To say I love candy would be an understatement. I really, really love it, and that means I probably eat more of it than I should. With Halloween less than a week away, candy is definitely at the front of my mind right now. I know that I am not the only one with a sweet tooth. Did you know that demand for chocolate has doubled over the past 20 years, but the supply of cocoa beans has remained the same? Tough economic conditions, poor social conditions for farmers, and lower-yielding crops have put the future of cocoa at chocolate at risk. Can you imagine a Halloween without chocolate? That's a scary thought! Thankfully, Nestlé has a plan in place to help sustainably source the cocoa it uses in many of their famous chocolate candies, through the Nestlé Cocoa Plan.
It is a long road for the cocoa to make it into the tasty chocolate bars we so love to eat. Most of the cocoa production is centered primarily in West Africa, starting out as just a pod on a tree. It takes 400 cocoa beans to make just 1 pound of chocolate, and with the world consuming over 3 million tons of cocoa annually, it's no wonder the supply is dwindling. Since 2009, Nestlé Cocoa Plan has been sourcing sustainable cocoa so that 53 million U.S. households can continue to enjoy their favorite Nestlé chocolates for generations to come.
The Nestlé Cocoa Plan is protecting the future of Cocoa by:
- Training 33,000+ farmers in sustainable farming practices.
- Providing over 1 million disease-resistant, higher-yielding cocoa plantlets to farmers.
- Investing $120 million to improve cocoa sustainability globally.
- Initially source 80 tons of cocoa by the end of 2014.
- Build or refurbish 40 schools in the Ivory Coast for children in cocoa farming communities.
This Halloween, we want to support brands that practice making products with sustainable cocoa, but trying to differentiate between companies who do or do not can be a challenge. The easiest way to tell is by looking on the bag for one of these 4 labels:
- Nestlé Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cups
- Hershey's Bliss
- Dagoba Organic
- Schaffen Berger
- DOVE Dark Chocolate
You can also find sustainable cocoa in other non-candy products as well:
- Hot cocoa, such as Nestlé Hot Cocoa
- Chocolate milk, such as Nestlé Nesquik Ready-to-drink and powder
- Cocoa powder
- Baking Chocolate, like Nestlé Toll House Morsels (Dark and milk chocolate)
If you would like to learn more about sustainable cocoa, you can read more at the Nestlé Cocoa Plan website.
What kind of candy are you passing out this Halloween?
it's great that they are doing this.. I hate to think of a world without chocolate!
ReplyDeleteAi @ Sakura Haruka
Not that I EVER need an excuse to eat a Nestle Crunch, but I had no idea they did all that. Good for Nestle!
ReplyDeleteSure be a winner handing those out
ReplyDeleteisn't Nestle actually quite the opposite - one of the biggest destroyers of nature? But then again, that goes for most of the favourite food brands :)
ReplyDeletePS that legged bowl of yours might run away with those sweets :)
DeleteI'd say I'd kick its butt for running off with my candy, but it doesn't have one and I am sure it would outrun me with that extra leg ;)
DeleteI have a big variety of candy I don't like. Prevents me from eating it.
ReplyDeleteI love that they do this! I always have a different variety of candy, chocolate, lollipops and other non chocolate candy.
ReplyDeleteI used to be a zookeeper and one of the animals I cared for were orangutans. Orangutans are endangered due to deforestation for the harvest of palm oil which can be found in MANY things including candy. I used to all out boycott Nestle because they did not use sustainable palm oil, but since 2012, they have been working on it and are aware and dedicated to not contributing to deforestation. Just thought I'd share that they are a company who is really aware of the environment they use to make their products...sustainable palm oil and sustainable cocoa are very important! :)
ReplyDeleteI am very glad to hear that Nestles is trying to help the farmers learn about sustainable farming--and trying to stop deforestation as well. I love all choclate and can't imagine a world without it--nor do I want to.
ReplyDeleteChocolate + philanthropy = win, win! I will definitely be eating some chocolate this week. Happy Halloween!
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate so Halloween is hard for me. However chocolate and peanut butter together yuck. Now to catch the cute bowl of yours before it takes away the chocolate.
ReplyDeleteThat would be a sad world without chocolate. Love your Halloween dishes. They are awesome.
ReplyDeleteAnything chocolate sounds good to me. I got a bag of mixed chocolate at Costco, and 2 big boxes of Pirate's Booty. I figure I'll give the little kids the Pirate's Booty, and the older kids the candy.
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate and Nestle is one of my favorite treats. Although I don't eat it often it is one of those treats that I eat on special occasions.
ReplyDeleteThat's great that Nestle is doing that. I actually have a ton of Nestle chocolate that we're handing out for Halloween this year.
ReplyDeleteWe're just collecting, not passing out. ;) Grandma and Grandpa come over to answer the doorbell just in case, but no one ever comes, there's no sidewalks here... so we drive to town. I think this year we're switching it up and me and my MIL are taking the kids, while the fellas stay home.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I think grandma and grandpa just come over so grandpa can get candy to take back to his house. ;) He's a smart one... :)
DeleteI love chocolate. I really miss eating it. Oh NO!! Chocolate is at a risk... What a sad World that will be if that happens.
ReplyDelete