Let’s Talk Cocoa and Chocolate

For me, being vegan is about doing the best I can to avoid causing harm, period.  Before proceeding, please let me clarify that my intention is not to sound preachy or to be judgmental.  This is relatively new information for me, and I simply want to pass on a brief summary of the issue as well as some resources I have found helpful. 

By chance I happened across the documentary, Slavery:  A Global Investigation (you can watch it here).  It explores slavery in the carpet industry in Northern India, cocoa in the Ivory Coast (the world’s largest producer of cocoa), and domestic slavery in Britain and the US.  As cocoa products are something I purchase and consume frequently, I found the issue of slavery in the cocoa industry particularly devastating.  The film defines slavery as “people paid no money, locked away, and controlled by violence”.  Unfortunately, this type of treatment is the reality for the majority of people who help produce the world’s chocolate, many of them being children. 

Furthermore, I recently learned that purchasing only Fair Trade Certified cocoa products does not guarantee that child or slave labor was not used (recently, due to evidence of child labor, several West African supplier’s certifications have been revoked).  And choosing not to buy cocoa at all isn’t a good option either as it continues to drive down the price farmers receive, causing further incentive for them to use child or slave labor, and those farmers who are actually paying their workers can’t compete. 

The Food Empowerment Project has done a lot of work trying to educate the public about this issue and find those companies who can actually be sure their cocoa wasn’t produced using slave labor.  At this time, they recommend buying “only fair trade and/or organic chocolate from Latin America”.  You can see the list they made of companies who sell slave-free, vegan chocolate here.  Unfortunately, I have not been able to find a single company selling vegan chocolate chips whose cocoa is supplied by Latin American…which is some serious bull shit.  But hey, if you know of one, speak up.  So instead, I’ve been using chocolate bars, and therefore, chocolate “chunks” in their place.  And, really, chunks kick chips arse any day (bigger bits of chocolate, plus all the irregularly shaped bits are so….rustic!).  **See my recipe for Menage a Trois Cookies.**

Menage a Trois cookies with chocolate chunks

Lastly, I just wanted to offer encouragement to take the time to write to your favorite companies.  Let them know this issue is important to you.  Find out where they stand and either thank them or encourage them to be more vigilant.  My next few posts will include recipes spotlighting cocoa products that are from Latin America and are Fair Trade Certified.

As a side note, I was super bummed when I didn’t see Coconut Bliss, my favorite non-dairy ice cream, on the list so I contacted them and am delighted to say the cocoa they use is from the Dominican Republic.  And, I‘ve created a couple recipes spotlighting their delicious ice cream.  And, I’ll be doing a giveaway for a coupon for a free pint!  Stay tuned.