Below the Fold - Ghana and the chocolate factory

View this email in your browser
How do you actually create equality? France believes one way is ensuring equal funding opportunities for all. The city of Lyon (following the lead of many smaller French cities) has adopted a gendered budget. This means non-neutral funds are spent equally on services and programs for men and women — which is especially important in the midst of inequalities worsened by the pandemic, such as mothers disproportionately burdened by parenting duties or female workers overrepresented in sectors hit by job losses. Though novel in France, the concept itself isn’t new: Australia was the first to experiment with a women’s budget in 1984 while San Francisco passed a gender-sensitive budget in 1998.

NEOCOLONIALISM

Ghana fights for a taste of their own cocoa
Wed Jun 2

Ghana produces a fifth of global cocoa exports, and yet, most local farmers have never even tasted the chocolate bars made from their hard work. Even worse? They continue to live in poverty despite a growing demand for chocolate. Of the $130 billion global chocolate industry, less than $2 billion ends up in Ghana with farmers getting at most seven percent.


Instead, more than 80% of profits go to companies in Europe and the U.S. who make, sell, and market the chocolate, leaving just a dollar a day for the farmers. With the extreme poverty line at $1.90, many farmers are left with no choice but to employ their own children. In fact, there’s an estimated 1.56 million children — some as young as five-years-old — engaged in hazardous work on cocoa farms in West Africa. Currently, two cases are in the U.S. Supreme Court alleging that companies Nestle and Cargill knew of such child labor conditions but aided and abetted for profit. Trial results are expected in a few weeks.

The solution? Ghana has threatened to stop cocoa exports. Since the claim was shared directly with Switzerland last year, the country has been exploring ways to make chocolate themselves and own more of the supply chain. Challenges include a lacking dairy industry (which means they’re importing powdered milk), packaging that doesn’t compare to the Western brands, and unreliable energy that is far more expensive — especially with the hotter climate requiring more power to keep chocolate from melting. Despite these hurdles, some progress has been made in the country’s capital.
  • Two sisters started ‘57 Chocolate, a craft chocolate brand that sources from small family farms and produces about a thousand bars per week. They even share the chocolate with the farmers supplying cocoa, many of whom have never tasted the result of their hard work.
  • A German-Ghanaian company has built a $10 million factory that will ultimately produce 100 million bars a year. While modest in comparison to European manufacturers, it results in five times more value staying in Ghana.
And there’s even growing interest in premium chocolate markets, especially as more millennial buyers voice interest in consuming from supply chains that are responsible and humane. While Ghana hasn’t followed up with further statements on ending cocoa exports, it’s clear that interest in retaining more value domestically is of high priority. Many are comparing the movement to Asia’s success in growing their economy by training their workforce in factories.
 

Some additional resources... 

→ Full coverage: Financial Times and InDepthNews
→ Why Ghana struggles with cocoa: The Conversation
→ Birth of ‘57 chocolate: Saveur
→ Cocoa supply chain: World Economic Forum
→ Supreme court cases: The Counter
 

FROM THE ARCHIVES

Missed our last edition? There's still time to catch up on these hidden stories:
  • A giant African rat clearing landmines
  • Illinois becoming the first state to mandate AAPI education
  • Sexual violence from pipeline workers
>> Read Friday's Edition Now

CLASSIFIEDS

As much as we love reading, scouring through hundreds of articles is exhausting. That’s why the writers behind 1440 take care of doing that for you. Their newsletter provides a single morning briefing with stories on everything from culture to science to sports.

Specifically, 1440:
  • Provides an impartial view of what’s happening in the world
  • Curates their content from experts
  • Takes just five minutes to read
That’s likely why 800,000 people are already subscribed. Consider adding 1440 to your inbox for free today.
>> Check out 1440

ASCII OF THE WEEK

     _____________,-.___     _
     |____        { {]_]_]   [_]
     |___ `-----.__\ \_]_]_    . `
     |   `-----.____} }]_]_]_   ,
     |_____________/ {_]_]_]_] , `
hjw                `-'


What did Ghana say to Switzerland?
Wake me up! Before you cocoa...
Art Credit: Hayley Jane Wakenshaw
Copyright © 2021 Below the Fold, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
Below the Fold
2261 Market St # 4135
San Francisco, CA 94114-1612

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

historic moment for Asian American history

Friday, June 11, 2021

News you aren't hearing anywhere else. View this email in your browser TOGETHER WITH After an incredible career clearing over 1.5 million square feet of land for explosives, Magawa, an African

airline passengers are on their worst behavior

Wednesday, June 9, 2021

News you aren't hearing anywhere else. View this email in your browser TOGETHER WITH Can sleeping earlier help lower your risk of depression? For night owls, yes! Researchers have found that

leaving telehealth on mute

Monday, June 7, 2021

View this email in your browser What happens when animals aren't as stressed out? In Sri Lanka, strict lockdowns and a ban on flights from abroad for nearly a year kept visitors from swarming their

marriage of church and guns

Friday, June 4, 2021

News you aren't hearing anywhere else. View this email in your browser TOGETHER WITH We've all seen how babies discover new items by, well, putting it in their mouths. While completely adorable

fashion industry goes green(washing)

Wednesday, June 2, 2021

View this email in your browser TOGETHER WITH Coming off the heels of Global Accessibility Awareness Day last week, we're celebrating Mississippi teen Alexis Roberts for becoming the first deaf

You Might Also Like

AI chatbots keep failing every accuracy test thrown at them

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

PLUS: Why Substack's new subscriber milestone is so significant ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Everything We’ve Written About That’s on Sale at Nordstrom

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

Plus: Actually cute plus-size maternity clothes. The Strategist Every product is independently selected by editors. If you buy something through our links, New York may earn an affiliate commission.

What A Day: Bad Car-ma

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Elon Musk's politics are sparking a major Tesla backlash, ironically thanks to Trump. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Rohingya refugees just lost half of their food aid. Now what?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

An interview with Free Rohingya Coalition what happened last week in Asia, Africa and the Americas Hey, this is Sham Jaff, a freelance journalist focused on Asia, Africa and the Americas and your very

Shayne Coplan’s Big Bet Is Paying Off

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

March 11, 2025 THE MONEY GAME Shayne Coplan's Big Bet Is Paying Off By Jen Wieczner Photo: Dina Litovsky At 6 am on Wednesday, November 13, eight FBI agents in black windbreakers burst through the

We need your input.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Share your insights & receive a 70% off forever. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

We Talkin’ About Practice?

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Nobody Told Me There'd Be Days Like These ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Seattle startup takes eco-friendly aim at recycling clothing 

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Read AI rolls out enterprise search tool | Hard time for hardware ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: A limited number of table sponsorships are available at the 2025 GeekWire Awards: Secure your

☕ The beauty of it all

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

A conversation with Ulta Beauty's CMO. March 11, 2025 View Online | Sign Up Marketing Brew Presented By Iterable It's Tuesday. Count Kathy Hochul as an ad buyer. The governor of New York is

🤔 What’s in your wallet? A scam.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Plus, a new streaming deal is the latest gift to Trump from the billionaire CEO and his company — which profits off government contracts. Forward this email to others so they can sign up 🔥 Today on