Cadbury’s were using Fair Trade Cocoa for generations before the phrase was invented.
Cocoa in Ghana is a smallholding crop, with individual farmers having a hectare or two of mixed crops, including cocoa. It is not a plantation crop as it is in Brazil or Ivory Coast. That is why Ghanaian cocoa is of higher quality, and commands a premium on commodity markets. Cadbury’s chocolate in the UK uses 95% Ghanaian cocoa.
The Catholic Orangemen of Togo, p184
A major reason that Ghana is the most stable and successful of Sub-Saharan African countries, is that traditional landholding patterns were not broken up by colonial usurpation. (White men ?” and their cattle ?” died like flies in the climate here. Wheat wilted).
Cocoa farming has for well over a century provided the backbone of a thriving agrarian society in Ghana. That widespread economic base has in turn enabled the continuation of traditional chieftaincy institutions and other indigenous forms of government.
Colonial population displacement is the root cause of many of Africa’s conflicts. In Kenya and Zimbabwe, conflicts we dismiss as tribal or as the result of African bad governance, in fact come down to the long term consequences of tribes displaced from their land by the British, and being forced to settle in other tribes’ territory.
If you don’t understand that, you don’t know Africa. The idea that the land was desolate before whites came, or that African forms of agriculture are unproductive, is nonsense which I tackle in The Catholic Orangemen of Togo.
Displacement to form vast cocoa estates has been part of the cause of conflict in Ivory Coast. The estates are attended with other evils ?” erosion and devastation of soil nutrients caused by monoculture, widespread use of child labour, and the conversion of independent small farmers to landless day labourers. These are but some of the ill effects.
The estates also produce low quality cocoa. It seems a truth in agriculture that over-intensive monoculture produces tasteless food. Most British people realize that Cadbury’s chocolate tastes better, but don’t know why. The answer is in the cocoa.
What Cadbury’s use in the UK is from independent Ghanaian smallholders, and is the equivalent of wines from an ancient small chateau or boutique Californian estate. They pay extra for it, and their willingness to pay extra has been a key part of keeping the Ghanaian small farmer going.
Kraft on the other hand use the mass produced estate cocoa; the equivalent of soulless and tasteless wine from multiple fields and huge stainless steel tanks. They source mostly in Brazil ?” the World’s most tasteless cocoa ?” and Ivory Coast. The bad taste in the mouth from the cocoa is both real and metaphorical. The estates in both countries make massive use of child labour.
It is a fact that Cadbury’s practices in dealing fairly with small African farmers dated back directly to the ethical precepts of their Quaker founders. I had occasion to prepare a report for the British government on the Ghanaian cocoa industry, in response to concerns about the use of child labour on Ivory Coast estates. I visited numerous Ghanaian farmers and Cadbury’s headquarters in the process, and have met Cadbury’s buyers in the field in West Africa over twenty years.
I have no doubt that in order to rack up the return on their vast investment, Kraft will switch to the cheap and nasty cocoa they normally use. This could be the worst thing to hit the Ghanaian rural economy since blackpod disease.
I sympathise entirely with those concerned about the effects in the UK of this takeover ?” just the latest manifestation of the fact that our society knows the price of everything and the value of nothing.
But try to spare a thought for the ill effects in Africa too.
Craig, thanks for this informative post. I knew nothing about how Cadbury’s sourced its cocoa. A couple of questions however: firstly, are you sure Kraft will change things in the way you suggest? “If it ain’t broke don’t fix it” might be a sensible policy with such an iconic brand. Secondly and perhaps more frivolously, if Ghanaian cocoa is such high quality, why is Cadbury’s chocolate so mediocre? To put it another way, where do Belgian chocolateers source their cocoa?
MJ
Takeovers’ changed Terry’s and Rowntree’s sourcing to estate cocoa. I expect you will see the Cadbury’s recipe varied that way by quite large degrees over three years or so.
The best Belgian chocolatiers do use smallholder cocoa. Belgian chocolate is not all good!
Kraft would be daft, to change a successful business in the way that you suggest, but by paying so much they may have already demonstrated how daft they are.
Whilst brand recognition is important, people can taste the difference.
There would be nothing much to stop the now presumably rich management and shareholders of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory resigning en-masse and moving down the road to a new Chocolate Factory in Bourneville or elsewhere, and continuing where they left off under another brand. They could even bring the Charlie’s Flake advert back.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aUTdYsZda8
Tony
Craig Murray,
I suspect you regard the 911 conspiracy nuts who inhabit your site as idiots. I just find it funny that they continue to post here.
In fact, they’re pulling out every thoroughly debunked conspiracy non-factoid from many years ago.
If you think that 911 was not caused by 19 Arab Muslims, you really are an idiot.
And, one more time, I know more than I did before I came here. Thanks, Craig, interesting.
