Organic Chocolate & Research in Sustainable Cacao Initiatives:

An Environmental Strategy towards Tropical Rainforest Conservation and Economic Development

A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of Bachelor’s of Arts Degree

University of Vermont

Senior Thesis 202

George Pavlovic

Abstract:

The growth of the organic industry has blossomed over the past two decades including the expansion for organic chocolate products.  This thesis examines the way that organic cocoa has coalesced within a broader framework for new initiatives towards sustainable agricultural production in the tropics.  In order to do this it is imperative to understand the connections between historical, economic, geographical, and environmental trends with the production and consumption of chocolate.  Therefore, this literature review incorporates a wide range of information from chocolate’s roots among the native societies of Central and South America, all the way to modern times in the global chocolate industry.  A brief but thorough botanical description is given of the tree in both its wild and cultivated states.  After providing this necessary background, the paper focuses on the marketing of chocolate and important current issues in the field including sustainable and organic initiatives.  These are summarized in the conclusion along with a list of possible sustainable suggestions for the cultivation of organic cacao.

Acknowledgments: 

I would first like to give thanks to God for giving me this wonderful opportunity and for all the people who have helped guide and direct me along the way.  The list of people grows every day, but I would specifically like to thank my parents for all their support and my two elder sisters for their wisdom and love, and all my extended family, without them this would not have been possible.  I owe an enormous amount of gratitude to Doug and Carol Parker of the Navigators program, Father Michael DeForge, and Father Robert Kolakowski of the Catholic Center at UVM, for additional guidance and encouragement.  I would especially like to thank Stephanie Daniels and David Barash for answering my questions about Organic Commodities Products, the organic cocoa industry, and for their interviews and time.  I especially want to thank all the reference librarians at the University of Vermont and the incredibly efficient interlibrary loan service, which literally gave me access to information from around the world.  Lastly, I am grateful for all my advisors: Thomas Hudspeth, of the School of Natural Resources, who suggested the idea on organic chocolate in the first place.  Buddy Tignor in the Plant and Soil Science department, who was an enormous help in the botany of Theobroma cacao section and helped proofread drafts and make sure I got the science right.  And lastly, Fred Schmidt of the College of Agriculture and Life Science who encouraged me to “just get it done”.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Forward……………………………………………………………………………………………………...5

Introduction.................................................................................................................................................................... 8

PART I

The Puzzle of Chocolate: A Historical Overview of Chocolate Including Its Evolution and Contemporary Adaptations

The Birthplace of Chocolate....................................................................................................................................... 18

South America..................................................................................................................................................... 18

Central America................................................................................................................................................... 18

The Entomological Roots of Theobroma Cacao and Chocolate........................................................................... 22

Chocolate Enters Europe Through Spain................................................................................................................. 24

The Industrialization of Chocolate............................................................................................................................ 25

The Perception of Chocolate...................................................................................................................................... 27

The Chemistry of Chocolate....................................................................................................................................... 30

Major Organizations.................................................................................................................................................... 34

Important Terms and Definitions............................................................................................................................... 38

Part II

The Natural History of Theobroma Cacao: A Botanical and Ecological Analysis

Theobroma cacao: A Tropical Tree.......................................................................................................................... 41

The Three Main Varieties of Cacao: Criollo, Forastero, & Trinitario................................................................... 42

Physical Characteristics of Cacao............................................................................................................................. 44

Pathogens of Cacao..................................................................................................................................................... 51

Cultural Practices, Biocontrol, & Trichoderma stromaticum................................................................................. 53

Genetic Diversity & Research in Genetically Modified Cacao.............................................................................. 56

Part III

A Snapshot of Cacao in the Global Marketplace: Production, Distribution, and Consumption

Global Consumption of Cocoa................................................................................................................................... 61

Global Production of Cacao........................................................................................................................................ 64

Historical Shifts in the Market & the Cocoa Cycle................................................................................................. 66

Structure of Cocoa Farms........................................................................................................................................... 69

The Marketing Process............................................................................................................................................... 70

The Value and Price of Cacao.................................................................................................................................... 76

The International Cocoa Agreement & the Cocoa Council................................................................................... 78

A Growing Market for Chocolate and Organic Products....................................................................................... 79

Risks of Organic Market............................................................................................................................................. 82

