Shade-Grown Chocolate Update

[livingdeb]

(Scroll to the bottom to see final recommendations.)

To grow cocoa conventionally, you hack down some rainforest, grow cocoa on it for three years until the soil is ruined, and then hack down some more rainforest and start again. When I learned this I was appalled, especially considering that cocoa is a luxury item. (What I've seen during today's research is that it actually takes 20 - 25 years to destroy the land. Still, not good.)

Fortunately, I learned that there are ways for me to have chocolate without being an accessory to rainforest destruction, and that is to buy only shade-grown cocoa.

I have never seen cocoa products labelled as shade-grown. However, I've previously learned that the following certifications all require that the cocoa be shade-grown:
* Organic - You can't grow cocoa in the sun without a lot of disallowed additives.
* Rainforest Alliance certified - This is not a big surprise.
* Fairtrade [International] - I thought this was all about treating the workers nicely, but they also require that cocoa be shade grown.

And recent research shows the following additional products:
* Probably Fair Trade Certified [aka Fair Trade USA], which apparently used to be part of Fairtrade International, but has split from them because of differing perspectives how to achieve their common goal, after which they "launched pilot projects to extend certification to groups in the coffee industry who were historically excluded by FLO standards" - wikipedia I think to include co-ops, independent smallholders and farm workers (rather than to weaken the standards) - Fair Trade USA.
* And probably Fair Trade Federation (never seen this), Fair for Life (e.g., Dr. Bronners and Equal Exchange), and Fair Trade America - Ohio Fair Trade Network

So what about UTZ certified foods? I first noticed on a bunch of items at Aldi's, and now it's also on the label of Nestle Artisan Collection single-origin chocolate chips. (I know, Nestle. I wouldn't even have noticed, but there was a big coupon.) The answer seems to be probably yes.

All I could find at UTZ.org was "UTZ promotes the appropriate use of shade trees."

But I also found this: "All four standards [Rainforest Alliance, organic, Fairtrade, and UTZ] uphold labor standards and include measures to reduce the negative impact of primary production on ecosystems. Beyond this, Rainforest Alliance requires maintenance of at least 12 native tree species per hectare, two strata and canopy density of 40% (SAN 2010); organic requires the maintenance of wildlife habitats (IFOAM 2014); Fairtrade requires activities enhancing biodiversity buffer zones (FLO 2011); and UTZ requires at least 12 shade trees per hectare (UTZ 2015a). Fairtrade is the only standard to guarantee minimum prices and premiums to farmers. Organic does not allow the use of synthetic inputs and encourages farmers to implement ecologically sound production practices. Rainforest Alliance and UTZ contain compliance criteria on traceability, while Fairtrade includes provisions on democratic governance of farmer organizations (SAN 2010; FLO 2011)." - Taylor & Francis Online

Yet the actual chocolate that you buy does not have to have been shade grown. "Under the mass balance system, when you buy a volume of UTZ certified cocoa, this gives you ‘credits’ which can be used to sell on a volume of conventional cocoa as UTZ certified." - UTZ.org But then I also learned that "all major international sustainability initiatives use mass balance in one form or another." - (a href = "https://utz.org/what-we-offer/certification/products-we-certify/cocoa/massbalance/">UTZ.org So if you just want to support this practice, this may be good enough. But if you want to also make sure that you, personally, are not eating pesticides or whatever, you may need to stick with organic.

In other news, UTZ is now part of the Rainforest Alliance. Currently the two certifications are running in parallel, but the UTZ label will be phased out gradually. - UTZ.com

What To Look For

In conclusion, when buying chocolate, you can minimize environmental destruction (and maybe even worker poverty) by choosing things with any of the following certifications:
* organic
* Rainforest Alliance certified
* anything that says Fair Trade or Fairtrade
* Fair for Life
* UTZ certified

What I Buy

Chocolate chips are cheaper than chocolate bars, so they are my main staples. I have enjoyed the following:
* Guittard Acoma organic semisweet chocolate chips (12 oz, 55% cacao) (organic) (~$4.00+ at HEB, old favorite)
* Guittard extra dark chocolate chips (12 oz, 63% cacao) (Fair Trade Certified) ($3.18 at HEB) (darker and tastier than above, my current go-to)
* Nestle Artisan Collection Single Origin Extra Dark (10 oz, 61% cacao) (UTZ certified) ($3.28 at HEB) (new, tasty, smaller package)
* Equal Exchange (organic) (pricy, but delicious)

[I did not like Whole Foods organic mini chocolate chips ($3.99). And I was not as impressed with the ingredients in Lily's dark chocolate (9 oz, 55% cacao, stevia-sweetened, Fairtrade, pricy at HEB).]

Cocoa powder is also a staple and I now get Trader Joe's organic Fairtrade cocoa powder. Previously I got whatever was cheapest at Wheatsville Food Coop or, when available, Dagoba at HEB.

But sometimes I want some candy. I have enjoyed:
* Chocolove - they have a couple of candy bars that are organic
* Chocolove almond butter cups ($2.48 at Central Market, not a bargain)
* chocolate covered almonds in the bulk section of Central Market - not organic, but the fine print shows some other kind of shade-grown certification that I no longer remember
* Trader Joe's organic dark chocolate PB&J minis (peanut butter cups with raspberry jelly in there, too) (3.5 oz)
* Trader Joe's dark chocolate baton (other flavors are good, too) (organic, Fairtrade) (1.25 oz, $1)

I also like Trader Joe's organic hot cocoa flavored toaster pastries (they also have fiber in them, but they are seasonal, available right now!)

And I eat chocolate at parties without worrying about where it came from. And I accept store samples. In restaurants I try to remember not to order chocolate, because I assume it's not shade-grown. But sometimes I forget. And sometimes I forget and buy some other chocolaty thing at the store. And sometimes I buy Trader Joe's chocolate babka on purpose anyway, even though it's not polite. Mostly I make my own chocolate things--chocolate chips cookies, chocolate cake and frosting, chocolate syrup, hot chocolate. Ask if you want a recipe.

Comments

[conuly]

Relatedly, shade-grown coffee is also a thing.

[livingdeb]

I haven't researched that since I don't like coffee, but I suspect it's a similar situation.

[conuly]

Yes, but to be super sure the code word you're looking for is "bird friendly". If you want to buy coffee, I mean. It's pricey that way, though - my family goes through a LOT of coffee.

[livingdeb]

Cool, thanks!

Dust bowl and chocolate

[(Anonymous)]

I wonder if the answer instead of the groups you mention is similar to what the US went through to counter the dust bowl. The government got farmers to manage the land better by rotating crops (and more). From the little I've read about cocoa production it sounds like the forest destruction is caused by people going nuts (pun intended) to make the product. So governments in equatorial countries need to make a better effort to regulate the forests. Of course, that would take money and time which governments are loathe to utilize, so who knows?--Jay W

Re: Dust bowl and chocolate

[livingdeb]

I don't think it has to be either/or. Governments can make better laws, and certifying groups can reward better strategies.

I've read about the Dust Bowl, but didn't remember about what happened afterwards. It's always cool to find out that people can figure out and apply ideas that actually work.