Chocolate's Dark Secret
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CHOCOLATE’S DARK SECRET How the Cocoa Industry By Etelle Higonnet, Marisa Bellantonio, Destroys National Parks and Glenn Hurowitz Acknowledgments This report was made possible thanks to the generous support of the Arcus Foundation. We extend our thanks to MapHubs and Planet for their mapping support, and to all the experts who reviewed and helped improve this report. Thanks also to Professor W. Scott McGraw from the Ohio State University and to the Wild Chimpanzee Foundation. Design by Shannon Ryan of Burness. Wild Chimpanzee Foundation Chimpanzee Wild 2 CHOCOLATE’S DARK SECRET hocolate is everywhere. It is the Mighty Earth conducted an in-depth global Cafternoon pick-me-up, the sensual indulgence, the investigation into the cocoa that provides the raw accoutrement to seduction. Lovers gift truffles, material for chocolate. These companies purchase skiers sip on rich hot chocolate, and connoisseurs the cocoa for their chocolate bars from large savor the tiniest, richest bite of single origin agribusiness companies like Olam, Cargill, and dark chocolate. The ancient Aztecs believed that Barry Callebaut, who together control around half chocolate was an aphrodisiac, and the emperor of global cocoa trade. Montezuma was reported to gorge himself on chocolate in advance of his trysts. Most strikingly, the investigation found that for years the world’s major chocolate companies But chocolate is truly a guilty pleasure. Thousands have been buying cocoa grown through the of miles away from the American and European illegal deforestation of national parks and other homes where the majority of the world’s chocolate protected forests, in addition to driving extensive is devoured, lies the denuded landscape of West deforestation outside of protected areas. In the Africa’s Ivory Coast. The nation is the world’s largest world’s two largest cocoa producing countries, producer of cocoa, the raw material for chocolate. Ivory Coast and Ghana, the market created by the As its name suggests, elephants once abundantly chocolate industry has been the primary driver roamed the rainforests of Ivory Coast. Today’s reality behind the destruction of forests. is much different: many of the country’s national parks and conservation lands have been cleared of Many of Ivory Coast’s national parks and protected their forest to make way for cocoa operations to feed areas have been entirely or almost entirely demand from large chocolate companies like Nestlé, cleared of forest and replaced with cocoa growing Cadbury, and Mars. operations. In neighboring Ghana, the situation is Far from its origins in West Africa, chocolate is seen as a luxury good in North America and Europe and is often advertised as a sensual treat. 3 Mighty Earth’s Investigation Mighty Earth’s team visited multiple protected areas inside Ivory Coast and found illegal cocoa production had completely overtaken areas that had previously been covered by forests. Ivory Coast Source: UNEP-WCMC (2017). Protected Area Profile for Côte Mt Tia Classified Mt D’Ivoire from the World Database of Forest Sassandra Protected Areas, July 2017. Available Mt Péko Classified Marahoué National Park at: www.protectedplanet.net National Park Forest Scio Classified Forest Goin Débé Classified Forest Taï National Park similar: according to our analysis, 291,254 acres Fortunately, the world’s largest chocolate of protected areas were cleared between 2001 and companies have begun to publicly acknowledge 2014. In that same time, Ghana lost 7,000 square their responsibility to address deforestation. kilometers of forest, or about 10 percent of its In early 2017, 34 leading chocolate companies entire tree cover; approximately one quarter of joined Prince Charles to pledge that they would that deforestation was connected to the chocolate announce a plan in November 2017 to end industry. Without action, Ghana stands to lose all deforestation in the industry. However, they remaining forests outside its national parks in the provided no details about their plan. It may be next decade. Chimpanzees, elephants, and other premature to be optimistic, as previous cocoa wildlife populations have been decimated by the sustainability initiatives have been too weak to conversion of forests in both countries to cocoa; in produce significant industry-wide results. This Ivory Coast, only 200-400 elephants remain from report shows that the chocolate industry must an original population of hundreds of thousands. immediately end its illegal and destructive practices, remediate past damage, and take Now, the chocolate industry is bringing its concrete action to ensure that its mistakes in unsustainable model of production to new forest Ivory Coast are not repeated. frontiers in other parts of Africa, Latin America and Southeast Asia. 4 CHOCOLATE’S DARK SECRET 1990 Forest Cover in Ivory Coast, 1990–2015 2000 2015 5 Alex Costa for Mighty Earth, 2017 A selection of chocolate from some of the world’s largest chocolate companies including Mars, Hershey’s, Nestlé, Mondelez, Lindt and