Coffee, cocoa, vanilla: The severe social and environmental impacts of foods imported to France

Coffee, cocoa, vanilla: The severe social and environmental impacts of foods imported to France

A recent study scrutinizes 13 major import sectors based on their CO₂ emissions, their impact on deforestation, their use of child labor and producers' standard of living.

What would Easter be without chocolate? Every year, during this period, thousands of tons of cocoa are produced and then processed to allow consumers to eat rabbits, chickens, small eggs and other chocolate sweets. But behind these sweet pleasures are worrying realities. Deforestation, excessive use of pesticides, resort to child labour... ...

Every year at Easter, millions of chocolate rabbits and eggs are sold in Germany, which sweeten the festive days. But behind this delicious facade are serious problems: cocoa production is often characterized by exploitative working conditions, child labour and environmentally harmful cultivation methods. Many people therefore prefer chocolate with fair trade seals. But what do they mean concretely? And how fair are [...] The article How social …