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chocolate saves the rainforest!
It's great for putting smiles on our faces, and to up our 'I'm doing this for my own good' factor, we can buy clever high-antioxidant chocolate that we can eat with a smug look on our faces ...but can it be good for the environment too? Apparently so.
Most of the chocolate that comes from Brazil, a major producer and exporter- and some from other nations - is helping to preserve endangered rainforest, according to a new report. And, the report says, with proper development, "forest chocolate" could rescue one of the world's most crucial and most threatened wildlife areas.
Cutting down the rainforests
Originally, there was 330 million acres of rain forest in eastern Brazil known as Mata Atlantica. After a few hundred years of increasing deforestation there is only 7% of it left, and you know what, it's still being cut away on a daily basis. It's not only the loss of trees that causes problems, but to make things worse, cutting down the trees releases huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere. Rain forest trees and plants store a huge amount of carbon - which is released when they are burnt.
Chocolate is now being seen as the answer. In Eastern Brazil, the thinned forests are replaced with newly planted cacao trees, the source of chocolate. The seeds inside the pods of cacao trees are roasted and fermented to make chocolate.
Newly planted trees and trees in the rain forest envelop cacao trees absorb massive amounts of carbon released into the atmosphere and keep it from getting into the air as carbon dioxide
The chocolate industry used to be big in Brazil, but because of plant disease and low prices, their industry suffered. Farmers instead turned to logging trees or burned forests for farming. But once the soil was used up, they abandoned the lands. Ahnert and others want these abandoned lands converted to farms by planting cacao and other trees to help preserve the forest.
Cabruca farming
One of the farmers, Joao Tavares, a friend of Ahnert, is living proof of this new strategy: Tavares, along with his family, have planted cacao trees on more than 2,200 acres. They employ a method called Cabruca Farming in which they cut down just enough tall rain forest trees and plant cacao trees underneath. The surrounding trees provide shade for the cacao trees (which helps them grow.)
Tavares has been working hard on this for the past 10 years. He said he will help regenerate the forests in the Cabruca area. They don’t produce as much as open farming, but they also face fewer disease problems associated with large-scale farming. Tavares instead focuses on preserving the green rain forests. And since there is a high demand for environmentally grown products, Tavares is able to get a premium price for his crops.
So, what are you waiting for...eat chocolate and do your bit for the rainforests!
