Reporting from TEDx: Cacao Man: I am from Mars !

Santa Claus look alike, Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro, talks of chocolate through 26 Mayan languages. Where does cacao come from and why does this matter? Being the global director of plant science and external research at Mars Incorporated, he shares with us the buzz phrase of today= sustainable cacao.

Chocolate matters! But not in the way we imagine, Christmas stockings and all. He says, "everything is on the move, forced by nature," meaning that to satisfy our love for chocolate, we need to start thinking of its effect on people and cultures, nurturing nature and naturalizing this nurturing as a habit of the future. He approaches this through the eyes of a scientist and anthropologist, an important and yet surprisingly rare combination in the field. "We will not certify poverty!" he stresses, talking of how deforestation is deeply connected to chocolate and how corporations need to equate business models with eco-models, where co-dependency is but a must.

According to The Guardian, "approximately four-fifths of the world’s cocoa production takes place in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. The majority of cocoa trees are grown on 2-3,000 family-run farms which are easily susceptible to the influence of climate, disease and price-shifts. This commitment to buying their crops will make a huge difference to the national and local economy"

So its time to give more thought to the bitter-sweet side of chocolate...