JS October 31, 2016, Chocolate Crisis...
Transcript of JS October 31, 2016, Chocolate Crisis...
OCTOBER 31, 2016 • JUNIOR.SCHOLASTIC.COM 9
INTERNATIONALAfrica • Economics
CHOCOLATE CRISIS
Imagine if there were no candy bars, peanut butter cups, or chocolate wafers
this Halloween—or ever. As scary as that may sound, it could one day become reality.
BY LAURA ANASTASIA Turn the page to find out why.
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THE WORLD’S APPETITE for
chocolate has reached record
levels. People ate 7.1 million
tons of the sweet stuff in 2015 alone.
We’re consuming chocolate faster
than farmers can grow cocoa. That is
chocolate’s key ingredient. In fact,
while demand is up, supply is down.
Cocoa is a labor- and time-
intensive crop. It is difficult to
cultivate even in the best condi-
tions. And now the cocoa industry in
the West African nations of Côte
d’Ivoire and Ghana—the world’s top
cocoa producers—is facing serious
threats, including diseased crops
and drought. Prospects for cocoa
farmers in these nations are so bleak
that young adults there are aban-
doning cocoa farming altogether.
This has raised concerns over who
will grow cocoa in the future.
To keep the world supplied with
chocolate, Mars, Hershey, Nestlé,
and other leading chocolate compa-
nies recently agreed to invest
$1 billion to improve cocoa farming
practices. Through a plan called
CocoaAction, they are working to
help 300,000 cocoa farmers in Côte
d’Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast)
and Ghana. The companies are
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teaching growers new farming
techniques and providing them
with more modern equipment.
They’re also aiming to improve life
in 1,200 West African communities
where many cocoa farmers live.
The companies hope their efforts
will help cocoa farmers and their
families, and protect one of the
world’s most beloved treats,
explains Tim McCoy. He is a direc-
tor at the World Cocoa Foundation,
the group organizing CocoaAction.
“If those farms in Ivory Coast and
Ghana went away,” McCoy says,
“there would not be enough cocoa
in the world to satisfy the demand
for chocolate.”
Making Chocolate Cocoa is a powder or paste made
from dried, crushed cocoa beans,
the seeds of the cacao (kuh-KOW)
tree. Cacao trees take about five
years to reach peak production.
They grow in countries close to the
equator. That’s an imaginary line
that circles the middle of the globe
where the Earth is at its hottest.
Each tree bears a few dozen fruit-
like pods annually. Each pod holds
up to 50 cocoa beans. It takes about
400 beans to make one pound of
chocolate. So if a tree were to pro-
duce 48 pods, it would only yield up
to six pounds of chocolate per year.
Farmers harvest and dry the
beans, which are then sold to choc-
olate makers. The beans are
cleaned, roasted, and ground into a
paste. Manufacturers mix the paste
with sugar, milk, and other ingredi-
ents to make chocolate.
However, companies are using
cocoa to produce more than just
sweet treats. Today, cocoa is used in
everything from potato chips to
pasta. Some companies even use
10 JUNIOR.SCHOLASTIC.COM • OCTOBER 31, 2016
Workers dry cocoa beans in West Africa.
COCOA AND CHILD LABORAlthough Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana have banned child labor, it remains a problem there. According to a recent study, about 2 million kids worked on cocoa farms in West Africa in 2014.
Child laborers are often forced to put in long hours in dangerous conditions with little or no pay. Cocoa harvesters use machetes to cut pods from cacao trees, then hack them open to get the seeds. A slip of the hand
can lead to serious wounds. Children are injured more often than adults.
CocoaAction is addressing child labor by securing birth certificates and school supplies for kids so they can go back to school. Officials are also helping farmers find other ways of earning income that don’t rely on kids. But experts say more needs to be done, starting with better enforcement of existing child labor laws.
cocoa or chocolate in soaps, lotions,
and toothpaste.
Industry Threats In recent years, demand for choco-
late has increased. That has made
maintaining the world’s cocoa sup-
ply difficult. One reason chocolate
consumption is up is that people in
China and India—the world’s two
most populous countries—are eat-
ing more of it than ever before.
Chocolate was long considered a
luxury in those nations. But as the
economies of both countries have
grown, more people can afford to
buy the sweet stuff.
At the same time, cocoa is a tough
crop to grow. Farmers around the
world, including in West Africa,
Indonesia, Ecuador, and Brazil, face
challenges. In West Africa, many
use outdated planting methods.
They also have little access to fertil-
izer to boost crop production.
Aging trees, which produce fewer
pods, and tree diseases are also
problems. In Côte d’Ivoire and
Ghana, insect-borne and fungal
infections often destroy cacao trees
or limit their production. Many
farmers either don’t have access to
or can’t afford pesticides that might
keep infections at bay.
“Diseases steal about 30 to 40
percent of the crop every year,” esti-
mates Mark Guiltinan. He’s a cacao
expert and biology professor at
Pennsylvania State University.
Weather is also taking a toll.
Much of Africa has been facing its
worst drought in three decades.
Cacao trees need a consistent
amount of rain to thrive. Many
farmers have seen crop production
fall because of a lack of rainfall.
Struggling FarmersCocoa farmers are also suffering.
Some earn as little as 50 cents a day,
even though chocolate is a multi-
billion-dollar industry. Growers
often live in areas with little
infrastructure. That means their
families may lack access to schools
and health care.
In the face of such a grim future,
many young adults are giving up the
family tradition of harvesting cocoa.
Instead, they’re heading to cities in
search of better jobs. The worker
shortage, along with the fact that
many farmers cannot afford to pay
a crew’s wages, has led some to
resort to cheap child labor. (See
“Cocoa and Child Labor,” above.)
