History of chocolate

Scientists debate how long humans have been using and consuming cacao beans. Chocolate's history goes back at least 2,000 years, while historians Sophie and Michael Coe, authors of "The True History of Chocolate" (Thames and Hudson, 2013), suggest that it might go back four millennia. The word chocolate can be traced back to the Aztec word "xocoatl," the name for a bitter drink made from cacao beans. This was the way chocolate was consumed until the Spanish conquistadors came to Central America.

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In several pre-Columbian Latin American societies, cacao beans were used as currency, according to Smithsonian magazine. Mayans and Aztecs believed the beans had mystical properties and used them during important rituals. When the Spanish arrived, sweetened chocolate came into existence. Legend has it that the Aztec king Montezuma gave conquistador Hernán Cortés a bitter chocolate drink, which he said was disgusting. But Cortés' men added cane sugar and honey to it and took it back to Spain, where it quickly became popular.

Chocolate was a fashionable drink for rich Europeans throughout the 18th century. The Industrial Revolution allowed chocolate to be mass-produced and brought the treat to the masses. The popularity led to the development of cacao tree plantations.

Enslaved people farmed most of the plantations. Initially, Spanish colonizers forced Mesoamericans to farm the cacao plantations, according to "The Biography of Chocolate" (Crabtree Publishing Co., 2005), by Adrianna Morganelli. When the indigenous peoples began to die in large numbers from diseases brought by Europeans, enslaved Africans were brought over to make up the labor shortage. In addition to sugarcane, indigo and other crops, enslaved Africans planted, maintained and harvested cacao trees throughout the Caribbean, Central and South America to feed the new European taste for chocolate.

In 1815, Dutch physicist Coenraad Van Houten experimented with removing varied amounts of the cocoa butter from chocolate liquor, according to Cornell University. This led to the creation of cocoa powder and soon solid chocolate.

In 1847, a Bristol, England, chocolate company, Fry's, created the first mass-produced chocolate bar when Joseph Fry added additional cocoa butter to Van Houten's chocolate, which turned it into a moldable paste, according to Bristol Museums. Milk chocolate was invented soon after with the help of Henri Nestlé, who went on to found the major food company that bears his name. Major European chocolate brands Lindt and Cadbury also got their start in the 1800s; Rodolphe Lindt invented the conching machine, which gives chocolate a velvety texture.

Mass chocolate consumption hit the United States in the late 1800s when Milton S. Hershey began selling chocolate-coated caramels. He then developed his own formula for milk chocolate, purchased chocolate factory equipment and introduced mass-produced chocolate bars and other shapes, like Hershey's Kisses, in 1900.

In 1923, the Mars Co. developed the Milky Way bar by putting nougat inside a chocolate bar. That same year, former Hershey employee H.B. Reese introduced Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, which later became part of the Hershey brand.

As the years progressed, chocolate concoctions from both small and large producers became increasingly innovative. In September 2017, Swiss chocolate company Barry Callebaut introduced ruby chocolate. Ruby chocolate comes from isolating specific compounds in cocoa beans, according to Confectionary News. That, along with a modified processing technique, results in a rosy pink chocolate that has a sweet but sour berry taste and no traditional chocolate flavor, according to The Sydney Morning Herald. Other colored chocolates are made from dyed white chocolate.

Threats to chocolate

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Chocolate production is threatened by climate change. According to a 2016 report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the primary cacao-producing countries of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Indonesia will experience a 2.1 degree Celsius (3.7 degrees Fahrenheit) increase in temperature by 2050. Rainfall will not rise along with the temperature, causing lowered humidity levels. As a result, viable land for cacao production will significantly shrink. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability report, 89.5 percent of the 294 chocolate-producing locations studied would become less suitable by 2050. 

Farmers and scientists are working to develop strategies to maintain chocolate production. Some farmers are planting taller trees next to cacao trees to increase shade and decrease moisture loss, according to the NOAA. Cacao plantations may also move to higher elevations with cooler temperatures and greater rainfall. 

Genetic scientists are taking a different approach. A January 2018 press release from the Innovative Genomics Institute announced a project to develop disease-resistant cacao. Condensing cacao plantations because of climate change could increase the spread of disease. The project will use CRISPR DNA-editing technology to make a heartier cacao seed.  

Ethics of chocolate production

According to Slave Free Chocolate, 2.3 million children work in chocolate production in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, where they are vulnerable to trafficking, slavery and other violent labor practices. The International Labor Rights Forumreports that these children are often exposed to chemicals, work long hours and are denied education. According to Epicure and Culture, many children are sold into slavery and never see their families again. Others are kidnapped.

Though the Harkin-Engel Protocol of 2001 was designed to stop child labor in the chocolate industry, according to the CNN Freedom Project, little has changed. The deadlines for action have been repeatedly pushed back. 

Consumers who want ethical chocolate should look for certifications designating Fair Trade, Rain Forest Alliance, UTZ, and Fair for Life, according to Slave Free Chocolate’s guide to chocolate companies.

Chocolate production can also harm the environment. Farmers often clear forests to make room for cacao plantations. According to the World Wildlife Fund, about 70 percent of Côte d'Ivoire's illegal deforestation is related to cacao farming. One danger of deforestation is soil erosion, which can make land less fertile for cacao plants, creating a vicious cycle, according to Confectionary News.