BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT JUST TREES, THEY'RE HOME
As the discussions relating to palm and coconut oil production in our candy cookbook reveal, human hunger for produce grown in tropical regions is particularly hard on primates. Cocoa, sadly, is no exception. Some of the chocolate on the market today is made in part from arriba cacao beans. These unique, floral-scented beans are grown only in Ecuador and are often blended with lower quality cocoa to create the industrial chocolate commonly used in large-scale commercial candy production. Demand for these beans is therefore high, fueling deforestation by small subsistence farmers who cut through large swaths of rainforest to create land upon which to grow them. This destruction along with that done for lumber is decimating the habitat of Brown Spider Monkeys, one of the most endangered species of primates in the world. When trees are cut down, these primates who normally live high in the rainforest canopy have nowhere to go, leaving them vulnerable to predators, including humans who hunt them.
Environmentalists working to save Brown Spider Monkeys have partnered with farmers in the Chocóan region of Ecuador, assisting them with breaking into the gourmet chocolate market in exchange for adopting more sustainable farming practices which preserve the monkeys’ habitat. For a link where to purchase chocolate made from this monkey-friendly cacao, visit allamericanvegan.com.
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Learn more about the monkey preserve funded by the purchase of this chocolate by clicking here
Environmentalists working to save Brown Spider Monkeys have partnered with farmers in the Chocóan region of Ecuador, assisting them with breaking into the gourmet chocolate market in exchange for adopting more sustainable farming practices which preserve the monkeys’ habitat. For a link where to purchase chocolate made from this monkey-friendly cacao, visit allamericanvegan.com.
Learn more about this issue by clicking here
Click here to purchase
Learn more about the monkey preserve funded by the purchase of this chocolate by clicking here