down production, increases the question: is the chocolate black gold of the future
They used to say "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." But today science says that along with that apple would be good to eat a small chocolate bar, kind of dark and a little sugar. The chocolate seems to a holy hand: scientific evidence that helps to prevent senility, lowers cholesterol, protects the heart. And what's more, it is very good. Within ten years, therefore, consumption tablets with a high cocoa content has skyrocketed. But cultivation does not take more than the head of the question, now reaching up to 2.8 million tonnes per year (1.2 in Europe alone). In three years, the wholesale price has more than tripled from 17 to 35 dollars a kilo. Last July, the price has reached its so high. And the producers launched a cry of warning: if this continues, within twenty years chocolate will be a real luxury, "such as caviar," and only the rich can afford it.
To complicate the lives of chocoholics (i cioccolato-dipendenti) sono intervenuti componenti ambientali e sociali. Il primo è il fatto che la produzione di cacao è limitata alle zone equatoriali, e in alcune di esse, come l’Indonesia, i cambiamenti climatici hanno reso la coltura sempre più difficile. L’Indonesia è il terzo produttore mondiale. Ma anche nei primi due Paesi produttori, Costa D’Avorio e Ghana, nell’Africa Occidentale, la situazione non è affatto facile: l’albero di cacao richiede moltissima cura, ci impiega almeno tre-cinque anni a produrre, ed è soggetto ad attacchi di parassiti. E gli agricoltori che lo coltivano ci guadagnano si e no 80 centesimi al giorno.
La conseguenza for this is that young people refuse to remain in the lands and flee to the cities or to other forms of farming easier and more profitable, such as palm oil (used for biofuels). In the cocoa fields are the elderly and children.
Meanwhile, the demand for cocoa for dark chocolate (the one that's good) continues to increase. It is expected to increase even more, as the two new giants of the world economy, India and China, they will discover the culinary and medicinal benefits of this ancient product of the earth.
The defense seems to be in the spread of fair trade. In the two African countries are seeing two different developments: Ghana is creating cooperatives that collect about 45 000 farmers, to prevent the exodus and ensure them a dignified life. The Ivory Coast is far from this organization, and experts fear that its production is at risk: his hope is the agreement signed with a major Swiss food company, which has pledged to plant one million new trees over the next due anni.
Nel frattempo, in vari Paesi del sud-America, come l’Ecuador, la produzione di cacao biologico dilaga velocemente. Ma si tratta in genere di piccole aziende ”boutique”, il cui prodotto è limitato e di alta qualità, e quindi costoso. Lo si trova spesso nei negozi più eleganti negli Stati Uniti, venduto in piccole tavolette numerate, come se si trattasse di opere d’arte.
FONTE: Anna Guaita (ilmessaggero.it)