Organic Chocolate

Since the ancient Mayans first started sipping it up with chili, the world has been cacao crazy, and you can now get it prepared almost any way and find a range of goods--t-shirts, mugs, greeting cards and calendars--to proclaim your love of the melty morsel. Americans consume half of the world's production of cocoa on their own (though our 12 pounds annually per capita pales in comparison to the Swiss, who savor about 21 pounds), and it's no wonder since chocolate gets us through long afternoons at the office, has settled its fair share of arguments when presented as a token of apology, and is even associated with a range of health benefits (from boosting antioxidant levels to preventing heart attacks). But underneath all the sweet stuff sit facts that are truly bitter.

Chocolate, in its conventional creation, actually hurts the planet in a plethora of ways: Increased demand is resulting in rain forest deforestation, hearty amounts of pesticides are now being used to sustain cacao crops that must be grown in non-traditional settings, and child slaves are being enlisted to work under beyond bad conditions on cacao plantations.

If you're wondering if the negatives of chocolate production are an issue in the bar of chocolate you might pick up from the supermarket or just how high a price you would have to pay to switch to a better breed of chocolate, we're here to help. We compared conventional chocolate to fair-trade organic chocolate and here's what you need to know.

Sometimes the greener choice is simple. Other times, it might not work for you.

Conventional Chocolate

Fair-Trade Organic Chocolate

Do the math

A 12 ounce box of assorted conventional chocolates from one of the major chocolate companies = about $14.99

Organic/Fair Trade Chocolate Bar = $3.50 (not including shipping)

Pros

Chocolate is not only always in the plan, sometimes it's an addition to the grocery cart as you check out or a last minute gift for a friend; being able to grab a gift box at your major shopping center is unarguably convenient. It's also cheaper, in this case a savings of $24.96, a figure that, on its own, may be enough to keep conventional chocolate as the top choice for some cravers.

Not only do these handmade chocolates look--and taste--amazing, they're also eco-friendly extravagances. Since they're certified both organic and fair trade, you're passing on pesticides and can take comfort in knowing that your chocolate was crafted under admirable working conditions. Skipping the traditional dark, milk and white (a fake chocolate that true lovers will always ignore), the Life is Sweet chocolates come in flavors like Peach Blossom, Ethiopian Coffee and Spicy Ginger Mate, each looking as much like art work as edible goods and packaged inside recyclable and biodegradable packaging. As the icing on the cake--or, in this case, the ganache on the creamy chocolate filling--a portion of each sale goes to support a range of worldwide non-profits.

Cons

Once you start to hear more of the facts about the chocolate industry, you may feel like you're opening up a box of world woes instead of a sampling of sweet treats. You see, once upon a time chocolate was a sustainable crop, but when demand increased farmers had to expand out of the shady rain forest areas cacao likes to grow in and into full-sun fields, where it grows faster (but not as well). This meant cutting down swaths of rain forest and increasing the amount of pesticides used to stave off critters--cacao crops grown this way come in second only to cotton for the amount of pesticides used. In these chocolate fields, the situation couldn't be farther than the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory ideas some of us might have. Young children are brought in to work 12-14 hours a day for no pay, little food or sleep and are frequently beaten. All the while, they're exposed to harmful pesticides (a common one being lindane, which may cause cancer and interfere with hormone function).

There's no denying you'll pay more for fair-trade organic chocolate and with some, like the Life is Sweet chocolates, you'll have to think ahead and order (which also means some carbon emissions from further transit). However, if you're sending chocolates as a gift, you can send these directly and the impact will be the same as sending from any other cocoa company.

The Big Picture

While the price tag and availability of conventional chocolate can be as tempting as chocolate itself, the story behind the sweet is a little harder to stomach. You may not pay the price when it comes to this cocoa, but it's definitely being paid by others. Instead of indulging in a conventional chocolate (and adding the guilt of what you now know to any normal chocolate-lovers remorse), try purchasing fair-trade organic chocolate by the individual bar at your local health food store, which will have a range available for your convenience, and shouldn't charge you more than couple dollars more than what you'd pay at the grocery store.

If you can find a way to work fair-trade organic chocolate around your dessert budget, you'll reap the rewards; many chocolate lovers rave about the purer, deeper flavors in organic varieties and converts tend to have a hard time switching back to conventional offerings. Beyond that, the more cocoa-consumers purchase fair-trade organic brands, the more major chocolate manufacturers will have to consider altering their practice to fit current demands, which would not just improve chocolate-growing conditions worldwide, but also result in lower prices on better chocolate.