The Ecological Dichotomy of Chocolate Production

Sri City: Pollinators are responsible for the very first step of cultivation of the 35% of cash crops which end up on our plates. To put it in perspective, that’s one out of every 3 bites of food we consume. 

However, the recent decades have seen a substantial decline in animal pollinator populations, such as various species of bees, flies, butterflies, moths, bats and many more. Researchers estimated that insufficient pollination results in a global loss of 4.7% of fruit, 3.2% of vegetables, and 4.7% of nuts produced every year, which would’ve either been locally eaten or globally traded. Major anthropogenic threats to pollinators include habitat isolation due to land-use change, clearing of vast lands for monoculture farming and increased pesticide use. 

To preface, crops can be categorised into three major brackets- foods which illustrate zero dependency, partial dependency and lastly, complete dependency on pollinators. One familiar crop to be discerned from the last category is Chocolate.

 Produced from cocoa beans majorly harvested in the countries of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, these are pollinated by Midges, a species of flies belonging to the genus Forcipomyia. Stifling within the neocolonialist grasps of the Global North, these African nations being the largest exporters of Cocoa beans, are forced to clear masses of land solely for the monoculture of these beans. This not only subscribes the country to an endemic cycle of illegal deforestation and unregulated labour but most importantly, simultaneously wipes off pollinator habitats without which the beans can’t even grow in the first place; unveiling an ecological dichotomy driven by anthropogenic antics. 

Cocoa farmers usually clear tropical forests to plant new cocoa trees rather than reusing the same land as it is rendered uncultivable after the previous harvest. As for pollinating conditions and preferable habitats, Midges thrive in the shade and their larvae in damp conditions, such as in rotten wood or composting leaf litter. It takes a great deal of time for the recreation of such an environment naturally; which can’t be replicated by humans to its full capacity within these extremely short periods- between two successive harvests. 

To add to the issue, Cacao trees are not the most efficient reproducers. Estimates conclude that around 1 in 400-500 cocoa flowers will produce fruit, and only 10% to 30% of pods will reach maturity. The rapidly growing demand for chocolate in western markets is the biggest contributor to this dichotomy. Clearing acres of land for the cultivation of Cocoa beans in itself is an irony given that this exact land is the habitat for their pollinators, significantly reducing their populations; directly affecting the final amount of beans harvested. If these pollinators were to cease existing, so would chocolate.