Synthesized Cocoa – Serene’s Synopsis 87
Chocolate is a normal aspect of many consumer’s lives, eaten as a regular sweet treat and purchased on a massive scale for every holiday. Halloween, the best day of the year for the $130 billion chocolate industry is fast approaching, so what better time to expose the mouth-watering treat for its eye-watering impacts.
Almost none of the money made from selling cocoa is sent to farmers– just 6.6%, resulting in many cocoa farmers earning less than a dollar each day (World Economic Forum). The high demand for cocoa but drought of funds means that a cheaper alternative has been selected: child labor. Among the top two cocoa exporters, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, about 1.6 million children are estimated to be involved in cocoa farming (World Economic Forum).
As well as exploiting children, cocoa farming has made a significant impact on deforestation, as farmers are incentivized to destroy natural areas to expand cocoa production. Côte d’Ivoire, the biggest exporter of cocoa, “has lost more than 85% of its forest cover since 1960, mainly due to cocoa farming, according to the government” (Reuters).
Although they probably don’t know, most American consumers have contributed to this illegal farming by buying from the companies that profit from it. Some of the biggest candy companies have made promises to eliminate their dependency on child labor, but have yet to meet their goals. In 2019, representatives of “Hershey, Mars and Nestlé […] could not guarantee that any of their chocolates were produced without child labor (Washington Post).
There are many ways to target this problem, such as calling out brands profiting from child labor and supporting companies with ethical practices. Biotechnology offers another alternative, which eliminates the labor work being done by children altogether and also prevents deforestation.
California Cultured, a company based in Davis, CA, is planning on selling cocoa products made from cell cultures in 2025. By selecting the cocoa pods with the best characteristics, cocoa can be cultured and produced without any manual labor. They produce both cocoa and coffee using large metal canisters that imitate the conditions of their natural environments. This method uses less water and avoids the downsides of typical farming methods including soil depletion and deforestation.
Discovering the profound impacts of consuming chocolate is a reminder that every decision can have unforeseen effects on others, even normal aspects of life. Consumers financially support companies and industries, and therefore have a responsibility to research the consequences of their actions. Whether or not they choose to change their behavior is up to them.
This week, my club had a discussion about genetic engineering as a group. I had briefly read KCRA 3’s article on California Cultured and had a vague understanding of the dark side of the cocoa industry thanks to an episode of the Jordan Harbinger show, which I’ve linked at the very bottom of the post. It’s a fascinating listen if you have the time.
During the meeting, the club ended up touching on how biotechnology can be used to solve issues like child labor, sparking interesting perspectives on how advancing technology can affect developing nations. This conversation really inspired me to do research about this field, and I was appalled by the abuses of the cocoa industry. To read more about the children working for the cocoa industry, I encourage you to read Washington Post’s article, which I’ve also linked below.
Next week, we will be speaking to journalist Joseph Gakpo, who wrote about how important cocoa farming is to Ghana’s economics in 2012. I am interested in what he thinks about biotechnology in cocoa farming and the potential it has for nations like Ghana, especially as a lot of research is being conducted in more wealthy countries. Will these advancements take power away from exporting countries like Ghana, or empower them to be more efficient and produce without employing children?
Truly only time will tell, but our decisions now can affect the end result. Stay tuned to learn with me!
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/11/cocoa-chocolate-supply-chain-business-bar-africa-exports/
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/world-economic-forum/ – World Economic Forum is known for a “mostly factual” reporting
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/reuters/ – Reuters is known for a “very high” factual reporting
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/washington-post/ – Washington Post is known for a “high” factual reporting
https://www.kcra.com/article/west-sacramento-company-crafts-alternative-way-to-grow-cocoa/62027510
https://mediabiasfactcheck.com/kcra-3/ – KCRA 3 is known for a “high” factual reporting
https://www.cacultured.com/how-it-works
789: Chocolate | Skeptical Sunday