But, “Most British people realize that Cadbury’s chocolate tastes better”, I’m sorry … when I see “Cadbury’s Chocolate” I think Dairy Milk; which I never really liked too much. For me, those dark 70% things taste better. But then again, I’m not most Brits, it’s entirely possible the sales figures would bear you out. (I guess Cadbury’s probably own some of that market too, by now ?)
And again, the Quakers. I knew they had a comparatively honourable history, but not that bit of the detail. But incidentally, I had a local history book out of the library a while back, containing a glorious quote from George Fox (diary ? can’t remember), who felt Impelled to Preach to the Townspeople on their Wickedness, and subsequently found himself obliged to retire in haste to the house of a handy fellow-Quaker sugar merchant when they threw things at him.
Thanks for interesting post. Also means Kraft now own Green & Blacks, which had already been taken over by Cadbury. Alas for Mayan Gold.
Very interesting post, Craig.
I grew up almost-next-door to a Cadbury factory. The brothers used to climb the rear wall and snaffle the “seconds” and broken bits that had been dumped at the back of the building. The factory must have been there since before 1950, because that’s when my parents moved into the area … Sad to see the company go. I felt equally sad (or worse) when Waterford Glass was lost.
I had no idea about the difference in quality, but Eamonn Holmes was reading out ‘tweets’ people sent him this morning, and some were complaining that American chocolate has an after-taste of old socks. I can’t comment on that as I’ve only eaten European chocolate. But it makes your post even more interesting. I imagine the tweeters didn’t have your background information.
The USA is awash with milk from hormone treated cows. Many countries refuse to import it. Recently, I noticed that Cadbury chocolate had a powdery taste, which I presume comes from the use of powdered milk instead of the usual pint and a half of fresh milk. I shall not be buying Cadbury products again.
Fascinating post, learnt a lot, I will try and re-blog this as deserves to be seen by many people.
Cadburys is low quality mass market garbage, with very low real chocolate content.
But is Cadbury’s really chocolate?
http://www.chocolate-history.co.uk/chocolate-war.htm
“Green & Blacks, which had already been taken over by Cadbury”. Thanks, technicolour, I’d been wondering. Hmm, get a bar & read the wrapper, call it research … I agree, that does taste better. Than Dairy Milk. (runs away and hides).
Are you a chocoholic, Richard?
Cadbury’s had promised to keep running Green & Black’s as a separate business. Will that apply to Kraft, I wonder.
‘Ersatz’ is a word which occurs to me when faced with a lot of UK chocolate (but not Mayan Gold:))
“Mayan Gold”
I thought that was a type of marijuana.
Although cocoa farms are called “plantations” in the Ivory Coast they are not very different from cocoa farms in Ghana. They are small family-run farms: the word “plantations” in French doesn’t mean that they are big or owned by companies or foreigners.
There are some big differences though between Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The Ivory Coast has been in a spiral of decline since the structural adjustment programmes of the 1980s. There is very little effective government in the country: this means that there is no Government support to farmers for replanting trees or improving quality, there is no guaranteed price paid to farmers.
“Oops, it is Maya Gold. Still, now the name MJ becomes clear :)”
“Or so I’ve been told” I should have added.
MJ, fancy coming out for a spliff?
Seriously, Craig, will do some more research on Kraft.
OK. No, I mean.
Guano
There are a lot of really big commercial cocoa farms in Ivory Coast – I’ve been there and looked. The majority of Ivory Coast production is not smallholder. That is not to say there are no smallholders.
The major difference between Cadbury and continental chocolate is the proportion of cocoa solids as against cocoa butter used.
It is fashionable with the middle classes to promote cocoa solids and decry cocoa butter. I see no basis for that other than fashion and the desire to be more “sophisticated” by adopting continental style.
Can we not discuss 9/11, and who is or is not mad, on this post please.
Hi Craig, it’s good to have you back. I’ll stop as you’ve asked. I just want a bit of peace from Larry, who is SO aggressive.
Just this post, Craig, or the other three I’m monitoring, too?
sorry folks I just deleted the whole “truthers v conspiraloons” comment spat because I want to keep this one somewhere near its important topic.
That’s the best news I’ve had in weeks. I have a copy for reference.
you are most welcome to carry it on on the other threads
Oh, I’m fed up with the subject, but not as fed up as I am with Larry. He misrepresents everyone.
I certainly wish I had some decent chocolate right now. I have some Cadbury’s cocoa powder; I’ll have to go and make a cuppa.
This is very sad news about Cadbury’s in Ghana. I didn’t even know that they were a good employer there. I used to get Green and Blacks, though I stopped when they started adding dairy products.
yeah but Maya Gold 🙂 is vegan
That “white chocolate”, isn’t that mostly cocoa butter & very little of the solids ? Or have I remembered that wrong ? I just prefer chocolate a bit less sickly.
But, spare a thought for the Ghanaians (?), yes. Are there other buyers, or is Kraft/Cadbury the 900lb gorilla ? What other possibilities are there, if cocoa goes wrong for them ?