Cacao and Fair Trade
Two thousand years ago the ancient Mayans of Central and South America created an ingenious drink of cacao, chili pepper and cornmeal. This beverage was celebrated not only for its medicinal and spiritual properties, but also its rich and tantalizing taste and euphoric effect. Cacao was considered the food of the Gods. It was in the creation of this drink that the Mayans inadvertently began a universal and time long admiration for the alluring delicacy that we have come to know as chocolate.
What is Cacao?
Cacao is part of the Theobroma genus, more commonly referred to as chocolate, which is made from the cacao seeds. The cacao tree is indigenous to the Americas although it has since moved to other regions such as West Africa and Indonesia. The cacao beans are encrusted within the cocoa pod and surrounded with a sweet pulp. It is from this sweet pulp that coco butter is created. The beans themselves are either dried at a low temperature or roasted. They are a little bit nutty and bitter tasting, much like roasted coffee beans. To make chocolate, the roasted beans are ground down to a thick creamy paste where milk, sugar, vanilla, coco butter or a variety of other additions are added “Cacao” and “cocoa” are often used identically, however cocoa really refers to the powdered component of dried cacao seeds.
The Health Properties of Cacao
Cacao is chock full of therapeutic benefits and could easily be considered one of nature’s best medicines. It is considered a “super antioxidant” because it has such a high ORAC (a measure of antioxidant amount) score. The unprocessed raw cacao bean contains a higher ORAC than Acai berries, blueberries, or spinach. This antioxidant activity helps protect the heart, prevent cellular damage, and keeps us looking (and feeling) younger.
Consuming cacao in the form of dark chocolate is a heart-healthy way to go. Milk chocolate diminishes the health benefits of cacao considerably. Cacao contains a high level of bioflavonoids that may facilitate healthy blood flow and blood pressure. Eating foods with a high percentage of cacao may help prevent clogging of the arteries that can increase the risk of stroke, blood clots, and heart attacks. That basically translates as “Eat dark chocolate.” The darker the chocolate, the higher the antioxidant levels. Cacao contains oleic acid, which has been suggested to lower cholesterol. And cacao is a great source of magnesium, which provides needed energy for the heart and more. Magnesium aids our bodies in calcium absorption, metabolism, protein synthesis, and activation of B-Complex; and may help prevent or treat individuals with premenstrual syndrome, osteoporosis, diabetes, congestive heart failure, coronary artery disease, and/or high blood pressure. Cacao contains other vitamins and minerals including sulfur, iron, calcium, copper, potassium and zinc.
Cacao contains the amino acid, tryptophan, which leads to the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that promotes feelings of joy and may help prevent mild depression. The small levels of caffeine found in chocolate may influence our mental state by keeping us focused and alert.
Fair Trade Cacao Production
As an import and export, the allure of cacao has historically been so strong that it was used as an integral part of the slave trade, was considered a treat exclusively for royalty, and was the primary cause of more than one war. Still today, exploitation of cacao producing countries exists in the form of forced labor, unfair wages and child slavery. Often middlemen coerce small cacao bean farmers into selling their cacao at undervalued prices, driving the farmers to work excruciatingly long hours just to sustain themselves.
Steps have been made to eliminate poor treatment of cacao farmers through the creation of Fair Trade cacao organizations such as TransFair USA. Fair Trade organizations advocate sustainability, safe conditions and fair wages for the workers in developing countries that produce many of the imports and raw materials of developed nations. In Fair Trade organizations the “middleman” is taken out of the picture and companies work directly with the farmers and producers of raw materials to ensure fair treatment. Fair trade practices have benefited an estimated 7.5 million producers, their families, and their villages by drastically improving living and working conditions through increased wages and increased sense of integrity by allowing individual farmers to have a much more involved role in the exporting of their crops and products.
As a result of Fair Trade cacao practices, wisely choosing our chocolate of choice not only improves our own sense of health and well being but it also supports social responsibility. Next time you consider shying away from a piece of decadent, Fair Trade chocolate, think again. Think of how you might affect positive change in the life of one farmer and his family or even one village.
Cultures all over the world have ritualized and celebrated cacao and chocolate. In the last century we have inadvertently transformed this healing food — mass-producing it, adding more and more sugar, milk, butter, artificial flavorings, and fake fats. As each additional ingredient is added to cacao, the health benefits decrease. When eaten in purer forms, cacao, the foundation for all things chocolate, is an incredibly healing food for our minds, bodies, and souls. We would be doing ourselves justice by indulging in the right kind of chocolate just a little bit more often.
January 12, 2011
by Optimum WellnessComments
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