What Happened at the 4th Annual Cacao and Chocolate Summit?

Earlier this week, on May 25th and 26th, I was delighted to attend another Cacao and Chocolate Summit. This was a long one, lasting from 10:30am to 3pm EST each day. There were two main topics so I'm going to summarize what I learned for each. The MC for the event ws Regina Varolli from Food Activist Magazine.

---------- Day One ----------

May 25th was all about Talking Traceability and Transparency. To quote the event's promotional material, it should have been about "the stages that cacao beans go through, from a fruit, to fair negotiations with farmers, maintaining transparency as a differentiated value in the value chain that we seek to promote." 

The event began with a musical performance by Mana Maymanda that was streamed live. Mana Maymanda is an Ecuadorian band That was a lot of fun to listen to for 20-minutes while people continued to login to the event. Attendees were from all over the world. I counted folks from Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Caribbean islands, Europe, and the Pacific islands. The event MC is Regina Varolli who introduced each panel and the moderators.

The Welcome Address as given by Jenny Samaniego from Conexion Chocolate and the founder of the Cacao & Chocolate Summit, and Judy Hayden from Grocer's Daughter Chocolate. We'd love to test and write about any of their creations here on The Chocolate Cult, wouldn't we? I learned that only the first summit was off-line. Opening it up has increased the number of participants with this event expecting over 500 participants. The event will be divided into panels; I wish they had made that information part of the emails so I could lay them out for you here and pick what I most wanted to attend, but it was available online.

The 1st Panel was entitled This Moment in Fine Cacao and was hosted by Ephi Maglaris (FCIA: Fine Chocolate Industry Association). The panel featured the following speakers: Christian Marlin (Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for Ecuador), Selassie Atadika (Midunu Chocolates: Africa Inspired Chocolates), and Jack Steijn (Equipoise: a consultant and marketing firm for chocolate farmers/makers, focused on Europe).  

This wasn't really a panel discussion. The moderator, Ms. Maglaris, asked each participant a series of questions that were specific to their experiences and the industry in general. While each speaker was interesting, this format made it difficult to identify general information to share with you all from it, but I will try. Of the three panelists, the most interesting to me was Ms. Atadika because she tackled the African producers and makers which I had not seen discussed at other chocolate events even though up to 70% of the world's cocoa beans are from that continent. Out of everything that was revealed to me during this panel, was the not-too surprising fact that not all countries or regions have definitions of chocolate so products are sold that do not contain chocolate mass/liquor, cocoa powder, or cocoa butter at all! That won't fly here on The Chocolate Cult -- it has to contain ingredients from the cocoa bean!

The 2nd Panel was entitled The Market Perspective on Building Resilience. It was moderated by Lauren Adler (Chocolopolis: which offers tasting and education events). The panelist were: Jody Hayden (Grocer’s Daughter Chocolate: chocolate confections since 2004), Jenny Samaniego (Conexión Chocolate / Cacao & Chocolate Summit), Arcelia Gallardo (Mission Chocolate: small batch Brazilian chocolate), and Spencer Hayman (Cocoa Runners: online tasting and chocolate subscription boxes).

There were a couple of technical difficulties but isn't that always the case with virtual and online events? I loved that the moderator, Ms. Adler, asked each panelist to introduce themselves first. The moderator her did a great job of asking questions of the entire panel and getting their comments so it was easier to follow the information. Here are some things I learned from this panel.

The supply chain is still a challenge as are inflation and labor costs across the world. Those challenges were caused by not just the COVID-19 pandemic (still ongoing) but also natural and human-made crises. Switching to virtual tastings and events was a challenge but it also provided a lot of opportunity to reach new customers. Substitutions for some cacao ingredients are being developed but will those result in products that can be sold as chocolate everyone? Fine Chocolate Glossary information from FCIA.

I asked this question during this 2nd Panel: Chocolate makers used to reach out to and work with foodie bloggers a lot more. Why has that changed? It was not answered at all.

The 3rd Panel was entitled Talking Traceability & Transparency. It was moderated by Fausto Rodriguez (Rikolto LATAM: chocolate suppliers). Those who were panelists included: Emily Stone (Uncommon Cacao: group of four companies who supply chocolate to makers), Monica Rogan (Goodnow Farms: bean to bar small batch makers), Simran Bindra (Kokoa Kamili: chocolate suppliers from Indonesia), and Kate Cavallin (Cacao Latitudes: chocolate suppliers).

There a couple of technical issues during this panel as well which at times dropped words enough that I had trouble following some of the questions and answers. Mr. Rodriguez's connection or his equipment was the most problematic in this regard. Also, he didn't really give each panelist a chance to reply, they had to just jump in, which they did, but it is the job of the moderator to call on and recognize those on her/his panel. He also cut people off as they were talking, which really annoyed me. I moderate panels a lot at conventions and conferences, I know what I'm talking about.

This is what I managed to get from the panel. There are no industry standards for tracking where cacao beans and other ingredients from. What loose standards there are, apply more to farmers than anyone else in the process that results in the chocolate you and I enjoy. "Mass Balance" where cocoa beans or chocolate from various locations are allowed to be mixed together yet still allow the chocolate maker to claim a location in their marketing --> this led to a big discussion between the panelists and the attendees. Overall this panel was frustrating to listen to.

---------- Day Two ----------

May 26th focused on The Producer Perspective on Building Resilience. This was supposed to look at cacao farmers themselves.

