Friday, June 15, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Thorntons' founder bewails fate of his chocolate factory
Quote of the day:
I do fear that if Thorntons survives at all, it may well finish up as another Cadburys - a tiny part of some huge foreign multinational with employees thrown out of work, factories closed, shops closed and the usual and unseen damage to the locality and the country.
Peter Thornton, member of the founding family and former Thorntons chairman foresees a sticky end for the confectioner.
'Disaster is inevitable,' he intones.
Original article by Rebecca Burn-Callander
http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/features/1135844/thorntons-founder-bewails-fate-chocolate-factory/
Friday, June 8, 2012
Dark chocolates cut heart attack risk? Not quite
If you are thinking of throwing out your cholesterol medication and chomping on dark chocolate instead, don't.
A group of cardiologists here has rubbished a recent study in Australia which claims that eating dark chocolate is a cost-effective way of cutting one's risk of cardiovascular disease.
The study is flawed, they say.
Just published in the British Medical Journal, the study claims daily consumption of dark chocolate over 10 years would cut the number of fatal strokes and heart attacks by 15 for every 10,000 people, and the number of non-fatal strokes and heart attacks by 70 for every 10,000 people.
The team from Monash University said: “Daily dark chocolate consumption could be an effective cardiovascular preventive strategy.”
Flavanoids, found in dark, but not milk, chocolate, are known to lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels – two risk factors for heart attacks.
The Australian researchers calculated that if the country invested A$40 (US$39.78) a person a year in a “chocolate strategy” with advertisements, education and possibly a subsidy, it would reap good returns.
Reginald Liew, a cardiologist at Singapore's National Heart Centre, said while it is true that previous studies have shown the beneficial effects of eating dark chocolate, the researchers did not take into account the large amount of sugar and fat that would also be consumed, “which may undo some benefits found in this study”.
This is a failing even the Monash team admits.
Another flaw which limits the usefulness of the result is that the study was based on statistical modeling, meaning that the outcomes are “hypothetical” and not based on “real data”, said Liew.
He added that even if the findings were real, people would need to eat a lot of dark chocolate daily over 10 years – for “very modest benefits”.
Pipin Kojodjojo from the National University Heart Centre said: “Before you rush out to stock up on dark chocolate, be aware that the study has many flaws.”
It is unrealistic to expect people to eat a 100g bar of dark chocolate every day of their lives, he added. Even if one assumes that a chocolate bar costs only S$1 (78 US cents), it would cost more than S$40 million to prevent 70 non-fatal strokes and heart attacks and 15 deaths among 10,000 people.
Kojodjojo added: “I would argue that we'd prevent more strokes and heart attacks and save more lives if we could get 10,000 people to exercise for 20 minutes daily for 10 years, or 10,000 smokers to stop smoking for 10 years, or 10,000 at-risk patients to eat a healthier diet for 10 years.”
They have a good point. Eating better, exercising or giving up smoking are probably better options.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Sir Bob Geldof Urges Change to give Cacao farmers more say.
Sir Bob Geldof addressed the audience of the first CHOCOVISION conference sharing his views on a sustainable development in the world, with a particular focus on Africa, and the urge for the cocoa industry to commit to a sustainable future for all. And the time for action is now.
Mr. Geldof urges the industry as a whole to take its responsibility and to advance in the direction of long-term growth for everyone involved in the supply chain, rather than short-term shareholder value. The actual economical model proves to have failed as shown by the deep crisis we are in. There is an urgent need to invent a new model where poor people are given a voice, a fight Mr. Geldof has taken on for almost 30 years. Yet, “when you can only live to survive, the creative mind doesn’t switch on, there is no time, no space for it”, says Geldof. Hence, the industry needs to support the creation of a sustainable future for these farmers.
Mr. Geldof also highlighted the risks faced by the industry: the narrow band around the equator where chocolate is bound to be finite:
“By 2050, if climate change continues the way it currently does, half the land for cocoa cultivation will disappear.”
As pointed out by Mr. Geldof, one of the ways to get out of this circle is to get more engaged with farmers, give them the power to be part of price negotiations, invest in capacity building programs at farm level and in local infrastructures to foster the development of these communities. The solution to the challenge can be overcome by collaboration: collaboration with NGOs, with farmers, with all the partners in the supply chain.
Mr. Geldof is convinced that the cocoa industry has the possibility and the power to improve the situation. However, it is now time to act for a sustainable growth in all parts of the chain.
Full article: http://www.chocovision.ch/blog/?p=206
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Tuesday, June 5, 2012
Mars Chocolate grows use of sustainable cocoa
The company announced Thursday it had accomplished a goal of purchasing 10 percent of its cocoa — roughly 30,000 tons — from sustainable sources in 2011, and it expects to purchase 90,000 tons of sustainable cocoa in 2012. Three years ago, Mars pledged to purchase all its cocoa from sustainable sources by 2020, when it is expected that demand will far outweigh supply for the sweet treat. In order to achieve higher yields of cocoa, Mars and its partners are working to do research on cocoa plants, apply technology and new agricultural methods to the millions of small individual cocoa farms, and use certification to make sure best practices are followed. Through three organizations — the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International and UTZ Certified — a set of standards are used to verify that cocoa farmers are using best sustainability practices. "A successful certification program is so important to our effort because it is the most effective tool we currently have to reach millions of cocoa farmers at scale," said Barry Parkin, head of global procurement and sustainability, in the company's announcement. "It took a lot of hard work from farmers, certifiers and others along the supply chain to meet this milestone, and we are pleased to see their energy paying off." via njbiz.com http://www.njbiz.com/article/20120604/NJBIZ01/120609942/-1/daily/Mars-Chocola...
Sustainable and Fairtrade. That's what the chocolate industry should be aiming for.
Friday, June 1, 2012
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