Easter: four questions about the ecological and societal impact of chocolate

Solène Leroux with Perrine Brami 8:09 p.m., April 11, 2022, modified at 8:09 p.m., April 11, 2022

Easter is coming, it's time to talk chocolate!

After Christmas, it is at Easter that we eat the most chocolate.

But then, how to choose quality, organic, fair or even 100% French?

The columnist of

,

Perrine Brami, gives us some ways to treat yourself, while respecting the planet.

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Why does chocolate have a strong ecological and social impact?

The cocoa tree is a tree native to South America that only grows in a hot and humid climate, which implies the significant carbon footprint for chocolate.

From growing to harvesting, including processing, transport and packaging, all stages of its production emit greenhouse gases: about five kilos of CO2 for one kilo of chocolate.

70% of these emissions come from cocoa production, because to meet global demand, producers often clear primary forest, especially in West Africa.

Côte d'Ivoire, for example, which is the world's leading exporter of cocoa, has lost 80 to 90% of its forests in 60 years.

Cocoa cultivation also requires a lot of water.

It takes 3,400 liters of water to produce a single bar of chocolate.

Finally, the social impact of chocolate cannot be overlooked.

According to Unicef, 300,000 children work on cocoa farms in West Africa.

Often, producers are paid a pittance.

Can we consume responsibly?

Only on the condition of choosing the right chocolate.

We must first favor labels: the organic label as a priority to guarantee the traceability of the beans, but also fair trade labels such as Max Havelaar or Fairtrade.

Among the most demanding chocolates, we can also count on the Ethiquable brand, which has very strict specifications on the remuneration of producers.

The Alter Eco brand is also committed to replanting trees to reforest cocoa plantations.

They claim nearly 500 trees replanted per year to offset their carbon footprint.

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Independent chocolatiers, the solution?

A good indicator: identify whether your chocolate maker practices

, that is to say from the bean to the bar.

The craftsmen who use this technique work the raw bean to transform it in their workshop.

Do not hesitate to ask the question directly to your chocolatier, about the origin of his beans.

Is French chocolate possible?

Some French chocolatiers are trying the adventure of 100% French chocolate.

This is the case of the Choc-hola brand in Nantes.

Their products are very demanding on quality and they work directly with producers from Mexico and Haiti.

But a few years ago, they tried to make a chocolate with the beans of a cocoa tree planted in the tropical greenhouse of the park located right next to their premises.

A successful experience, even if it only brought back 300 grams of chocolate.

The chocolate of the French, for its part, has a more substantial production, with a tricolor tablet called Cacaorico.

It is made with beans that come from France, Guyana in particular.

A brand that is also fair since it depends on French labor law.

The three founders of this brand ultimately want all their production to be made with cocoa produced in Martinique, Guyana and Reunion.