Editing Cocoa bean (section)

== Cultivation ==

A cocoa pod (fruit) is about {{convert|17|to|20|cm|in|abbr=on}} long and has a rough, leathery rind about {{convert|2|to|3|cm|in|abbr=on}} thick (varying with the origin and variety of pod) filled with sweet, [[Mucilage|mucilaginous]] pulp (called ''baba de cacao'' in South America) with a lemonade-like taste enclosing 30 to 50 large seeds that are fairly soft and a pale lavender to dark brownish purple color.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Cerri |first1=Martina |last2=Reale |first2=Lara |last3=Zadra |first3=Claudia |date=2019-12-05 |title=Metabolite Storage in Theobroma cacao L. Seed: Cyto-Histological and Phytochemical Analyses |journal=Frontiers in Plant Science |language=English |volume=10 |page=1599 |doi=10.3389/fpls.2019.01599 |doi-access=free |pmid=31921248 |pmc=6915049 |issn=1664-462X}}</ref>

During harvest, the pods are opened, the seeds are kept, and the empty pods are discarded and the pulp made into juice. The seeds are placed where they can ferment. Due to heat buildup in the fermentation process, cacao beans lose most of the purplish hue and become mostly brown in color, with an adhered skin which includes the dried remains of the fruity pulp. This skin is released easily by [[winnowing]] after roasting. White seeds are found in some rare varieties, usually mixed with purples, and are considered of higher value.<ref>{{cite news |last=Fabricant |first=Florence
|date=11 January 2011 |title=Rare Cacao Beans Discovered in Peru |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/12/dining/12chocolate.html |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=1 February 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The manufacture of chocolate and other cacao preparations |first=Paul |last=Zipperer |edition=3rd |publisher=Verlag von M. Krayn |location=Berlin |year=1902 |page=14 |quote=white cacao, ... Ecuador ... rare ... In Trinidad also |url=https://archive.org/details/manufactureofcho00zipp
}}</ref>

=== Harvesting ===

[[File:Ateh Eldeno harvesting coacoa.jpg|thumb|Harvesting in Cameroon]]

Cacao trees grow in hot, rainy tropical areas within 20° of [[latitude]] from the [[Equator]]. Cocoa harvest is not restricted to one period per year and a harvest typically occurs over several months. In fact, in many countries, cocoa can be harvested at any time of the year.<ref name="Wood"/> [[Pesticide]]s are often applied to the trees to combat [[capsid bug]]s, and [[fungicide]]s to fight [[black pod disease]].<ref name="Abenyega"/>

Immature cocoa pods have a variety of colours, but most often are green, red, or purple, and as they mature, their colour tends towards yellow or orange, particularly in the creases.<ref name="Wood">{{cite book |last1=Wood |first1=G. A. R. |last2=Lass |first2=R. A. |title=Cocoa |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=urs9QCMKOw4C&q=ripe%20colour&pg=PA25 |edition=4th |series=Tropical agriculture serie |year=2001 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-0-632-06398-7}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Hui |first1=Yiu H. |title=Handbook of food science, technology, and engineering |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rTjysvUxB8wC&q=ripe%20cacao%20pod&pg=PA22 |volume=4 |year=2006 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-9849-0}}</ref> Unlike most fruiting trees, the cacao pod grows directly from the trunk or large branch of a tree rather than from the end of a branch, similar to [[jackfruit]]. This makes harvesting by hand easier as most of the pods will not be up in the higher branches. The pods on a tree do not ripen together; harvesting needs to be done periodically through the year.<ref name="Wood"/> Harvesting occurs between three and four times weekly during the harvest season.<ref name="Wood"/> The ripe and near-ripe pods, as judged by their colour, are harvested from the trunk and branches of the cacao tree with a curved [[knife]] on a long pole. Care must be used when cutting the stem of the pod to avoid damaging the junction of the stem with the tree, as this is where future flowers and pods will emerge.<ref name="Wood" /><ref>{{cite book |last=Dand |first=Robin |title=The international cocoa trade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pj5Y3YpAoFUC&pg=PA51 |edition=2nd |year=1999 |publisher=Woodhead Publishing |isbn=978-1-85573-434-0}}</ref> One person can harvest an estimated 650 pods per day.<ref name="Abenyega">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rw-NW5EFTs0C&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&pg=PA11 |title=Labor practices in the cocoa sector of Ghana with a special focus on the role of children |first1=Olivia |last1=Abenyega |first2=James |last2=Gockowski |name-list-style= amp |publisher= International Institute of Tropical Agriculture |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-978-131-218-2 |pages= 10–11}}</ref><ref name="Gockowski">{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=E2x5hlVlaUUC&q=ripe%20cocoa%20pods%20harvest&pg=PA12 |title=Labor practices in the cocoa sector of southwest Nigeria with a focus on the role of children |first1=J. |last1=Gockowski |first2= S. |last2=Oduwole  |publisher= International Institute of Tropical Agriculture |year= 2003 |isbn= 978-978-131-215-1 |pages= 11–15}}</ref>

