WHERE CHOCOLATE BEGINS 
No matter how it is packaged or processed, all the food we eat has its source growing in soil and requiring sunshine, water, and air. Much of our food is packaged and processed far removed from where it is grown then transported again nearer to us. We count on regulations regarding processing and shipping to keep all of our food safe for us to eat.
Like other foods, chocolate begins with the seeds of a cacoa tree that grows in soil, and needs sunshine, water, and air. The tree also requires climate found near the equator, soil with year-round moisture, and protection from strong winds. In order to bear fruit, recent studies indicate that midges, tiny flies that inhabit the damp, shady rainforest, play a crucial role in pollination. Since these midges are not able to adapt to plantation-like conditions, ninety percent of the world’s 3.5 million tons of cocoa beans are grown on holdings of 12 acres or less where the trees have the natural environment needed. Cocoa beans from cocoa farms in the tropics are transported to factories where they are processed into the chocolate treats that we enjoy.
The special conditions needed for cacao trees make growing the cocoa beans labor intensive. Seedlings, started from beans, are planted by hand. The cacao tree takes about 3-5 years to produce about 35 pods, each containing about forty purplish, bitter-tasting, lima-bean-size cocoa beans. The flowers and pods containing the beans grow directly from the trunk of the tree. The pods take five or six months to ripen. Under good conditions, a single mature cacao tree produces enough pods for three to four pounds of the chocolate with which we are familiar.
The small football-shaped pod contains seeds mixed into slightly lemon-flavored pulp about as dense as the flesh of a pear. Ripe pods are cut from the tree with a machete, pods are split with a knife, and pulp and beans are scooped from the pods by hand. The beans are fermented in their own pulp for up to six days and then are removed from the pulp to be dried outdoors in the sun for up to two weeks.
Dried beans are bagged and transported, often on foot, to a collection point to be shipped around the world to manufacturers. At chocolate factories, the beans are roasted and separated into cocoa liquor, cocoa butter, and cocoa powder. Then these parts are recombined and mixed with sugar and other ingredients to get the products we enjoy.
To assure cocoa farmers a fair market price for their labor, look for certified fair-traded chocolate when you buy.
Information for this article is from the International Cocoa Organization website and the book, Harvest of Hope, 2003, by Phil Grout, SERVV International.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water
Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 03/12/08
(for publication on 03/22/08 in the Journal-Standard, Freeport, Illinois).
Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org