Cocoa farming faces significant sustainability challenges. The majority of the world cocoa is grown by cocoa smallholder farmers who earn less than a living wage. Understanding these challenges helps you make informed choices.
Farmer Poverty
An estimated 70% of the world cocoa is produced by farmers living below the poverty line in chocolate. The commodity cocoa price fluctuates wildly and rarely covers the true cost of production. The fair trade chocolate model attempts to address this but the minimum price is still insufficient for many farmers.
Environmental Pressures
Cocoa deforestation is the environmental crisis most directly linked to cocoa farming. Climate change threatens cocoa production itself with rising temperatures reducing suitable growing areas. By 2050 current cocoa growing regions may become less productive. When you want to buy chocolate from makers who take sustainability seriously explore the selection at BuyChocolate.org.
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