=== Harvest processing ===

[[File:Cacao Beans Drying.JPG|thumb|left|Beans drying|alt=Beans drying in the sun]]

The harvested pods are opened, typically with a [[machete]], to expose the beans.<ref name="Wood"/><ref name="Abenyega"/> The pulp and cocoa seeds are removed and the [[peel (fruit)|rind]] is discarded. The pulp and seeds are then piled in heaps, placed in bins, or laid out on grates for several days. During this time, the seeds and pulp undergo "sweating", where the thick pulp liquefies as it ferments. The fermented pulp trickles away, leaving cocoa seeds behind to be collected. Sweating is important for the quality of the beans,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.confectionerynews.com/R-D/Chocolate-finds-a-new-friend-in-yeast |title=Yeasts key for cacao bean fermentation and chocolate quality |date=15 May 2013 |publisher=[[Confectionery News]] |access-date=2 February 2014}}</ref> which originally have a strong, bitter taste. If sweating is interrupted, the resulting cocoa may be ruined; if underdone, the cocoa seed maintains a flavor similar to raw [[potato]]es and becomes susceptible to [[mildew]]. Some cocoa-producing countries distill [[alcoholic spirits]] using the liquefied pulp.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.icco.org/faq/52-by-products/115-products-that-can-be-made-from-cocoa.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004032513/http://www.icco.org/faq/52-by-products/115-products-that-can-be-made-from-cocoa.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=4 October 2012 |title=FAQ : Products that can be made from cocoa |publisher=[[International Cocoa Organization]] |access-date=31 January 2014}}</ref>

A typical pod contains 30 to 40 beans and about 400 dried beans are required to make {{convert|1|lb|g}} of chocolate. Cocoa pods weigh an average of {{convert|400|g|oz|abbr=on}} and each one yields {{convert|35|to|40|g|oz|1|abbr=on}} dried beans; this yield is 9–10% of the total weight in the pod.<ref name="Abenyega"/> One person can separate the beans from about 2000 pods per day.<ref name="Abenyega"/><ref name="Gockowski"/>

[[File:Medium close up image of David Kebu Jnr holding cocoa beans drying in the sun. (10703178735).jpg|thumb|left|Closeup of drying beans]]

The wet beans are then transported to a facility so they can be fermented and dried.<ref name="Abenyega"/><ref name="Gockowski"/> The farmer packs them into boxes or heaps them into piles, then covers them with mats or banana leaves for three to seven days.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cocoalife.org/in-the-cocoa-origins|title=Cocoa Life – A story on Farming – Cocoa Growing|website= [[Cocoa Life]] |access-date=7 March 2018}}</ref> Finally, the beans are trodden and shuffled about (often using bare human feet) and sometimes, during this process, red [[clay]] mixed with [[water]] is sprinkled over the beans to obtain a finer color, polish, and protection against molds during shipment to factories in other countries. Drying in the sun is preferable to drying by artificial means, as no extraneous flavors such as smoke or oil are introduced which might otherwise taint the flavor.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

