Three Pillars of Sustainability - Chocolate by KL Andrews Haney https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma en-us 2018-05-24 19:59:10 UTC 2018-05-24 20:37:20 UTC hello@padlet.com PEOPLE mareding https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma/wish/263475282 Majority of cocoa beans grown in the world are from West Africa, particularly Cote D'Ivoire and Ghana.

Use of child labor to keep up with demand while keeping wages low.

Many farmers are not educated on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and have encountered crops that are long past their useful life.]]> 2018-05-24 20:02:39 UTC https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma/wish/263475282 ENVIRONMENT mareding https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma/wish/263475428 Primary location West Africa, susceptible to climate change (heat and drought), which is not good for cocoa trees.

Instead of using GAP guidelines, such as terracing, pruning, and mulching, farmers overuse fertilizer.

Cocoa trees that are past their useful lives should be replaced with new plants that can take approximately five years to mature.  Instead of planning to replace old trees with low yield, farmers clear more land causing soil erosion and deforestation.

It's difficult to get farmers on board with GAP.  The loss of crops in a transition period equals loss of money for farmers

Deforestation means less land for native wildlife, including primates in Cote D’Ivoire and Ghana.
]]> 2018-05-24 20:03:33 UTC https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma/wish/263475428 MONEY mareding https://padlet.com/mareding/5tis7g6auwma/wish/263475454
Top performers are rewarded by companies, but not much is done to help and educate lower performing farmers.

Because farmers increased crop planting through clearing land instead of cycling out older trees and planting new, an over abundance of cocoa beans meant low demand and low wages for farmers.

Low wages causes a loss of jobs for higher paid workers, and increased use of child labor.

Fair Trade regulations prevent farmers from going below a minimum price per ton of crops.

Consumers should purchase fair trade certified cocoa and chocolate whenever possible.

Most larger corporations have goal to move to all sustainable and fair trade practices by 2020.


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