Organic Commodities Products (OCP): A Case Study of the Wholesale Organic Cocoa Industry................ 83

Part

IV

Major Issues in Cacao Cultivation

Aligning Ethical/Fair Trade Standards and Cocoa Cooperatives......................................................................... 91

The Benefits of Shade Management Systems......................................................................................................... 94

Child Labor in West Africa......................................................................................................................................... 98

Certification and Organic Chocolate....................................................................................................................... 100

Post-Harvest Treatment of Cocoa........................................................................................................................... 101

The Carob Tree – An Alternative to Chocolate.................................................................................................... 103

Government Policies and Perverse Subsidies: The Case of Nigeria................................................................... 104

Byproducts of Cocoa................................................................................................................................................ 106

Secondary Cacao Forests: the Case of Costa Rica, Cameroon, and Ghana...................................................... 110

Studies in Cacao Groves as Suitable Habitat for Tropical & Migratory Bird Species..................................... 111

Part V

Research Methodology

Thesis advisors:......................................................................................................................................................... 116

Budget......................................................................................................................................................................... 116

Major Obstacles......................................................................................................................................................... 117

Final Product............................................................................................................................................................... 118

Conclusion and a Sustainable Suggestion........................................................................................................... 123

Bibliography.......................................................................................................................................................... 130

APPENDICES

   Appendix A:: Review of the Major Fungal Pathogens of Cacao…………………………………..131

   Appendix B:  Imports/Exports of Cocoa.................................................................................................... 141

   Appendix C:  Alternatives to Chemical Fumigation that fit Organic Standards.............................. 143

TABLE OF FIGURES

Table 1: Major Chocolate Manufacturers in the World: Top Five Companies.................................................. 63

Table II:  Production of Cocoa Beans, by Country, Quantity, and as Percentage of total: 1990/91-1999-00. 65

Table III: Daily Prices of Cocoa 1971-2001.......................................................................................................... 77

Table IV: The Aims of Fair Trade.............................................................................................................................. 91

Forward

The story of chocolate usually begins to take shape at an early age in our lives.  I am reminded of my grandparents who would often come visit from former Yugoslavia to the western suburb of Chicago that I grew up in.  In the afternoon, right after school was over, “Baka” (grandmother in Serbo-Croatian), would take my two elder sisters Natasha, Ellen and I down the street to a local Swiss pastry shop that imported chocolate from all over Europe.  She would exchange smiles and small talk with the woman behind the counter while we would wander through the isles wondering what to choose.  We were usually allowed to pick one sweet, whether it was a chocolate bar or candy, and bring it up to the register where Baka would patiently be waiting.  Sometimes she would also stock up on ingredients for her own cooking including the popular Nutella chocolate spreads.  One of my favorite jobs in the kitchen when my grandmother was cooking was to be given an almost empty jar of Nutella and asked to spoon out the remaining bits of chocolate creased at the bottom. 

Many years later, after my first two years in college, with an interest in sustainable agriculture and Central America, I was introduced to work being done with organic chocolate by Tom Hudspeth who referred me to David Barash.  David, who graduated with a degree in Environmental Studies at UVM is a private business consultant and has worked with many socially/ecologically responsible businesses including Ben & Jerry’s over the years.  He also worked with the first and largest distributor of organic cocoa in the United States; a company called Organic Commodities Products (OCP).  OCP maintained extensive networks with organic cocoa farmers throughout Central America, South America, West Africa, and Indonesia, whom they received their beans from.  Though the company is no longer in business, I was able to interview another UVM alumni, Stephanie Daniels, who traveled extensively throughout Central and South America establishing relationships with cocoa farmers and working on research and development for OCP.  Both David and Stephanie were very open and helpful in answering my questions.  They were also helpful in discussing some of the current issues involved with the organic cocoa industry and through their recommendations, I began to pursue potential avenues of research such as fair trade, organic certification, and integrated pest management techniques in production systems. 

