The Devastating Downside To Harvesting All The Cocoa We Love

Folks around the world with an insatiable sweet tooth gravitate toward ubiquitous chocolate bars to get their fix. But like so many of the items we consume, most of us don’t give a lot of thought to what it takes to supply them.

A steep environmental and humanitarian price

Much of the global cocoa supply comes from two countries: Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. Since the commodity is not common globally, an increased demand requires constant harvesting in the regions where it is still plentiful.

That has a pair of truly detrimental consequences.

First, nearly two million people work tirelessly in these nations to farm cocoa … and their average pay is less than a dollar a day.

Secondly, the quest for more cocoa is one of the major causes of deforestation across the region, leading to environmental issues including warmer temperatures and harsher storms.

Across much of these cocoa-rich regions, nearly half of the available land is already being used to harvest cocoa and natural forests have all but been eradicated.

And even protected areas aren’t safe. In Cote d’Ivoire, nearly 30% of cocoa plantations are located in swaths of land that were previously considered “protected.”

The complex search for a solution

While many environmentalist groups and experts outside of Africa have attempted to suggest ways to protect the forest, those within the cocoa-producing regions often have a different perspective.

After all, such farming is the primary source of income for many of these individuals, and preventing them from working would only exacerbate a tough economic situation for everyone involved.

Even a group of European researchers who have been studying the situation acknowledged: “Clearing natural forests to establish new cocoa farms provides farmers with temporarily fertile land and thus higher yields and more income in the short run.”

Chris Agee May 31st, 2023

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