Coco-Zen - Fair Trade Certified Chocolate Truffles

Planet & People: Cocoa Farming

Chocolate
Enjoyed all over the world, chocolate is often referred to as "food of the gods". However, few think about where the chocolate they're enjoying comes from. Few understand the devastating impact modern cocoa farming has on the land and communities from where the majority of the world's consumed cocoa comes. Perhaps we should ask ourselves - "Where does my chocolate come from?"

Our Planet
For the past several decades, cocoa farming has moved away from traditional small-scale farms located in bio-diverse and agrochemical-free forests. In an attempt to increase production, large plantation-style farms have come into prominence. These farms require massive deforestation and heavier applications of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, ultimately harming workers, wildlife, and local water supplies.

By contrast, organic cocoa farms rely on organic fertilizers and natural pest control. In addition, Fair Trade farms are committed to environmental stewardship. Fair Trade farms practice integrated crop management where various kinds of shade and fruit trees are "intercropped" with the cocoa trees, resulting in several different crops growing on the same land. This practice of “intercropping” creates farms that can be as bio-diverse as natural forest ecosystems.

Its People
Much like the garment industry of the past where “sweatshop” labor was very common, cocoa farming has been notorious for unfair labor practices – often guilty of unsafe working conditions, pay that is far below living wages, and worst of all, use of child labor. In fact, the US State Department believes that thousands of child-slaves work on plantations in the cocoa producing regions of West Africa, where a large portion of the world's consumed cocoa comes from. Kidnapped and sold to cocoa farms, these children are forced to cut and process cocoa pods and to apply deadly pesticides and fungicides to trees without protective garments or proper training.

Fair Trade Certified™ cocoa only comes from certified farm cooperatives, organized to economically strengthen their farmers and farm workers through trade rather than aid. Fair Trade certification helps ensure that certified cocoa farmers receive a fair price and that their farm workers enjoy fair labor conditions – a safe working environment, living wages, and a place where child labor is strictly prohibited.

By consuming chocolate made from organic and Fair Trade Certified™ cocoa, all of us can help reduce the devastating impact that modern cocoa farming has on both the environment and human communities.

Together we can help build a fair and more sustainable future.

Additional information on cocoa, cocoa farming, Fair Trade and sustainability can be found on our Resources & Links page.

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