Women Farmers and Chocolate

Women Farmers and Chocolate

  

 

 

Last night, running out the door, I grabbed a chocolate bar. Ah, instant satisfaction. Chocolate is the solution to a sweet tooth, bad breakup, cake to celebrate a birthday, and more. A box of chocolates even melts hearts all over the country each year on February 14. With Oxfam’s new Behind the Brands Campaign we’re looking at how our favorite companies play a huge part in influencing the food industry. On March 8 for International Women’s Day, we’ll even go a step further and focus on women farmers in the cocoa industry. It all comes down to how some of our favorite cocoa companies like Mars, Mondelez International, and Nestlé are treating the very people who play a central role in growing our chocolate- the farmers.

Women farmers make up the majority of farmers, yet women working in cocoa fields and processing plants suffer substantial discrimination and inequality. Women play an indispensable role in the production of cocoa; they plant and care for young trees, break harvested pods, and are responsible for fermenting and drying cocoa before it is sold to traders.

 

Here’s a surprising fact that shocked me: According to Oxfam, “Additionally, unlike other commodities like soy and tea which are typically grown on huge plantations, 90 percent of cocoa is grown by small-scale farmers who work 5 hectares or less of land.”2

 

And while women increasingly occupy positions of power in food and beverage company headquarters, women working in company supply chains in developing countries continue to be denied similar advances in wealth, status or opportunity. We also know, that despite a worldwide recession, food and beverage companies are enjoying unprecedented success in selling chocolate to consumers across the globe1 In a 100 billion dollar industry, most cocoa farmers make less than 2 dollars a day. 

 

 

 

So what do we do?

 

These “big brands” are called big for a reason. They have a great deal of influence on our supply chain, but consumers have just as much of a say in the process. After all, we’re the ones who buy the products. Looking at the history of Nestlé, consumers have helped transform business practices since the 1970’s (I’m specifically pointing to the baby milk issue). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nestl%C3%A9_boycott

 

Today, some 40 years later, consumers are taking action again. This time, you don’t even have to boycott your favorite brands. Signing with Oxfam makes your voice heard. We’re at 11939 signatures and by the time you finishing reading this, that number will have gone up. Those numbers reflect people who want to change business practices among the Big Brands. Those practices are reflected in Oxfam America’s score card on the top ten food companies. Issues like transparency, women, workers, farmers, and land were studied in-depth for 18 months. As companies change their policies, so will the score card. Corporations are responding and you can keep up-to-date on their changes: http://www.behindthebrands.org/en-us/scorecard

When I made the mad dash out the door with my chocolate, I hadn't given much thought to the farmer and many others who helped with the cultivation process. The idea that we are all interrelated isn’t a new one. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives a beautiful sermon on the subject in 1967:

 

“Did you ever stop to think that you can't leave for your job in the morning without being dependent on most of the world? You get up in the morning and go to the bathroom and reach over for the sponge, and that's handed to you by a Pacific islander. You reach for a bar of soap, and that's given to you at the hands of a Frenchman. And then you go into the kitchen to drink your coffee for the morning, and that's poured into your cup by a South American. And maybe you want tea: that's poured into your cup by a Chinese. Or maybe you're desirous of having cocoa for breakfast, and that's poured into your cup by a West African. And then you reach over for your toast, and that's given to you at the hands of an English-speaking farmer, not to mention the baker. And before you finish eating breakfast in the morning, you've depended on more than half of the world. This is the way our universe is structured, this is its interrelated quality.”

 

Thinking and learning about where our food comes from can have a tremendous impact. Next time you indulge in a chocolate bar think about who’s growing it. Since you’ve gotten to the end of this post though, go a step further and sign with others from around the world and make your voice heard. Tell the top three chocolate companies that the women who grow and pick cocoa deserve better: http://www.behindthebrands.org/en-us

 

 

 

Oh, and if you’re in Albuquerque on Friday, March 8 we’ve got some suprises in store on how to celebrate International Women’s Day. Email newmexico@oxfamactioncorps.org for more information!  

Happy International Women's Day from New Mexico Oxfam Action Corps  

 

 

[1] KPMG. “Food and Beverage Industry Outlook Survey” 2012. Found at http://www.kpmg.com/US/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/food-and-beverage-industry-outlook-survey-2012.pdf

2 http://worldcocoafoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/Cocoa-Market-Update-as-of-3.20.2012.pdf

Note: some information in this article taken from Oxfam reports

 

 

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By Kalen Olson