Tag: World Cocoa Foundation

Posted on

The Gates Foundation Discovers Cocoa Farmers

With much fanfare, many news outlets announced the decision by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to donate $23 million to the World Cocoa Foundation. The usual supporters of the WCF have pledged to chip in a similar amount in the form of cash and in-kind contributions bringing the total up to $40 million. That’s a lot of money and more than has been spent on cocoa in West Africa by the industry since the Harkin-Engel protocol was signed in 2001.

Continue reading “The Gates Foundation Discovers Cocoa Farmers”

Posted on

World Cocoa Foundation Announces Sustainability Principles

The World Cocoa Foundation, an entity created by the chocolate industry and cocoa trading companies, announced today its sustainability principles and goals. The foundation was created in 2000 to address farming practices in cocoa producing countries. But I can’t shake the suspicion that its creation was also part of the industry response to the reports of child labor and child slavery on cocoa farms in West Africa. Its practice bears out that suspicion. The WCF does more publicity when it comes to child labor than the International Cocoa Initiative, which was mandated by the Harkin-Engel protocol.

Continue reading “World Cocoa Foundation Announces Sustainability Principles”

Posted on

Sustainable Cocoa

There has been a lot of debate lately over the sustainability of cocoa production. On July 7, CNN.com posted a report that started with the following quote by John Mason of the Nature Conservation Research Council: “I think that in 20 years chocolate will be like caviar.” The report goes on to state that yields (cocoa harvested per hectare) are declining all over West Africa and that the new hybrid cocoa trees planted there contribute to soil degradation.

Continue reading “Sustainable Cocoa”