolate is fascinating stuff with a colorful history. A couple of my favorite factoids: cacao pods grow directly out of the trunks of the trees; flowers are pollinated by tiny local midges rather than bees; and chocolate was a beverage centuries before it was a confection. The active ingredient in chocolate, theobromine, has a caffeine-like effect on our bodies. Cacao’s Latin name, theobroma cacao, literally means food of the gods. Well-named, right?
But the story of chocolate today — the innocuous, ubiquitous candy bar — is pretty darn sinister. If you’re in the habit of acting out of ethical or environmental concerns, here are 5 things you never wanted to know about chocolate. You’re welcome.
- The production of chocolate frequently involves child labor, exploitation, and in the worst cases, human trafficking. A 2011 report from Tulane University found more than 1.8 million children in West Africa (which produces 69% of the world’s cocoa) involved in growing cocoa. The process of making chocolate involves so many people and steps that the industry cannot guarantee bean to bar traceability. Hershey’s has even been accused of using forced factory labor in the US. Fair trade is better, but frankly, with monitoring out of sight and out of mind, it’s hard to be 100% sure that any chocolate is slavery-free.
- Growing cacao is responsible for rainforest loss. Unsustainable cacao farming methods have resulted in unproductive land that forces farmers to clear more rainforest. The ironic thing is that cacao grows much better (and quite sustainably) in rainforests — but farming that way just isn’t as productive or profitable and can’t supply consumer demand in developed countries. We are part of the problem because we expect and buy cheap chocolate.
- Cacao farmers often struggle with poverty and poor working conditions while the real profits go to big corporations. One problem with switching to growing cash crops is that farmers destabilize their own food and water supply. Another problem is that kids in farming families that are just barely making it can’t be spared to go to school.
- Chocolate often contains palm oil. So even if the cocoa was fairly traded, the palm oil in your chocolate bar could be responsible for deforestation. The palm oil industry is incredibly dirty. If you didn’t see the recent story about the bounty hunters and the pregnant orangutan, it might just make you a little disgusted at being human.
- Chocolate travels a long way from where it is grown, to where it is processed, and to where it is sold and consumed. Like tea and coffee, it comes with a high carbon footprint. I think we’ve forgotten that all of these things are luxuries.