Organic Chocolate

Organic chocolate is one of the best loved, most scrumptious, heavenly foods you can eat! And many studies are now saying that chocolate can be healthy for you too!

Chocolate is known as "the food of the gods" and in my opinion it is aptly named! Very few foods are as luxurious, sweet and sensuous!

Chocolate is made from cacao beans. Cacao beans grow on trees in the tropics. There are three types of cacao beans used. The most prized, rare, and expensive is the Criollo.

Cacao beans must be harvested from the cacao trees at exactly the right time and then carefully processed into chocolate.

What is Organic Chocolate?

Organic chocolate is made only from ingredients that were produced without the use of pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. In addition when exported fumigants cannot be used to preserve the cocoa during shipping.

What is Fair Trade Chocolate?

There is a dark side to the manufacture of chocolate.

Recently journalists have exposed horrific labour issues related to the growth and harvesting of cacao beans. In some places, in particular the Ivory Coast, children are often primary labourers in the harvesting of cocoa, and many are sold or kidnapped into slavery.

Most main stream chocolate producers use cocoa from the Ivory Coast.

To read more about this please take a look at the following link:

Eat Organic Chocolate and Help Promote Fair Trade

Fair Trade Chocolate is produced using ethical harvest practices which provide the producing countries and the workers involved in the receive fair wages and decent working conditions.

Most Organic Chocolate Is Also Fair Trade Chocolate

Wonderful news is that most organic chocolate is also fair trade chocolate!

As it is usually not sourced on the Ivory Coast, it is not likely to have been produced by child slave labourers.

And in fact many organic chocolate manufacturers have gone one step further to ensure that they buy only from fair trade producers.

What Companies To Buy From

Examples of companies that certify their chocolate as both organic and fair trade are:

Newman’s Own Organics

Rapunzel Pure Organics

Cloud Nine

The Endangered Species Chocolate Company

In addition, although not certified as fair trade there are several other organic chocolate companies who state that they use only cocoa that has not been made using child or slave labor.

Some of these companies include:

Dagoba

Denman Island Chocolate

Omanhene Cocoa Bean Company

Where to Buy Online

One of my favourite online shops is Dagoba Chocolate. They have a gorgeous web site and an excellent online shop. Also check out their sustainability philosophy on the site.

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