Paying The Price For Cheap Chocolate

Although I wasn't at all surprised by some of the scenes in the Panorama documentary 'Chocolate The Bitter Truth' (which shone a light on child labour, trafficking and slavery in cocoa farms; particularly on the Ivory Coast) I felt no less uncomfortable and understandably angry. I first started researching cocoa around six years ago and although there were many uncomfortable revelations, I had no idea that children were being abused in this way. My initial concern was with the persistent raping of third world commodities making us richer and them poorer. I became aware of the issues raised in the documentary (and more) much later on and I can tell you, chocolate as a commodity is a tricky, often corrupt and sometimes dangerous business.
For many years I have had personal issues with some of the ethical organisations. In the end, what they do is pretty astonishing and I'd rather they be in effect than not. They do an excellent job of setting a fair base/market rate for the farmers and growers, but, that price is often relatively low and shared between so many people that it makes little difference to the quality of life in the long term. In addition to this, there isn’t an ethically stamped chocolate bar on the market that can genuinely hold itself up as 'fine’ and the same can pretty much be said for organic. What is available lacks in favour and flavour so for the chocolatier like me who wants only to work with ethical, excellent quality chocolate with complexity of flavour, grown and nurtured with care and expertise the options are very slim.
Way back at the start of my research I was shocked to find there were very few ethical chocolate options available to the fine chocolatier (ethical and organic combined much less so) and once it became clear to me that commercial, premium mass-market and a whole lot of seemingly luxury chocolate was all purchased from the same massive corporations throughout Europe I was pretty horrified. Regurgitating the exact same chocolate as all the big supermarkets and high street chocolate shops as my own just wasn't going to cut it for me and in fact I felt the chocolate lover was being conned.
For a short while I was involved with a quite brilliant initiative that aimed to reach and end to a lot of poverty in underdeveloped countries; rich in commodities such as essential oils, cocoa, sugar and spices by building manufacturing plants, providing a plethora of jobs from line workers, administrators, packers and drivers. Imagine how much more money can be kept inside a tiny, impoverished country and how big a positive it would be to suddenly have industry? Not forgetting a peoples sense of pride, achievement, self worth and what that could mean for them in the future. The initiative had big and bold ambitions and admittedly it was an enormous undertaking and in the end could not be sustained, sadly due to lack of funding from the west - which brings me to the real point of this response. The depressing fact is that in the west we bang on about how terrible life is for people in the underdeveloped world, living in such poverty, yet we do very little to help them. If the sugar corporations wanted to manufacture their sugar in Africa they could. If the big chocolate corporations wanted to manufacture their chocolate in Mexico they could. If a worldwide ring of wealthy businessmen wanted to build manufacturing plants in poor countries for local people to run and work at they could but they don't, and the reason why? Because they want to ship the commodities out of the country as quickly and as cost effectively as they can, keeping the manufacturing and employment food chain in their own countries, thus boosting their own pockets and economies.
I ‘choose’ to pay way above the supposedly ethical market rate for my chocolate. I purchase single origin, traceable chocolate from a responsible, artisan producer who visits, works with and buys his beans directly and often exclusively from farmers in Venezuala, Madagascar and Equador. I pay more because the producer pays more. He pays more for the beans because they are superior quality, are grown and fermented properly, because they are traceable and because it is ‘proper’, ‘responsible’ and as far as we’re concerned, the only way.
Kidnapping, trafficking and enslaving children to work in cocoa farms or anywhere else is the most appalling and desperate situation but many third world inhabitants are desperate to survive and they are using any means they can. Sadly, we are responsible. If we continue our thirst for cheap and continue to look away then this horrendous practice will thrive.
Enjoy your chocolate responsibly http://turl.ca/sshg
If you would like to find out more about where to buy real, fine, ethical chocolate please do not hesitate to contact me.