The beans should be dry for shipment, which is usually by sea. Traditionally exported in [[jute]] bags, over the last decade, beans are increasingly shipped in "mega-bulk" parcels of several thousand tonnes at a time on ships, or standardized to {{convert|62.5|kg}} per bag and 200 ({{convert|12.5|MT}}) or 240 ({{convert|15|MT}}) bags per {{convert|20|ft|m}} container. Shipping in bulk significantly reduces handling costs. Shipment in bags, either in a ship's hold or in containers, is still common.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

Throughout [[Mesoamerica]] where they are native, cocoa beans are used for a variety of foods. The harvested and fermented beans may be ground to order at ''tiendas de chocolate'', or chocolate mills. At these mills, the cocoa can be mixed with a variety of ingredients such as [[cinnamon]], [[chili pepper]]s, [[almonds]], [[vanilla]], and other spices to create [[drinking chocolate]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2009/04/mexican-chocolate-rustic-stronger-better/9901/ |first=Alex |last=Whitmore |title=Mexican Chocolate: Rustic, Stronger, Better |date=10 April 2009 |work=[[The Atlantic]]}}</ref> The ground cocoa is also an important ingredient in ''[[tejate]]''.<ref>{{Cite Journal |last1=Pérez-Ramírez|first1=Iza F|last2=Carino-Sarabia|first2=Adriana |last3=Castaño-Tostado|first3=Eduardo |last4=Vázquez-Landaverde|first4=Pedro A. |last5=Ramos-Gómez|first5=Minerva |last6=Reynoso-Camacho|first6=Rosalia |last7=Amaya-Llano|first7=Silvia L.|date=2021 |title=Chemical and sensorial characterization of Tejate, a Mexican traditional maize-cocoa beverage, and improvement of its nutritional value by protein addition |journal=Journal of Food Science and Technology |language=en |volume=58 |pages=3548-3560 |doi=10.1007/s13197-021-05073-w }}</ref>

=== Child slavery ===

{{Main|Children in cocoa production}}

[[File:Chuao 003.JPG|thumb|right|Collecting beans after drying|alt=Boy collecting beans after drying]]

The first allegations that [[child slavery]] is used in cocoa production appeared in 1998.<ref name="Raghavan1">{{cite news |first1=Sudarsan |last1=Raghavan |first2=Sumana |last2=Chatterjee |title= Slaves feed world's taste for chocolate: Captives common in cocoa farms of Africa |work= [[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |date= 24 June 2001 |url= http://www2.jsonline.com/news/nat/jun01/slave24r062301.asp |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20060917014323/http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/atasteofslavery.html| archive-date = 17 September 2006 |access-date= 25 April 2012}}</ref> In late 2000, a [[BBC]] documentary reported the use of enslaved children in the production of cocoa in West Africa.<ref name="Raghavan1" /><ref name="combating">{{cite web |title = Combating Child Labour in Cocoa Growing |publisher = [[International Labour Organization]] |year= 2005 |url= http://www.ilo.org/public//english//standards/ipec/themes/cocoa/download/2005_02_cl_cocoa.pdf |access-date= 26 April 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20050525122715/http://www.ilo.org/public//english//standards/ipec/themes/cocoa/download/2005_02_cl_cocoa.pdf |archive-date= 25 May 2005}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=i2WeACR-WIYC&pg=PA98 |title= Naked Chocolate: The Astonishing Truth about the World's Greatest Food |first1= David |last1=Wolfe |author2= Shazzie |name-list-style= amp |publisher= North Atlantic Books |year= 2005 |page= 98 |isbn= 978-1-55643-731-1 |access-date = 15 December 2011}}</ref> Other media followed by reporting widespread child [[slavery]] and [[Trafficking of children|child trafficking]] in the production of cocoa.<ref name="chocolate slavery">{{cite news |first= Humphrey |last=Hawksley |author-link = Humphrey Hawksley |title= Mali's children in chocolate slavery |work= BBC News |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/1272522.stm |date= 12 April 2001 |access-date= 2 January 2010}}</ref><ref name="accuses companies">{{cite news |first= Humphrey |last=Hawksley |author-link = Humphrey Hawksley |url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/1311982.stm |title= Ivory Coast accuses chocolate companies |work= BBC News |date= 4 May 2001 |access-date= 4 August 2010}}</ref>