While researching these topics, I was also able to attend an inspiring opening of a wonderful museum exhibit: “Chocolate” at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.  The exhibit itself was a remarkable display that took three years in the making and covered all aspects of chocolate from its origins in the rainforests and early cultivation among the Mayans, all the way to Europeans and industrialization.  Coincidentally, an old friend of mine, Mary E. Roland, had been involved with the production of the exhibit for several months as she works with a video production company in Chicago called Machete.  She traveled all around Chicago to different factories to shoot video to use for the visual portion of the exhibit.  I attended the opening with her and while at the museum I was able to talk with many of its coordinators.  I was referred to a diversity of books, contacts, and research being done with cocoa, much of which is incorporated in this paper.  Faith include the work of Allen M. Young, a field naturalist from the Milwaukee Public Museum who has done extensive field research in Costa Rica regarding cacao’s pollinating midges and authored the book The Chocolate Tree: A Natural History of Cacao.  Another area of interest for me was discovering the unique historical ancestry from which chocolate comes from.  The book The True History of Chocolate embodies this experience and some of the highlights from the book including the entomological roots of the word chocolate is summarized in the Historical Overview of Chocolate section.  Other books reviewed include standard texts about cocoa including Cocoa by G.A.R. Wood, incorporated in the marketing dynamics and botanical analysis of chocolate sections.

It is through these types of experiences talking with professionals in the field and the museum exhibition that have molded my interest in chocolate beyond those early days with my grandmother and the Swiss pastry shop.  I am now not only interested in engaging in my still favorite past-time activity of scraping through every last bit of chocolate at the bottom of a jar of Nutella, but am also interested in chocolate’s unique position in world trade, its environmental impacts, and the embryonic organic chocolate market.  It is by bringing current events/issues of organic chocolate up to date that I hope the reader might walk away being a more informed producer or consumer of chocolate. 

Introduction

“Drops of sunlight fall between the cacao tree branches”

Introduction

Chocolate comes from the chocolate tree, scientifically classified as Theobroma cacao, which literally means  “food of the gods cacao”.  In economic terms, it is one of the most important trees grown in the tropics as it provides the fruits that are processed into cocoa, which is currently a multi-billion dollar industry.  Its natural and cultural evolution over time is both fascinating and revealing.  Perhaps most exciting however, is its peculiar botanical characteristics, which have placed chocolate in a unique position among conservation efforts. Growing chocolate organically or using sustainable methods can further protect and promote biological diversity while lowering the amount of potentially hazardous chemicals used on the farm to combat insects and fungal infestations.  In this way, it can become a valuable resource of economic growth while contributing to the biological vitality of the worlds diminishing tropical rainforests.

*          *          *          *          *

The tropical rainforests of the world embody the very essence of beauty and diversity to be found in nature.  Not only do they play a vital role to feed and provide us with countless botanical treasures such as chocolate, but they also are home to countless species of wildlife and contain the secrets of vast medicinal value that many scientists only dream to uncover. Rainforests are also home to a small number of indigenous groups that rely on the forests for their livelihood and fear displacement in the face of economic development and increased deforestation.  The capacity that rainforests have on influencing global and regional climates is also significant as it helps maintain a delicate balance for all life on Earth.  There is therefore a real sense of urgency to protect the vast tropical forests of the world today where between 1950 and 1983 (33 years), the area of forest and woodland in Central America plummeted 38% and 24% in Africa.  It is clear that if this pattern continues, there will hardly be any rainforests left in the world in only a few decades.  The exploitation and conversion of forest resources has often been wasteful and has also placed an enormous stress on the world’s biological diversity for millions of plants, animals, and insects.  It is difficult to analyze the total rate of species extinction because scientists do not know for certain how many species truly exist.  Over 1.5 million species have been classified, but many scientists estimate that there may be 30 or more million species yet to be classified.  Many of the agricultural, medicinal, and scientific value of these species are forever lost.[1] 

Almost all countries within the tropical regions of the world struggle to find a balance between the forces of economic development and the need to protect and manage natural habitat.  One of the main reasons for this loss is due to agricultural practices that require clearing forests for bananas, coffee, sugar, and cattle pastures.  Because natural resources are often times the primary source to maintain economic growth, it becomes a constant push-pull situation between agriculture and biological conservation.[2]  While this is the case, some progress is being made as many countries and global organizations are now looking at ways to revitalize the current state of our rainforests.  Traditional agricultural practices are being reexamined to provide alternatives to negative patterns of resource extraction and placing a focus on resource management and sustainable agriculture techniques. 

