Is chocolate bad for the environment?
As we learned earlier this month, cocoa can only be grown in the area 20 degrees north and south of the equator. This land is also home to some of the world’s most incredible biodiversity– so environmental protection is crucial.
Cocoa production has driven deforestation in West Africa and around the globe. While the problems of living income and child labor are largely present in West Africa, the environmental challenges of the cocoa industry are present everywhere that cocoa is grown.
In West Africa, poverty has driven deforestation. When farmers don’t earn a living income growing cocoa on their land, they may enter national parks and other protected lands to grow more cocoa. This contributes to deforestation, a driver of climate change. It also harms biodiversity as animals lose habitats.
One potential solution is agroforestry. This is a type of land use in which agricultural products, namely cocoa in this case, are grown with other plants and trees. This results in healthier soil and creates habitats for animals. Not to mention, agroforestry mimics how cocoa grows naturally– within a diverse ecosystem.
A potential driver of agroforestry adoption is the Cocoa and Forests Initiative, a partnership between cocoa-growing countries and major chocolate companies to end deforestation and restore forests in cocoa regions. Ivory Coast and Ghana have lost significant portions of their forests over the past twenty years, so protecting and restoring forests is a necessary focus of this initiative.
CFI’s progress has been mixed so far. Mighty Earth lists several successes achieved in the first two years of its work, including reforestation action and a strengthened legal framework through a new Ivorian forest code. However, there are several structural issues that undermine CFI’s work. The initiative doesn’t include several important stakeholders, including farmer groups and non-governmental organizations. It also ignores issues like corruption that contribute to deforestation and other environmental degradation.
Monitoring is crucial to protecting forests. To provide accountability and transparency in this work, Mighty Earth created a Cocoa Accountability Map which shows where cocoa is grown, land cover and protected areas. Check out the map below.
So, is chocolate bad for the environment? The way that most bulk cocoa is currently grown, it certainly is. But with more sustainable farming practices, cocoa trees can be a part of thriving biodiversity wherever it is grown.
To create change in the cocoa industry, we need action from all actors in the industry– including companies. This week on the podcast, we’re talking to Green America, a nonprofit that campaigns companies to create systemic change.
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