Ferrero. We found these companies connected to cocoa from sources linked to illegal deforestation. Big Business, Big Impact Chocolate is big business—in 2015 the global world, chocolate is seen as an affordable luxury that market was approximately $100 billion. Each gives ordinary people a taste of sensuous delight at year, the world consumes close to 3 million tons of modest cost. But in West Africa, chocolate is rare chocolate and other cocoa products, and demand and unaffordable to the majority of the population. goes up by 2-5%. Most of the world’s chocolate is Most Ivorian cocoa farmers have never even tried manufactured and consumed in Europe and North chocolate. Nonetheless, it is in West Africa and America, far from the fields in West Africa where the world’s other cocoa producing regions that the majority of cocoa is grown. In the developed chocolate has its biggest impact. The Cocoa Heartland Much of Ivory Coast was densely covered by the highest rates of biodiversity in Africa, with forests when it achieved independence in 1960, thousands of endemic species. However, the making it prime habitat for forest elephants and chocolate industry’s sourcing practices have chimpanzees. Ivory Coast once boasted one of eliminated much of this forest. According to 6 CHOCOLATE’S DARK SECRET Thomas Breuer Thomas Forest elephants. Ivorian government statistics and maps, less than The cumulative impact of the chocolate industry’s 11 percent of the country remains forested, and deforestation has caused Ivorian wildlife less than four percent remains densely forested.1 populations to plummet. Chimpanzees are now found in just a few pockets throughout the nation The cocoa industry in Ivory Coast has not been and are considered an endangered species. The content with landscapes it was able to clear legally; Ohio State study found that 13 of 23 Ivorian in recent years, it has pushed large-scale growing protected areas had lost their entire primate operations into the country’s national parks and populations; in five areas, half the primate species other protected areas. Needless to say, clearing forest had disappeared. Elephants, the country’s national to produce cocoa within protected areas violates symbol—plastered on every ‘Ivoire’ beer bottle Ivorian law. A study conducted by scholars from and ‘Elephants’ soccer team jersey—are on the Ohio State University and several Ivorian academic verge of total disappearance. While poaching is institutions examined 23 protected areas in Ivory a major part of the threat to elephants, cocoa- Coast, and found that seven of them had been almost driven deforestation has pushed elephants into tiny entirely converted to cocoa. More than 90% of the corridors of forest, making them easier for poachers land mass of these protected areas was estimated to to track down and slaughter. Other animals in be covered by cocoa. Ivory Coast are also threatened as they rapidly lose their last habitats, including pygmy hippos, flying squirrels, pangolins, leopards and crocodiles. 1 The Ivorian government’s official submission to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization includes degraded forests in its definition of forest, and reports that 10.6% of the country remains forested. 7 wrangel Mighty Earth, 2017 © Scott McGraw officek_ki Clockwise from left: Skeleton trees, pygmy hippopotamus, crocodile, Olive Colobus. Tracking Cocoa from its Source We traveled to Ivory Coast to see first-hand the and others. And while these three traders were origins of the chocolate consumed around the world, the ones for which we found strong evidence identify which companies are responsible for the confirming their purchases of cocoa from industry’s invasion of the country’s protected areas protected areas, it is likely that other traders and other deforestation, and develop solutions that engage in similar practices.2 can ensure that the cocoa industry can grow without repeating its terrible mistakes. Mighty Earth’s team The investigation found that illegal deforestation visited three protected areas: Goin Débé Forest, Scio for cocoa is an open secret throughout the Forest, and Mt. Péko National Park. In addition, we entire chocolate supply chain. The process of worked with a team that visited Mt. Sassandra Forest, deforestation for cocoa starts with settlers who Tia Forest, and Marahoué National Park, which invade parks and other forested areas. These shared their findings with us. settlers then progressively clear the underbrush of forests by cutting down or burning existing Through the investigation, we found three of the trees. The photos presented here document how world’s largest cocoa traders—Olam, Cargill, and this unsustainable form of cocoa production leaves Barry Callebaut—buying cocoa grown illegally in behind what are known as skeleton forests: trunks protected areas. These traders are responsible denuded of their crowns and leaves that remain in for selling cocoa to the world’s largest chocolate the cocoa monocultures as ghostly reminders of the companies like Mars, Hershey, Mondelez, Ferrero, great forests that once reigned.