Chocolate
To many people, chocolate is just a sweet snack. It is a symbol of love on special occasions and a refuge food when one is having a hard time. In the United States, the chocolate industry is worth billions of dollars. Therefore, it is no surprise that most people do not think of the negative effects of chocolate. However, the data points to health, societal, and environmental problems directly caused by chocolate. The paper will enumerate these negative consequences and offer evidence to support the assertions. Indeed, chocolate does cause harm in the real world.
The main problem with chocolate is that farming the cocoa beans requires the excision of forest land. Cocoa tree is a plant which grows only in the ideal climate. It has to be grown in an area with high amounts of rainfall and humidity. Without these ideal conditions, it would not grow and produce. It so happens that the areas with these conditions are occupied with dense forests. Therefore, one has to cut the forest in order to grow the cocoa trees for the chocolate. The cutting has intensified as the demand for chocolate has increased. In fact, the chocolate industry has caused the loss of millions of hectares of forest land in West Africa alone.
Another concern is that cocoa farming ruins fragile eco-systems and thus disturbs the balance that existed. As mentioned above, cacao trees only grow in tropical regions under special conditions, and these areas are almost always forested. However, when a cocoa firm is put up nearby, it attracts people as they come to look for work. Business people will follow the wage earners so as to take advantage of the opportunity. Before long, a once pristine area is settled by humans. Human beings by their very nature are destructive principally because they need space to build and farm. They also generate wastes which damage the environment. Numerous human settlements have ruined ecosystems in West Africa after cocoa farming went commercial.
Finally, many of the present cocoa plantations are an inefficient way of utilizing the land and resources in the region. First of all, it takes an entire year for a cocoa plant to produce just half a pound of precious chocolate. As the demand for chocolate is rising, one can see that the rate of production is not sustainable. In addition, many of the plantations which exist today consist of older trees which have been producing less as they age. The implication is that the cocoa farmers will get less and less product year by year unless they plant new trees. The space wasted on these cocoa plants could be better spent planting trees to aid in reforestation efforts.
Health Problems
The first and most important aspect of chocolate in terms of health is the fact that it leads to gaining weight. Forty-four grams of the snack contains more than 200 calories in addition to which there are both saturated and unsaturated fats. There are people who can eat chocolate several times a day. It means that chocolate can be a significant source of calories if eaten in excess. The fact that the snack is sweet also means that it is harder for people to control their intake. In the end, the eaters gain weight and add to the obesity numbers in the country.
Sugar in the chocolate also leads to weight gain, but it also has the added effect of destroying teeth through cavities. All the essential ingredients of chocolate are harmful to teeth but the sugar deserves the greatest attention. First of all, chocolate is sticky and is likely to remain in between the teeth for much longer than other snacks. Additionally, people have a habit of eating chocolates as a snack directly before going to bed. Both aspects lead to a situation where cavities are prevalent in the teeth leading to a serious health problem.
One of the saddest consequences of the chocolate trade is the prevalence of child labor in the countries where cocoa trees are grown. Research has shown that a substantial number of workers on the cocoa farms are minors. In some instances, they are just children working on their parents’ farm. However, there are many children employed by corporations in West Africa. Even in the case children are used as domestic labor at home, the good price offered for cocoa makes it attractive for the parents to deny their child a chance to go to school. In both cases, it is the children who lose.
Another social problem is the exploitation of resources by foreign farms while leaving farmers impoverished. Many of the workers who toil in cocoa farms in West Africa are illiterate. They do not know any better and consider a wage a blessing. Therefore, the companies which go to these areas have the upper hand when setting the wages and salary. In the end, the company gains billions in profits while the country and region get plundered. However, the exploitation problem is being addressed through fair trade agreements and laws, especially in Ivory Coast.
Finally, the growing of cocoa has led to social problems such as increased domestic abuse and child neglect. Cocoa planting is done in areas where patriarchy reigns and men are the decision makers. Therefore, even though it is the women and children who tend the land, it is the men who more often than not get paid for the produce. In many places cocoa farming has been blamed for an increase in alcoholism and drug abuse. It has also been connected to reduced school attendance. In the end, in many cases the money earned from selling cocoa was not worth the social issues created.
It is now clear that the world should seriously think about whether or not chocolate does more harm than good. For example, the snack is responsible for weight gain in many cases. Additionally, it can cause reflux, and the caffeine inside causes high blood pressure among other ailments. Growing the cocoa also demands the cutting of forests and the consequent human settlement destroys the ecosystem further. It is a double hit for the environment especially at a time of global warming. Instead of helping earth recover, the chocolate industry is doing more damage. Finally, cocoa production led to many social problems including alcoholism. Many of the farms in the West African countries utilize child labor thereby creating an almost unbreakable cycle of poverty. In the end, the world might decide that chocolate is not worth all the trouble it causes. Humanity might not go as far as to band chocolate but demand might fall so much that cocoa will not be an attractive cash crop.