It began again with music by Mana Maymanda. The band leader spoke about the type of music they do and introduced the members this time which was a great thing to do. The opening remarks from Judy Hayden was a good summary of what was discussed the previous day, though that didn't match what I got from the panels suggesting that each individual attending is getting something different from this event, right? Jenny Samaniego's then summarized what the three panels for today would cover.

The 4th Panel was Cacao & the Climate Crisis was moderated by Marco Fernando Guilcapi (Proamazonia: a program to promote conservation and sustainability created by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock for Ecuador). Mr. Fernando explained his agenda for the panel and how it would be run which I was thrilled by. If you don't set things up, it can be difficult for audience members to follow a discussion. The speakers included: Luis Orozco (LWR – MOCCA Project: created by the USDA to help cocoa farmers), Monica Mena (Agroarriba S.A.: chocolate exporters, not much information on their website), Summer Allen (FCCI: Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute), Ethan Budiansky (World Cocoa Foundation). There were some technical issues during this panel, particularly with sound, but luckily for me, I had the interpretation turned on so I could hear her even if I couldn't hear the speaker when they were speaking in Spanish.

The highlights I got from this panel were several. Climate change is already affecting cacao farming. Panelists' organizations are trying to discover best practices and educate farmers, chocolate makers, and government agencies to help curb or at least adapt to these global changes. I learned that cadmium is a threat to cacao farming in the Americas; read more here. The industry knows that women and youth make different food choices, yet often they are not included in studies --> that's crazy! Incentivizing participation in these approaches is important but monitoring compliance is just as important. There is hope, it just requires tireless work and education of us all. Also there is growing cooperation between producers, makers, and sellers, which will help make the changes viable for more.

Jerónimo Pruijn (SPP Global: an authorization and certification group) moderated the 5th Panel was The Producer Perspective on Building Resilience. He let each speaker introduce themselves for a couple of minutes then asked a series of questions that each panelist answered; he used a small card to signal when the speakers need to wrap up their remarks so that everyone had time. The participants for this panel included: Sarah Bharath (a agro-ecologist from Trinidad & Tobago), Aaron Sylvester (Tri-Island Chocolate / Grenada Chocolate Company: farm to bar chocolate), Charita Puentespina (Malagos Chocolate Company: Filipino farm to bar chocolate), and George Fletcher Lazo (UOPROCAE ECOCACAO: a Fairtrade and Organic Certified association). There were a few technical difficulties again, but folks seemed understanding of these.

Here are some things I learned at this panel. Chocolate making is fairly new in the Philippines because fermentation was not properly down at the bean processing level in a consistent fashion. For anyone who doesn't know, aside from the "raw" movement, fermentation is an important part of the process for most chocolate making for most of the history of humans using cacao. Information on how to farm and process beans better for the industry, the planet, and the farmer, isn't enough, the means to implement is what is needed. Yes, consumers education about how chocolate is made, but so too is education of the farmers. These producers invite consumers and businesses to their farms to show them how the chocolate they create is made; this helps their sales and prices they can charge. Most cacao farmers probably can't do that and even a lot of smaller makers probably can't. Everyone was passionate on this panel, but I want to single out Ms. Bharath because of her words and attitude; this is a woman who can make changes if we all pay attention.

The 6th and Final Panel was Highlighting the Heirloom Cacao Project, this is about a report that has not yet been released. This newsmaking with all of us attendees hearing/seeing the results first! This was a presentation more than a discussion Those presenting included: John Kehoe (Guittard Chocolate Company: We've featured their couverture before by they have expanded since then), Anne Zaczek (HCP: Heirloom Cacao Project), and Lambert Motilal (The University of the West Indies, he studies cacao and chocolate). There were some audio problems, but those were addressed.

What did I learn about the Heirloom Cacao Project (HCP) and their report? The HCP was created in 2012 to improve the lives of cacao farmers, their families, and to preserve the world's chocolate supply through diversity of cacao trees and the environs in which those trees are grown. As a historian, I was excited that they included a deep historical look into where cacao is grown and how it spread around the world. I was surprised to learn that 10 different genetic varieties of cacao have been identified; I feel this offers more hope for chocolate survival as our climate changes.

The report is stage one of HCP's study that they hope will result in fulfilling their mission. The presentation was complex, but it was recorded, as were all the panels for this summit, so I urge you all to look into that if you want detailed information. When I learn about the report's release to the general public, I will create a post about it to share it with you all. 

---------- Reflections on the Conference ----------

At the end of the two days, there are a couple of things, both positive and negative, that stand out to me about the summit.

I wish there were built in breaks between the panels. They flowed from one to another with no breaks. This was a challenge in terms of lunchtime in my house and just dealing with life happening around me. If you would have a break between events or panels off-line, you should do the same for online.

People are passionate about chocolate. Whether they were farmers, chocolate makers, in related fields, or just consumers who tuned in, when people spoke or typed, you could feel their love for chocolate.

However, people are still locked into looking at things from a limited viewpoint whether it is the economics in their own country or a cry for more data before actions can be taken. Saying that we need more information or that things aren't working yet made me angry. The world is burning and drowning right now. There won't be any chocolate if actions do not move beyond words and conferences. Many of the organizations represented are doing more, but by and large they work with small farmers and brands instead of the big manufacturers that I'm sure many consumers know and buy from.

I want to applaud the variety and inclusiveness of the panelists for this event. Hearing from people across the planet is important because chocolate is a global market. It is also important in terms of showing the non-industry attendees that chocolate is a diverse field.

If you love chocolate, keep your eyes open because next year's summit will be about the same dates. It may have an in-person event but likely an streaming component as well.