Word: cocoa
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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Farmers’ employment of child slaves and family labor is a response to artificially low cocoa prices—production costs have to be cut or their farms won’t be able to compete. Recent market deregulation in West Africa abolished fixed cocoa prices that once protected the region’s farmers. Now, the price is determined on world commodity markets. Small farmers, who produce the bulk of the world’s cocoa, are particularly vulnerable to volatile world prices. The cocoa purchasing system is also skewed in favor of traders and middlemen?...
...cocoa that goes into the chocolate consumed in the U.S. is produced in similarly deplorable conditions in West Africa and Central America. The International Labor Organization and the U.S. government have both recognized the existence of the use of child trafficking and forced labor—essentially child slavery—in cocoa production in the Ivory Coast. The State Department has reported that child slaves in West Africa number in the thousands. Many work 12-hour days, and physical beatings are common...
...perfect confection to express their feelings. But this year the message may contain a bit more bite, now that chocolatiers are creating treats that are more savory than sweet. Vosges Haut-Chocolate is offering truffles filled with Taleggio cheese or topped with dried olives. Chefs are also using cocoa in dishes that come before dessert. F. Bryce Whittlesey has created a menu at Wheatleigh in Lenox, Mass., that includes lobster, foie gras and venison--all made using chocolate as one would a spice or an herb. How sweet it is--or isn't. --By Lisa McLaughlin
Sweet news: besides tasting great, chocolate can do you some good. It's rich in flavonoids, which can raise levels of good cholesterol, and antioxidants, which limit cell damage. Heating chocolate seems to release antioxidants, so go for the hot cocoa. Not all chocolate is created equal, however. Dark chocolate is more potent than its paler cousin in raising antioxidant levels, possibly because the milk in milk chocolate binds to antioxidants. In addition, German research comparing dark and white chocolate found that the dark stuff can lower blood pressure...
...meal, you’ll feel like you’ve eaten a whole season. Even the desserts have autumnal accents. The signature hot chocolate soup, dark and rich and remarkably like Burdicks’ cocoa, floats a small pumpkin spice cake that goes surprisingly well with the chocolate. The gingerbread mousse blends with its cinnamon cream into a refreshingly light spoonful only hinting at spice. The airiness is welcome after a meal of such heft...