About the author
Darcie Davis is a girl who enjoys reading books, watching TV shows, and puzzles. She works as a freelance writer at https://essaysprofessor.com/ It's a term paper service that specializes in providing high-quality writing services.
The main problem with chocolate is that farming the cocoa beans requires the excision of forest land. Cocoa tree is a plant which grows only in the ideal climate. It has to be grown in an area with high amounts of rainfall and humidity. Without these ideal conditions, it would not grow and produce. It so happens that the areas with these conditions are occupied with dense forests. Therefore, one has to cut the forest in order to grow the cocoa trees for the chocolate. The cutting has intensified as the demand for chocolate has increased. In fact, the chocolate industry has caused the loss of millions of hectares of forest land in West Africa alone.
Another concern is that cocoa farming ruins fragile eco-systems and thus disturbs the balance that existed. As mentioned above, cacao trees only grow in tropical regions under special conditions, and these areas are almost always forested. However, when a cocoa firm is put up nearby, it attracts people as they come to look for work. Business people will follow the wage earners so as to take advantage of the opportunity. Before long, a once pristine area is settled by humans. Human beings by their very nature are destructive principally because they need space to build and farm. They also generate wastes which damage the environment. Numerous human settlements have ruined ecosystems in West Africa after cocoa farming went commercial.
Finally, many of the present cocoa plantations are an inefficient way of utilizing the land and resources in the region. First of all, it takes an entire year for a cocoa plant to produce just half a pound of precious chocolate. As the demand for chocolate is rising, one can see that the rate of production is not sustainable. In addition, many of the plantations which exist today consist of older trees which have been producing less as they age. The implication is that the cocoa farmers will get less and less product year by year unless they plant new trees. The space wasted on these cocoa plants could be better spent planting trees to aid in reforestation efforts.
Health Problems
The first and most important aspect of chocolate in terms of health is the fact that it leads to gaining weight. Forty-four grams of the snack contains more than 200 calories in addition to which there are both saturated and unsaturated fats. There are people who can eat chocolate several times a day. It means that chocolate can be a significant source of calories if eaten in excess. The fact that the snack is sweet also means that it is harder for people to control their intake. In the end, the eaters gain weight and add to the obesity numbers in the country.
Sugar in the chocolate also leads to weight gain, but it also has the added effect of destroying teeth through cavities. All the essential ingredients of chocolate are harmful to teeth but the sugar deserves the greatest attention. First of all, chocolate is sticky and is likely to remain in between the teeth for much longer than other snacks. Additionally, people have a habit of eating chocolates as a snack directly before going to bed. Both aspects lead to a situation where cavities are prevalent in the teeth leading to a serious health problem.
One of the saddest consequences of the chocolate trade is the prevalence of child labor in the countries where cocoa trees are grown. Research has shown that a substantial number of workers on the cocoa farms are minors. In some instances, they are just children working on their parents’ farm. However, there are many children employed by corporations in West Africa. Even in the case children are used as domestic labor at home, the good price offered for cocoa makes it attractive for the parents to deny their child a chance to go to school. In both cases, it is the children who lose.
Another social problem is the exploitation of resources by foreign farms while leaving farmers impoverished. Many of the workers who toil in cocoa farms in West Africa are illiterate. They do not know any better and consider a wage a blessing. Therefore, the companies which go to these areas have the upper hand when setting the wages and salary. In the end, the company gains billions in profits while the country and region get plundered. However, the exploitation problem is being addressed through fair trade agreements and laws, especially in Ivory Coast.
Finally, the growing of cocoa has led to social problems such as increased domestic abuse and child neglect. Cocoa planting is done in areas where patriarchy reigns and men are the decision makers. Therefore, even though it is the women and children who tend the land, it is the men who more often than not get paid for the produce. In many places cocoa farming has been blamed for an increase in alcoholism and drug abuse. It has also been connected to reduced school attendance. In the end, in many cases the money earned from selling cocoa was not worth the social issues created.
It is now clear that the world should seriously think about whether or not chocolate does more harm than good. For example, the snack is responsible for weight gain in many cases. Additionally, it can cause reflux, and the caffeine inside causes high blood pressure among other ailments. Growing the cocoa also demands the cutting of forests and the consequent human settlement destroys the ecosystem further. It is a double hit for the environment especially at a time of global warming. Instead of helping earth recover, the chocolate industry is doing more damage. Finally, cocoa production led to many social problems including alcoholism. Many of the farms in the West African countries utilize child labor thereby creating an almost unbreakable cycle of poverty. In the end, the world might decide that chocolate is not worth all the trouble it causes. Humanity might not go as far as to band chocolate but demand might fall so much that cocoa will not be an attractive cash crop.
About the author
Darcie Davis is a girl who enjoys reading books, watching TV shows, and puzzles. She works as a freelance writer at https://essaysprofessor.com/ It's a term paper service that specializes in providing high-quality writing services.
Go to Profile
Mark as Read