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When it comes to Valentine's Day, the most common question is "chocolate or flowers?" Though sustainably-grown cut flowers are a clear green choice, many people still prefer chocolate. But what if we didn't have the option? What if the world's cocoa plant population went extinct?
John Mason, executive director of the Nature Conservation Research Council, believes that "in 20 years chocolate will be like caviar...it will become so rare and so expensive that the average Joe just won't be able to afford it." The world's cocoa supply is threatened, Mason explains, by the way in which it is grown.
By nature, cocoa is a rainforest plant that grows in shaded areas of high biodiversity. When cultivated in this way, the plant takes a long time to come to seed and yields are low. To make cocoa production more profitable, hybrid varieties have been developed that can be grown in monoculture fields in the open sun. The growing period is short and the yields are high, but the fields quickly strip the soil of its nutrients, leaving once fertile areas barren.
The situation is made worse by the fact that these once fertile areas, mostly located in West Africa, were rainforests. As land becomes unusable for farming and chocolate demand increases, more rainforest is cut. The loss of this ecosystem alters the region's climate, changing rainfall patterns and exacerbating the effects of global warming.
Fortunately, efforts are being made to introduce more sustainable farming practices on cocoa plantations. For the time being, however, the green answer to the question "chocolate or flowers" is: both, if you make the right decisions as a consumer.
For more environmental news, check out Focus Earth: February 14, 2008: The Economic Stimulus Bill and A World Without Chocolate.
Read more about green Valentine's Day gifts:
Buy Green: Dark Chocolate
Skip Valentine's Day, and Still Please Your Lover: 4 Ways
DIY: Give Paperless Valentine's
Take Boudoir Photos For Your Valentine
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