The cultivation of organic chocolate is one agricultural practice in particular that is being looked at as an environmental solution to establish a balance between the maintenance of rainforest habitat and economic growth.  This is by in large due to the conditions that the chocolate tree is cultivated in.  Chocolate trees worldwide are often managed in small plots compared to the enormous plantations used to facilitate banana, cattle, and sugar production.  It is a tree that grows best similar to its wild state integrated within the intricate biological web of the forest.  It requires much individual care and attention for successful growth.  The cultivation and harvesting process of cacao are mostly done by hand which means that there is little mechanization and thus little exterior capital needed to begin successfully cultivating cacao.  This is partly what draws in many farmers to choose to grow cacao with its low start up costs and why cacao groves are best managed with only 15 to 50 acres of land.  Large plantations of more than 400 acres do exist but this method of cultivation has proved to be a disaster both for the crop itself and for the environment.  While it exposes the tree and soil to the sun in order to produce higher harvest yields in the short term, in the long term it lowers the trees long-term growth potential and leads to soil erosion and a host of other environmental problems. 

With this in mind, and the fact that it is a major player in the global economy, chocolate is now being seen to have a potentially positive role in the worlds tropical regions.  The Smithsonian Institution was one of the first organizations to acknowledge the importance of this relationship when they organized an international workshop on sustainable cacao cultivation in 1998.  They concluded that cacao produced in the shade plays an important role in tropical conservation and biodiversity.  This in fact is already the case as cacao is mostly grown by 5 to 6 million farmers worldwide who provide for over 85% of the world’s crop and grow cacao within a cabruca (a canopy of shade trees). On the other hand, many non-shaded farms, such as large-scale farms found in West Africa, require a substantial additional input of agricultural chemicals and technical support.  Not only do these agricultural chemicals pose a threat to the environment, they are also excessively expensive.  This caters towards large-scale producers, which further escalates the potential for environmental degradation. 

However, while each year an estimated third of the world’s cocoa crop is lost to different forms of diseases and pests, it is debatable whether those who utilize chemical insecticides and fungicides to combat this loss benefit from them.  The conventional chemical insecticides and fungicides used by farmers that can afford them are notably inefficient in a tropical environment where insect resistance can develop quickly and rainfall will simply wash the fungicides away.  Therefore agricultural research initiatives that examine ecologically sound cultivation techniques (including organic methods) are an important area of research for the future of the chocolate industry and the environment.[3]  The need for alternatives to traditional agricultural practices is also a necessary key to stimulate economic growth and promote biological diversity and forest canopy in the tropics.  This can help secure precious habitat for many of those wise migratory birds that fly far away from New England in the wintertime to the lush and green tropical rainforests of Central and South America.  There is reason for concern however for bird lovers however as much of their habitat has been decimated through the past few decades where:

“The ‘industrial’ paradigm for food production has evolved and achieved wide acceptance over many decades.  This model has farmers trying to grow as much acceptable product, as cheaply as they can, for wholesale markets.  The industrial model keeps farmers anonymous to the consumer, pitted against other farmers economically, and, all too often, at odds with the environment.”[4]

This paradigm and the need for alternative economic growth can be especially seen in the state of Bahía Brazil.  This region is at the very heart of the remaining biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest and is also a major area of cocoa production on a global scale.  The rainforest in this region contains only seven percent of the original Atlantic Coastal range.  Shaded cacao therefore offers an important buffer zone for many species of birds, animals, and countless insects, which allows for them to safely migrate between the remaining pieces of rainforest habitat.  Unfortunately, cacao in this state of Brazil has fallen dramatically and the pressure to cut down the canopy of the rainforest and the shade trees of the cacao groves has grown.  The diminishing cacao trade in this area has therefore not only had an economic impact but also an ecological one.[5]

There is however a new interest in organic production of chocolate in Brazil and other countries in Central and South America to provide a stimulus for economic growth that is also ecologically sound.  Those who specifically choose to grow chocolate organically choose to not use any exterior agricultural additives such as pesticides, fungicides, insecticides, or other chemicals to fight off deadly diseases or pests that may have a considerable effect on the economic output of the crop.  Though the United States Department of Agriculture has recently implemented a nationwide label for organic standards in the USA, there are different standards that exist around the world.  However, they all hold similar limitations as to what constitutes organic farming.  A landmark report on organic farming was introduced to the USDA as early as 1980, defining organic farming as:

