Chocolate’s history dates back more than 5,000 years, when the cacao tree was first domesticated in present-day southeast Ecuador, exactly where Rainforest Saver are working. It was then introduced to cultures such as the Maya and the Aztecs where Cacao was considered a gift from the gods and was used as currency, medicine, and in ceremonies.
Spanish conquistadors encountered cacao in 1519 and brought it to Spain, where it was initially used as a medicine. From there, it spread through Europe over the following three centuries, gaining popularity among elites.
By 1524, the Spanish had established control over central Mexico and expanded cacao production using forced labour.
Chocolate arrived in England from France in 1657 around the same time as tea and coffee. From England, chocolate spread to the North American colonies by the late-17th century.
It was only in the 19th century due to technological innovations which transformed chocolate from an elite drink into a solid that it became a widely consumed product and there started the industrialisation of production.
In 1753, Swedish biologist Carl Linnaeus gave cacao its genus name: Theobroma, meaning “food of the gods”. However, we do not eat the delicious sherberty pulp, just the seed. The pulp quickly ferments and cannot be transported. Sadly, this is all just a waste product along with the beautiful pods. Nicola has been looking into ways to increase the value for the farmers by saving the pulp and drying the pods to carve into bowls or packaging.
Quakers were active in chocolate entrepreneurship in the Industrial Revolution, setting up the firms Cadbury and Rowntree. They were teetotallers, and believed chocolate was a good alternative to alcohol.
Dark chocolate then experienced a “popular resurgence interest” by 2009 from public attention around health claims concerning its polyphenolic antioxidants, and raw and organic chocolates were observed to have risen in popularity as of 2018.
As of 2019, the cacao industry was under threat by the emergence of diseases; up to 38% of cacao harvested annually was lost to disease. Sadly droughts, fires and the impact of climate change have also reduced the yields.
From 2023, the industry’s sustainability was threatened by the need for deforesting for more land, poor soil management, persistent poverty and forced labour among cacao farmers, and climate change. And as of 2018, there was “little evidence” that initiatives to reduce child labour had been effective.
Europe is the largest importer of cocoa in the world, and in 2024, globally 25.48 billion tonnes were imported, and the market is valued at between USD $17.2 Billion and $25.48 Billion.
The Effects of Cacao Production
Due to climate change and disease in 2024, the price of cocoa rose steeply from USD $2,000-3,000 per tonne in 2023 to over USD $10,000 per tonne in 2024.
The pressure to expand cacao production and the shift towards hybridised monoculture crops threaten the very ecosystems that sustain life and biodiversity in these regions.
The rapid expansion of monoculture plantations leads to widespread deforestation, particularly in biodiverse regions of Ecuador where environmental degradation is already a critical issue.
Monoculture farming, while initially lucrative, results in a decline in soil health and a decrease in farm biodiversity. Farmers become increasingly reliant on agrochemicals to maintain their crops.
In the last 60 years, cacao production in Ecuador has increased by 644%, primarily in monocultures. Only a minor 13% of cacao production in Ecuador corresponds to combined systems (planted with other food crops), and just 2 to 3% involves agroforestry systems.
This shows why the work of Rainforest Saver is so important, teaching agroforestry to help farmers increase their yields and prevent disease, without having to clear more land and use toxic agrochemicals.
The current situation with cacao in Ecuador is reminiscent of the palm oil boom that occurred a few years ago. Farmers rushed to expand their palm oil plantations, lured by high prices, only to face significant losses when demand dropped and pests and a changing climate devastated their crops.
As consumers, we play a crucial role in shaping the future of the chocolate industry.
In the last few years cacao rituals and ceremonies have started popping up everywhere as people yearn for connection and meaning. Often when wealthy westerners like something, mass consumption follows. We can overlook the way it is produced and the price the farmers are paid, whether agrochemicals are used, how far it has been shipped and the fact that vital rainforests are being cut down.
These ceremonies mix words and practises from different cultures and can lead to cultural appropriation. In England, calling in the four directions with jaguars and hummingbirds (creatures who do not live on these lands), and saying words like aho, which is from the Native American language to many, is not appropriate.
Instead, we need to reclaim our own herbs and sacred medicine, call upon our own species who we share the land with and become aware of our personal demand and the impact it causes.