How environmentally friendly is your chocolate?

Tropical forests are hubs of biodiversity. The world’s rainforests hold 50% of all known species, forming rich ecosystems brimming with life from orangutans to tree frogs to poinsettias. Their ability to absorb and store carbon make them essential tools in the efforts to slow climate change. 

Several popular products grown or produced in the tropics, including cacao beans, threaten their existence. Cacao, grown in the tropics of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia, is a driving force of deforestation in these regions. Typically grown as a monoculture, where cocoa trees are planted over large areas, these rainforests must be cleared to make space for the crops. 

In 2016, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire produced over half the world’s chocolate supply. From 2001 to 2023, Ghana experienced a 24% loss of its total tree coverage and the Côte d’Ivoire saw a decrease of 26%. With deforestation of this magnitude, the effects of climate change and these forests’ weakened capacity for carbon sequestration threaten not just our chocolate but also wildlife and the environment as a whole. 

Seven products grown or produced in the tropics, including cocoa beans, threaten their existence.

Agroforestry is an agricultural practice that involves planting trees and shrubs in the same plots or fields where crops are growing. This method promotes biodiversity, improves soil quality, enhances resilience to climate change, and often reduces the need for chemicals and pesticides. With these benefits, Agroforestry is sustainable for the people who rely on these crops and the land they use to grow them. 

Agroforestry dates back for generations, but the current standard is to grow monoculture crops where farmers plant trees uniformly over large land areas to produce more cacao in less time. This method strips soil of its nutrients and destroys existing forests to make room for cacao farming, damaging both the natural environment and agricultural fields so that cacao can no longer grow after a few years. Thankfully, the cacao industry is recognizing the problems of  deforestation and biodiversity loss to chocolate production and to the planet as a whole. To become more sustainable, cacao farms are shifting towards agroforestry around the world, rebuilding rainforests to support successful farms and healthy natural habitats. 

Monoculture cacao crops are susceptible to pests and disease. To combat this, it is common practice for farmers to use pesticides in growing cacao beans for chocolate. However, Pesticides and Insecticides pose an environmental hazard through runoff contamination of water, soil and air. Pesticides also adversely affect wildlife when overexposed to these chemicals. Pollinators, fish, birds, nearby plants, and whole ecosystems can experience negative impacts from chemical leakages or excessive use. To avoid these harmful effects, sustainable chocolate minimizes pesticides when growing cacao beans.