The cocoa industry was accused of profiting from child slavery and trafficking.<ref name="Payson2010 p26">{{cite web |url= http://childlabor-payson.org/Final%20Fourth%20Annual%20Report.pdf |title= Fourth Annual Report: Oversight of Public and Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Cocoa Sector of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana |author= Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer |publisher= Tulane University |page= 26 |date= 30 September 2010 |access-date= 23 April 2012 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120319080151/http://childlabor-payson.org/Final%20Fourth%20Annual%20Report.pdf |archive-date= 19 March 2012}}</ref> The [[Harkin–Engel Protocol]] is an effort to end these practices.<ref name="HE Protocol">{{cite web|url=http://www.cocoainitiative.org/images/stories/pdf/harkin%20engel%20protocol.pdf |title=Protocol for the growing and processing of cocoa beans and their derivative products in a manner that complies with ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor |publisher=International Cocoa Initiative |year=2001 |access-date=25 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080724105142/http://www.cocoainitiative.org/images/stories/pdf/harkin%20engel%20protocol.pdf |archive-date=24 July 2008}}</ref> In 2001, it was signed and witnessed by the heads of eight major chocolate companies, US senators [[Tom Harkin]] and [[Herb Kohl]], US Representative [[Eliot Engel]], the ambassador of the Ivory Coast, the director of the International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labor, and others.<ref name="HE Protocol"/> It has, however, been criticized by some groups including the [[International Labor Rights Forum]] as an industry initiative which falls short, as the goal to eliminate the "worst forms of child labor" from cocoa production by 2005 was not reached.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate/ |title= The Human Cost of Chocolate |first= Tricia |last= Escobedo |publisher= CNN |date= 19 September 2011 |access-date= 28 April 2012 |archive-date= 22 March 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120322072304/http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate/ |url-status= dead }}</ref><ref name="Monsy">{{cite news |url=http://www.khaleejtimes.com/Displayarticle09.asp?section=diversions&xfile=data/diversions/2012/February/diversions_February12.xml |title=The bitter truth |first=Karen Ann |last=Monsy |newspaper=Khaleej Times |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=28 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415005849/http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle09.asp?xfile=data%2Fdiversions%2F2012%2FFebruary%2Fdiversions_February12.xml&section=diversions |archive-date=15 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="Payson2011">{{cite web |url= http://www.childlabor-payson.org/Tulane%20Final%20Report.pdf |title= Oversight of Public and Private Initiatives to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Cocoa Sector of Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana |date=31 March 2011 |access-date= 26 April 2012 |author=Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer |publisher=Tulane University |pages=7–12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120412194832/http://childlabor-payson.org/Tulane%20Final%20Report.pdf |archive-date= 12 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Harkin Engel Protocol |url=https://www.slavefreechocolate.org/harkin-engel-protocol |access-date=17 May 2021|website=Slave Free Chocolate}}</ref> The deadline was extended multiple times and the goal changed to a 70% child labor reduction.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The human cost of chocolate |url=https://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate/|access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517184357/https://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/19/the-human-cost-of-chocolate/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 August 2013 |title=Human Rights and Child Labour |url=https://makechocolatefair.org/issues/human-rights-and-child-labour |access-date=17 May 2021 |website=Make Chocolate Fair!}}</ref>