“Production systems which avoid or largely exclude the synthetically compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators, and…rely upon crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, green manures, off-farm organic wastes, mechanical cultivation, mineral-bearing rocks, and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients, and to control insects, weeds, and other pests.”[6]

With specific standards for organic certification developed within various organizations, each certification program will provide its own rules that must be followed in both production and processing of cocoa.  When these standards are met, the certification will be awarded to the farm or processor.  This often involves a check of documentation of farm inputs and also unscheduled inspections.[7] 

For organic farmers not being able to combat diseases with heavy doses of chemical inputs, they will generally spend much more time in the fields to clean weeds by hand, and closely monitor the growth of the tree for signs of pests and fungal infections.  They may decide on utilizing various techniques to grow and harvest the tree that fits the criteria of the organic certification such as integrated pest management.  Though each farmer’s motives of why they choose to farm organically may be different, it can be seen as an ecological choice.  The organic cacao farmer must then pay particularly close attention to early signs of infections and once they are identified take care of them before they spread.  Though more of the crop might be lost due to disease, there are benefits.  First, the heavy dependency on agrochemicals all over the world has had serious consequences throughout entire ecosystems, of which we are inextricably linked with, making it an environmental health issue.  Secondly, while having much less of an impact on the environment, organic chocolate production is a growing niche market in the tropics and offers the potential for new avenues of economic growth for many farmers. 

The question whether this new niche product is sustainable has yet to be seen.  The term’s ‘sustainable’ and ‘organic’ agriculture may mean different things to different people.  However, there are specific guidelines that separate these two terms apart even though they are often used intermittently with one another.  To begin with, sustainability is a term that has gained wide spread international acceptance especially within the past decade.  It is a word whose parameters are loosely defined in various settings.  It generally means caring for the needs of future generations in the decisions that we make to fulfill our needs in the present.  It first became widely used among agricultural circles such as the USDA, but the word has spread over to all areas of society.  The two terms “sustainable” and “organic” are used interchangeably as specific organic practices often times overlap with sustainable ones.  Though this is true, to grow chocolate organically does not necessarily merit it a sustainability practice.  It can lead to environmental degradation in its own right.  A farmer can grow cacao totally exposed to the sun on a scale that would have to deem it an unsustainable practice.  It just happens that the philosophy behind organic farming is one that aims to farm in an ecologically sound manner for both the individual and the environment, which helps preserve it for the future.  On the other side of the coin, sustainable cocoa farming may allow for a limited use of chemicals where organic farming strictly opposes this practice.  Therefore though sustainable production works to use ecologically beneficial solutions in many times the same processes involved with organic cultivation, organic cocoa strictly prohibits the use of chemical fertilizers setting these two terms apart.[8]  The evidence presented here is meant to integrate the available research conducted in the major cocoa producing countries in the world from colonial times to the present.  This is done in order to examine the question of whether or not organic chocolate is a sustainable practice will be discussed throughout the remainder of the paper.  Whether it is organic or conventional chocolate, one has to wonder about the long-term sustainability of the chocolate industry as a whole.  With over three million tons of cacao beans are produced every year, one has to wonder if there is a limit to this growth.[9]

PART I

The Puzzle of Chocolate: A Historical Overview of Chocolate Including Its Evolution and Contemporary Adaptations

My friends, stand up!

The princes have become destitute,

I am Nezahualcoyotl,

I am a singer,

head of macaw.

Grasp your flowers and your fan.

With them go out to dance!

You are my child,

You are Yoyontzin.

Take your chocolate,

flower of the cacao tree,

may you drink all of it! Do the dance,

do the song![10]

-Nezahualcoyotl

The Birthplace of Chocolate

There are essentially two birthplaces of chocolate.  The first is tied too to its geological past in South and Central America.  The second involves its journey as a cherished crop among ancient cultures that flourished throughout modern day Mexico and Central America which was expressed so eloquently in the quote by the Aztec poet-king of Texcoco, Nezahualcoyotl. 

                                    *                      *                      *

South America

It is generally believed that the evolutionary roots of the cacao tree came from South America, specifically within the upper Orinoco River region and the Amazon Rainforest.  Though the genus Theobroma dates back several millions of years, Theobroma cacao may be a relatively new species dating back