Dollars and Nonsense
For chocolate farmers to make and pay a living wage , I once again had to rely on my daughter Allie , who teaches elementary math in California , for the answer . I paid $ 18 for the 12 little bars , 10 grams each , which makes the cost of ethical chocolate $ 67.20 a pound plus shipping , to be exact ! Thank you , sweetheart !
Left to develop their own economy after the British had mined out their gold , Ghana ’ s many small chocolate farmers were quick to lease their generational chocolate farms and continue to work them for large American and European candy companies . The government of Ghana made deals with these corporations decades ago to keep extremely low caps on the price of exported beans , creating a bleak and barely sustainable life for the farm families . Due to decreased production , these caps on cocoa beans have been increased by 24-40 % across the African Cocoa belt in 2023 , providing a little more economic security to the struggling country .
Child Labor
The second CBS Sunday Morning Special on chocolate in Ghana aired on November 29 , 2023 , headlined : Candy Company Mars uses child labor to harvest the cocoa beans . We watched this one too .
The CBS News crew took live video of children as young as five wielding machetes almost as tall as they were , working on the farms of the U . S . candy company in the sweltering heat , wearing only Crocs and underpants , and not going to school . Meanwhile , Mars pays executives an average of $ 116 per hour , all to bring us our favorite treats , M & Ms , for $ 12.29 a pound on Amazon .
What About Us ?
We eat a lot of infused chocolate in the cannabis industry . The question is , where are we getting our chocolate ? I don ’ t want to eat anything or use any product that engages in child labor , ever . And while Mars may be the biggest candy company in Ghana , it is not the only one .
Because each dispensary is basically a cottage industry selling a multitude of infused chocolate products , it will take an individual commitment from all of us to become label readers and only buy Fair Trade Certified chocolate .
I found a couple of companies advertising Fair Trade . Coast Cannabis out of Massachusetts uses ethically sourced chocolate from Peru , and Oregon-based company Grön became the first company certified with Fair Trade Chocolate way back in 2015 . Go Grön !
The Final Chocolate Myths
There ’ s no such thing as Swiss Chocolate or French Chocolate . The Theobroma tree that produces the chocolate pod is a small tropical tree that grows 12-25 ft high in the shade of other taller Rainforest trees . Over 70 % of all chocolate pods are grown in Africa , with Ghana producing 60 % alone . The rest of the trees are scattered across tropical climates .
Hawaii is the only state that grows chocolate , producing 9 % of the world ’ s chocolate .
I am grateful to the CBS News crew for bringing the back-to-back reports on Ghana . What is at risk are children and chocolate , two things I am very fond of . Hopefully , the knowledge will spark us to change . Maybe we can send the sisters hemp seed to plant
surrounding their cocoa farm ? Perhaps we throw away less e-waste , buy a Fair Phone , quit using disposable vapes , and clean up our acts just a little ? And absolutely quit buying cheap chocolate . If it ’ s less than $ 67.20 a pound , there ’ s likely a kid behind it .
Learn more about 57 Chocolates at https :// 57chocolategh . com or https :// www . facebook . com / 57chocolate .
Dolores Montgomery Halbin , RN , BSN , and Ordained Nurse Minister , resides in SW Missouri . After her husband passed in 2015 , she retired from nursing . She worked with the 2014- 2018 Missouri campaigns for legalized medical marijuana . She continues as a cannabis reform activist volunteering with Canna Convict Project and working toward Federal decriminalization through educational speaking and freelance journalism . Dolores Halbin , doloreshalbin @ gmail . com .
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