Child labour was growing in some West African countries in 2008–09 when it was estimated that 819,921 children worked on cocoa farms in Ivory Coast alone; by 2013–14, the number went up to 1,303,009. During the same period in Ghana, the estimated number of children working on cocoa farms was 957,398 children.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.childlaborcocoa.org/images/Payson_Reports/Tulane%20University%20-%20Survey%20Research%20on%20Child%20Labor%20in%20the%20Cocoa%20Sector%20-%2030%20July%202015.pdf|title=Final Report 2013/14 Survey Research on Child Labor in West African Cocoa Growing Areas Tulane University Louisiana|date=30 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171221042021/http://www.childlaborcocoa.org/images/Payson_Reports/Tulane%20University%20-%20Survey%20Research%20on%20Child%20Labor%20in%20the%20Cocoa%20Sector%20-%2030%20July%202015.pdf |archive-date=21 December 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The 2010 documentary ''[[The Dark Side of Chocolate]]'' revealed that children smuggled from Mali to the Ivory Coast were forced to earn income for their parents, while others were sold as slaves for €230.{{cn|date=September 2024}}

In 2010, the [[US Department of Labor]] formed the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group as a public-private partnership with the governments of Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to address child labor practices in the cocoa industry.<ref>{{cite web |title=Child Labor in the Production of Cocoa |url=https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/child-labor-cocoa |publisher=Bureau of International Labor Affairs, United States Department of Labor, Washington, DC |access-date=7 January 2019 |date=2018}}</ref>

As of 2017, approximately 2.1&nbsp;million children in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire were involved in harvesting cocoa, carrying heavy loads, clearing forests, and being exposed to pesticides.<ref name="reuters2017">{{cite news |author1=Kieran Guilbert |title=Falling cocoa prices threaten child labor spike in Ghana, Ivory Coast |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-westafrica-cocoa-children/falling-cocoa-prices-threaten-child-labor-spike-in-ghana-ivory-coast-idUSKBN1931ZQ |access-date=7 January 2019 |work=Reuters |date=12 June 2017}}</ref> According to Sona Ebai, the former secretary general of the Alliance of Cocoa Producing Countries: "I think child labor cannot be just the responsibility of industry to solve. I think it's the proverbial all-hands-on-deck: government, civil society, the private sector. And there, you really need leadership."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fortune.com/big-chocolate-child-labor/ |title=Inside Big Chocolate's Child Labor Problem |last=O'Keefe |first=Brian |date=1 March 2016 |website=Fortune.com |publisher=Fortune |access-date=7 January 2018 |quote=For a decade and a half, the big chocolate makers have promised to end child labor in their industry—and have spent tens of millions of dollars in the effort. But as of the latest estimate, 2.1&nbsp;million West African children still do the dangerous and physically taxing work of harvesting cocoa. What will it take to fix the problem?}}</ref> As Reported in 2018, a three-year [[Pilot experiment|pilot program]], conducted by [[Nestlé]] with 26,000 farmers mostly located in Côte d'Ivoire, observed a 51% decrease in the number of children doing hazardous jobs in cocoa farming.<ref name="balch">{{cite web |author1=Oliver Balch |title=Child Labour: the true cost of chocolate production |url=https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/child-labour-cocoa-production |publisher=Raconteur |access-date=7 January 2019 |date=20 June 2018}}</ref>

==== Lawsuits ====

In 2021, several companies were named in a class action lawsuit filed by eight former children from [[Mali]] who alleged that the companies aided and abetted their enslavement on [[Cocoa production in Ivory Coast|cocoa plantations in Ivory Coast]]. The suit accused [[Barry Callebaut]], [[Cargill]], [[The Hershey Company]], [[Mars, Incorporated|Mars]], [[Mondelez]], [[Nestlé]], and [[Olam International]], of knowingly engaging in [[forced labour]], and the plaintiffs sought damages for [[unjust enrichment]], [[negligent supervision]], and [[intentional infliction of emotional distress]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Balch |first=Oliver |date=12 February 2021 |title=Mars, Nestlé and Hershey to face child slavery lawsuit in US |url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/feb/12/mars-nestle-and-hershey-to-face-landmark-child-slavery-lawsuit-in-us |access-date=13 February 2021}}</ref>