I started the day by renting a bike and cycling through the park! My friends and I rented bikes for just 11.50 euro and used them to get bagels for breakfast. It was a beautiful scene, but unfortunately I didn’t trust my biking skills enough to bike one handed and take pictures on the ride. Once we arrived at Bagels and Beans, I ordered a lox bagel with cream cheese and a large cappuccino. Contrary to European stereotypes, the cappuccino was unexpectedly enormous, I felt like I was straight out of a scene from Gilmore Girls. After a delicious breakfast, we boarded the bikes yet again and somehow managed to navigate our way home. 

Once back at The Generator, we met with Tony Chocolonely’s Joke Aerts who serves as Inspire to Actress. Through her role, she works to create traceability and transparency within Tony’s cocoa supply chain. She began the presentation by highlighting some of the clear human rights violations common within the cocoa trade including: poverty, illegal labor and deforestation. From the presentation, I learned that the majority of cocoa farmers are not able to earn a living income and live on less than $0.78 a day, 1.56 million children work illegally in the industry, and over 10,000 hectares of land are deforested each year. Clearly these statistics convey the fact that modern cocoa farming practices are unsustainable and simply violate human and natural rights. 

Joke continued on to explain the action that Tony Chocolonely is taking to combat the cocoa crisis. Tony has implemented an open supply chain with traceable beans that is essential to supporting farms and creating long term sustainable solutions. While these ethical practices increase production costs, paying a higher price is necessary to ensure that historically exploited farmers are able to achieve a living income. Tony Chocolonely’s business model targets corporations of small growers. Contracts are signed that ensure that these co-ops uphold Tony’s working practices that create safe conditions for cocoa farmers. 

After learning about the inspiring ethical standards of the company, we boarded a tram to visit the chocolate store! I was surprised at how affordable the chocolate was after so much discussion about increasing prices. I purchased 4 large bars of high quality chocolate for only 15 euro. The price increase seems incredibly minimal especially considering the life changing effects that Tony’s policies are having on the livelihood of farmers in Ghana, and the chocolate tastes amazing!