Global Chocolate Investigative Project
Chocolate is a treat many of us take for granted. We often associate it with the holidays and give it as gifts to show affection. It comes in many forms, including desserts and candies. Therefore, it may seem harmless for a consumer to purchase chocolate.
However, how many of us know how chocolate is made? Where does it grow, and how are the employees treated on the farms? Chocolate is produced from the seed of the fruit pod of the cacao tree. It grows best in forest ecosystems near the equator. It originally came from the Amazon region of South America before the Portuguese brought it to West Africa. According to the US Department of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, the West African Countries of Ivory Coast and Ghana now produce nearly 60% of the world’s cocoa yearly. Still, recent estimates found over 1.5 million children in these two countries engaged in work on cocoa farms (dol.gov). Over half of the children reported using sharp tools, burning fields, lifting heavy loads twice their capability, and spraying dangerous chemicals. The hazards of these jobs take a tremendous toll on the children, often for little financial reward.
Although the chocolate industry made about $136 billion in 2020 (zionmarketreserach.com), some cocoa farmers in West Africa are poorer than 50 years ago. Many “sustainability schemes” put forth by companies to address child labor issues and unfair compensation to farmers have done little to improve the conditions of the people on cocoa farms. The plans have been done in the interest of large multinational companies to focus on ensuring a constant supply of cocoa for manufacturers instead of helping farmers create a sustainable and profitable business that is not pressured by market forces to employ children or damage the environment (cnbafrica.com).
West African farmers have often used slash-and-burn farming to replace native forests with cocoa farms. The farmers would produce as much cocoa as they could before this farming method would leave the land infertile. The farmers then moved to fresh forestland to slash, burn, and plant more. The new farms have fewer pests and diseases than older farms. However, this farming practice has led to massive deforestation in West Africa. For example, Ivory Coast has gone from 16 million hectares of forest in 1960, about half the country, to less than 2 million hectares by 2005 (cnbafrica.com). Slash-and-burn agriculture provided higher short-term profits for a few decades, but it is increasingly evident that new practices must replace slash and burn to farm.
Diversification of crops allows farmers to have multiple products to sell. It encourages farmers to make their farms into resilient ecosystems that preserve the soil and protect against pests much more than cocoa monocultures. Farmers can keep a profit from their land over the long term by also growing other crops such as rubber, palm oil, and plantains. When farmers depend on the price of cocoa to see if they make enough to live for the year, they need to be secure and stable. However, the corporations push farmers to continue cocoa monocultures through the additional use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Many of the largest chocolate manufacturers have shown a history of being concerned about their supply of cocoa beans more than the environment or the welfare of the farmers and their families. This strategy may keep producing cocoa for the short term, but it leads to soil depletion and the collapse of the forest ecosystems. Citizens should incentivize farmers to diversify their farms. We, as consumers, should have the option to support diversified cocoa ecosystems instead of cocoa monocultures that often lead to environmental degradation and ethical issues.
Diversification of crops increases biodiversity on the farms, and making compost from food waste will give farmers a natural soil amendment that improves soil fertility. The food waste and scraps from markets and cities are a massive opportunity for making compost fertilizer. Mixing the food waste with plant material in a pile and keeping it aerated produces the compost fertilizer that adds beneficial microorganisms to the soil. The compost makes the soil healthier and the plants more resilient against pests and diseases. In addition, composting will help return nutrients to the earth in a cycle that will help farmers pass on a productive and healthy farm to their kids.
We, as consumers, need to learn more about the conditions of the workers who produce the goods we purchase. It hurts to know that the seemingly innocent consumption of chocolate on Valentine’s Day or Halloween often supports unethical practices on cocoa farms. Fair Trade chocolate helps us see that we support better methods, but consumers must push for all chocolate to be ethically made. Companies that profit from unethical practices often want to hide what happens behind the scenes and sell us the final product. We have to learn more about the business practices that we support. Suppose we are not ok with forest destruction, child labor, unfair wages, and excessive hazards to farmers. In that case, we should reconsider buying the cheapest chocolate for our loved ones and be insecure that we purchase chocolate that aligns with our values.
A Positive Pledge
The Modern Journalism Project is an investigative newsroom based in Kansas City, Missouri, dedicated in 2023 to bringing unique stories to form.
( Story contribution Credit to Matt DeCapo.) Port of San Pedro; Ivory Coast (📸credit maritimafrica.com)