If these problems are left unad-
dressed, they could lead to a severe
cocoa shortage—and soaring prices.
The price of cocoa beans has
IF THOSE FARMS . . . WENT AWAY, THERE WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH
COCOA IN THE WORLD TO SATISFY THE DEMAND FOR CHOCOLATE.D
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An 11-year-old boy uses a machete to harvest cocoa pods in Côte d’Ivoire.
Top producer
Top consumer
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NORTHAMERICA
AFRICA
EUROPE
ASIA
AUSTRALIASOUTHAMERICA
ECUADOR
BRAZIL CÔTE D’IVOIRE(IVORY COAST)
GHANA
CAMEROON
INDONESIA
UNITED STATES
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ALASKA
GERMANY
UNITEDKINGDOM
FRANCE
EQUATOR
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ATLANTICOCEAN PACIFIC
OCEAN
PACIFICOCEAN
INDIANOCEAN
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already increased by nearly 40 per-
cent from 2012 to 2016. To offset the
rising costs, some chocolate com-
panies are increasing prices. They’re
also shrinking the size of their candy
bars and may end up adding more
fillings, such as nuts and caramel.
A United FrontWith the CocoaAction plan, the
companies are trying to tackle these
challenges. They recently started
sharing data on their farming prac-
tices and crop yields in an effort to
increase cocoa production.
The partnership has also sent
teams of experts to West Africa to
advise farmers on better ways to
work. In Côte d’Ivoire, Mars is work-
ing to create farming centers where
farmers can obtain the tools and
training to boost their cocoa yields.
In Ghana, Hershey has been tex-
ting farmers with tips, such as the
best time to apply fertilizer. Accord-
ing to McCoy, cell phone use is fairly
widespread there. Texting has been
a successful way to reach farmers.
Still, even if methods improve,
CocoaAction officials warn that
cocoa farming will be sustainable
only if the people who grow the crop
benefit from it. To that end, Nestlé
and other companies are helping to
build better schools in farming
communities. They hope that will
encourage families to stay. Cocoa-
Action members are also working to
change young people’s perceptions
of the cocoa industry.
“Our challenge is to show that if
farmers apply the new agricultural
practices, they can produce greater
amounts of cocoa, and their income
will be much higher,” McCoy says.
“[Then] they will have the resources
to feed their families, to pay school
fees, to improve their houses.”
INTERNATIONAL
Cocoa Around the World This map shows the top cocoa producers and consumers in 2014-15.
Recipe for Success?The CocoaAction plan has shown
some results. Côte d’Ivoire pro-
duced record cocoa crops the past
two growing seasons. The teams in
Ghana hope to achieve the same
success there.
However, even with Côte
d’Ivoire’s increased crop, officials
say both countries are producing
just one-third of their total possible
yield. It’s also unclear whether
CocoaAction’s efforts will convince
younger cocoa farmers to stay.
For now, experts remain optimis-
tic. Guiltinan, the professor from
Pennsylvania, hopes that more peo-
ple will want to plant cacao trees as
farming conditions in West Africa
continue to improve.
Still, don’t expect the price of
chocolate to drop anytime soon.
“These farmers work really hard in
really difficult conditions,” Guilti-
nan says. “We owe it to them to pay
a little bit more.” ◆
1. Côte d’Ivoire 1,979,751 $3,500
2. Ghana 815,710 $4,400
3. Indonesia 358,251 $11,600
4. Cameroon 255,736 $3,200
5. Ecuador 275,577 $10,700
TOP 5 PRODUCERS
COUNTRY
ESTIMATED COCOA
PRODUCED (TONS)
PER CAPITA
GDP*
Top producer
Top consumer
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AFRICA
EUROPE
ASIA
AUSTRALIASOUTHAMERICA
ECUADOR
BRAZIL CÔTE D’IVOIRE(IVORY COAST)
GHANA
CAMEROON
INDONESIA
UNITED STATES
HAWAII
ALASKA
GERMANY
UNITEDKINGDOM
FRANCE
EQUATOR
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ATLANTICOCEAN PACIFIC
OCEAN
PACIFICOCEAN
INDIANOCEAN
OCTOBER 31, 2016 • JUNIOR.SCHOLASTIC.COM 13
1. In which continent are three of the top five cocoa-
producing countries located?
2. Which country consumes the most cocoa?
3. What is the per capita GDP of the world’s biggest
cocoa producer?
4. How many tons of cocoa total were consumed by
the European countries labeled?
5. Which top producers are located along the equator?
6. Which producer has a per capita GDP of $4,400?
7. How many tons of cocoa were consumed by the
top South American cocoa consumer?
8. What is the southernmost top cocoa producer?
9. Which labeled country has a per capita GDP about
five times that of Indonesia?
10. Why might cocoa-producing countries be so poor?
Cite facts from the article to support your answer.
Questions
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Do you think the CocoaAction initiative will improve cocoa farmers’ quality of life? Explain.
YOUR TURN
Watch a video about how chocolate is made at junior.scholastic.com.
1. United States 811,301 $57,200
2. Germany 385,808 $47,500
3. France 248,020 $41,900
4. United Kingdom 242,508 $42,000
5. Brazil 209,439 $15,000
COUNTRY
COCOA CONSUMED
(TONS)
PER CAPITA
GDP*
TOP 5 CONSUMERS
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*GDP stands for gross domestic product; per capita means “per person.” Per capita GDP is the value of all goods and services produced in a country in a year, divided by the population. It often is used as a measure of a nation’s wealth.SOURCES: International Cocoa Organization, data for 2014-15; International Monetary Fund (IMF)