Chocolate Production, the Facts About Organic Chocolate, Fair Trade Chocolate and More

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Photo By Fotolia/Philetdom
 Organic chocolate means the chocolate is free of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers and GMOs.

This article was reposted with permission from Menuism.

Many chocolate lovers consume and enjoy chocolate without ever thinking about where it comes from or how it was produced. However, there are many issues surrounding the production of chocolate that are important for consumers to be aware of, from the labor used to harvest the cacao to the pesticides used on the trees. Here’s a look at some of the issues surrounding chocolate production and what you can do to ensure you’re buying chocolate with a trouble-free history.

Chocolate Labor Practices & Politics 

Cocoa beans are harvested mainly in developing countries where the political situation can be shaky, to say the least. The Ivory Coast produces 30 to 40 percent of the world’s cacao, and is still one of the worst offenders when it comes to labor practices. Despite the Cocoa Protocol, established in 2001 as an audit system for African governments to help monitor child labor, the country’s civil wars and disputed elections have made it difficult to track the worst offenders. Large chocolate manufacturers such as Hershey’s and Nestle came under fire earlier this year for using cacao from Ivory Coast farms that may employ child labor.

Organic & Raw Chocolate

  • Published on Mar 20, 2013
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