The Hidden Price of Chocolate

 by Hannah Watts

Approximate 7.3 million tons of chocolate are consumed each year worldwide. But what does this do to the environment and is the over consumption of chocolate contributing to the changing climate?

The production of Cacao (the main component of chocolate) is thought to be a major cause of the destruction of protected forests in West  Africa - particularly Ghana and the Ivory Coast. Satellite maps of these areas showed an almost 90% reduction of forests in Ivory Coast and at least 65% in Ghana. Cacao production has also been identified as a key component in  slavery with an estimated 2 millions farmers in West Africa relying on Cacao for their minimal income (which is estimated to be less than $1 a day). 

Recently, an international team of researchers set out to accurately map the extent of cocoa cultivation in deforested areas using satellite imagery.  In total, the researchers found that Cacao was being grown on more than 1.5m hectares of protected areas, including nearly 14% of Ivory Coast’s protected areas and 5% of Ghana’s. It has been estimated that 70% of illegal deforestation in the Ivory Coast is related to cocoa farming. In some classified forest or forest reserve areas, close to four-fifths of land had been cleared to grow cocoa.

One of the other big environmental issues of growing Cacao, particularly in Ghana, is that the plant is native to South America and so can only be grown in Ghana’s Agro-ecological zone. In this area of land the rainfall is ideal at 1500-2000mm a year and with a dry season of four months. But with a rising demand, large areas of forest have lost the ability to be cultivated. This is due to numerous reasons but overridingly the replacement of old cocoa trees and the abandonment of old cocoa farmlands due to loss of soil fertility, have meant that between 2010 and 2015, 117,240 hectares of forest were cleared. As well as deforestation affecting livelihoods and habits, a 2018 study found that  in the UK, the chocolate industry was responsible for two million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

But not all hope is lost for your Cadbury dairy milk bar. For example, the role of tropical forests in carbon sequestration is gaining attention in the climate discussion and this has contributed to interventions to protect tropical forests. As well as that, increased research has increased investment in providing farming techniques that boost the productivity of existing farms and therefore reducing the incentive to clear more forests.

A solution more accessible to the average person is buying certified cocoa products. Analysis has shown that certification of cocoa production through bodies like the Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade lead to more efficient use of agrochemicals and less severe impacts on biodiversity.

So the next time maybe consider the wider impact of your sweet treat and what you really are paying for.