Chocolate is one of the world’s most beloved indulgence, and for some an everyday treat, but behind the sweetness there are some bitter truths, including the complexities of climate change, deforestation and human rights challenges that are associated with cocoa production.
For years, many of these challenges flew under the radar for consumers, but when the cost of cocoa surged to historic highs in 2024 and caused prices at the shelf to shoot up in response, many consumers wanted to know why. The answers they found shocked some – pushing them to reconsider their purchases and search for brands that intentionally fight to reduce deforestation, climate change and child labor while also supporting farmers and their communities.
In today’s Soup-To-Nuts podcast, leaders across certification, sourcing, research and advocacy explore the extent and impact of these challenges, and share how they are reshaping the cocoa supply chain to be more transparent, fair and resilient, so that consumers can continue to enjoy chocolate for generations to come. Today’s episode pulls highlights from a webinar that I moderated last fall, which was hosted by Branchfood and Business Location Switzerland and is available on demand on Branchfood’s YouTube page.
Climate change is rewriting where and how cocoa is grown
A primary driver of the current cocoa crisis which caused prices of the commodity to soar to historic highs of nearly $12,000 per ton at the end of 2025 was climate change – a volatile threat that is intensifying even as cocoa prices fall and experts predict a healthy crop for the new year.
As Rainforest Alliance Regional Lead for Corporate Engagement and Partnerships Sarah Crom explains, cocoa trees are particularly sensitive to environmental changes and only grow in the tropics around the equator – a restricted geography that limits production and increases the need to slow and reverse climate change.
However, she warns, some short-term solutions – like monocropping or using agrochemicals to suppress disease – may actually make climate related challenges worse in the long term by negatively impacting soil health or leading to deforestation or other complications.
Stopping these practices does not mean stopping cocoa production. Rather, Crom explains that adopting sustainable agricultural methods, like those promoted by the Rainforest Alliance, can significantly improve cocoa yields without farm expansion or intensification.
Adoption of regenerative agriculture could not only help alleviate pressure from climate change but could help ameliorate other challenges deeply rooted in the cocoa supply chain – namely poverty, which in turn contributes to child labor.
According to Danny Magalhaeus with partnerships at Tony’s Open Chain poverty is the root cause connecting environment, labor and deforestation in the cocoa supply chain.
He explained that the supply chain is deeply fractured, which hinders farmers’ ability to negotiate higher prices. As a result, many earn below a living wage and therefore are unable to afford to invest in their farms – creating a vicious circle of clearing additional land and adopting intensive practices for short term gains and long-term losses.
High cocoa prices are not helping farmers
While record cocoa prices may sound like good news for farmers, it actually is bad news in that it signals deeper instability, according to Ingrid Fromm, senior research and lecturer, school of agriculture, forest and food sciences at Bern University of Applied Sciences.
“Part of the problem, I would say, has to do with the fact that these high prices don’t always trickle down all the way to the producer level, so that means that farmers are still struggling,” she said.
It also means they cannot afford to replace aging or diseased plants, which could help improve their financial situation longer term, she added.
“That places them at a big risk,” she stressed.
Real solutions are collective, not top-down
As described, many of the challenges facing cocoa do not rest with one set of stakeholders or a single part of the supply chain – nor one industry for that matter, as many of the threats to cocoa also limit production of other key crops, such as palm and coffee.
Carla Martin, Founder and President of the Board of the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research, argues solutions must be created collaboratively with producers at the local and community level as well as across the supply chain.
Solutions also should consider far removed factors that have an outsized impact – like global economic finance problems, including that most trade takes place in the US dollar, which is a disadvantage for players constantly converting to local currency.
“That is not a specific chocolate problem – that is a global economic finance problem,” she added, noting many of the challenges facing cocoa require “non-chocolate solutions.”
What is working: Traceability, long-term contracts and shared accountability
If this sounds like a tall order, that is because it is. But it is also feasible, as illustrated by the work done by Tony’s Open Chain and the Rainforest Alliance.
Magalhaeus explains that Tony’s Open Chain’s sourcing model is based on five-sourcing principles, which includes not just paying a price that supports a living wage but also supporting productivity, which requires working with multiple stakeholders.
“Paying more is only part of the solution. We also need to ensure that farmers can grow more and grow better – more sustainably,” he said.
He added Tony’s Open Chain is doubling down on its productivity programming, which includes tailored packages that may include seedlings, biodiverse plants, on-farm coaching and upskilling at the local level.
Tony’s Open Chain further reinforces this with five-year contracts that give farmers the confidence to invest in their plants, families and communities without worrying whether a buyer will pay enough to cover their costs of the next harvest.
The Rainforest Alliance also offers stakeholders across the supply chain support to adopt more sustainable cocoa and chocolate production through guidance, tools, training and incentives. But it also strives to create safe spaces by sharing accountability for improvement.
For example, Crom notes that Rainforest Alliance encourages a risk-based approach to human rights issues, including forced labor, discrimination, workplace violence and harassment.
Consumers are a lever, but not the whole solution
Certifications and assurances, like those from Tony’s Open Chain and Rainforest Alliance, can also help to bring conscious consumers into the collaborative effort to address the challenges facing the cocoa industry, but as Martin notes, they cannot hold ultimate responsibility.
“Consumers have an enormous role to play in all of this,” such as using their collective power to financially support brands that ‘do good,’” she said.
But, she added, “there is a danger of putting a heavy burden on consumers who realistically … spend maybe about 30 seconds choosing their product” at shelf, she said. “So, realistically, we cannot expect that consumers should be able to evaluate every single product that they buy to determine whether or not it matches their own” values.
Certifications, like that offered by the Rainforest Alliance, can help well-meaning but busy and distracted consumers make better decisions quickly at shelf, said Crom.
Ultimately, sustainable chocolate isn’t about one perfect solution because there isn’t one challenge. Rather, addressing systemic threats to the industry requires system-wide solutions that involve players from all stakeholder groups.
Those interested in learning more about the impact of conscious consumerism on chocolate can listen to the three-part Cocoa Futures series moderated by FoodNavigator-USA and hosted by Branchfood and Business Location Switzerland that is available on demand for free at Branchfood’s YouTube channel – simply search for Cocoa Futures.
Also, tune in for our sister publication Confectionery News’ upcoming free webinar exploring the future of chocolate, which broadcasts Feb. 12. To learn more and register visit https://www.confectionerynews.com/Events/the-future-of-chocolate/.
