The model is also questioned by a new exhibition in Geneva, which explores Switzerland’s colonial past.
To those who point out that Switzerland never had any colonies of its own, chocolate historian Letizia Pinoja counters that Swiss mercenary soldiers policed other countries’ colonies, and Swiss ship owners transported slaves.
Geneva in particular, she says, has a particular link to some of the most exploitative phases of the chocolate industry.
“Geneva is a hub for commodity trade, and since the 18th Century, cocoa was reaching Geneva and then the rest of Switzerland to produce chocolate.
“Without this commodity trade of colonial goods, Switzerland could never have become the land of chocolate. And cocoa is no different from any other kind of colonial good. They all came from slavery.”
Nowadays, the chocolate industry is much more highly regulated. Producers are supposed to monitor their entire supply chain to make sure there is no child labour. And, from next year, all chocolate imported to the European Union must guarantee that no deforestation took place to grow the cocoa used in it.
But does that mean all the problems are solved? Roger Wehrli, director of the association of Swiss chocolate manufacturers, Chocosuisse, says cases of child labour and deforestation remain, particularly in Africa. He fears that some producers, in a bid to avoid the challenges, are simply shifting their production to South America.
“Does this solve the problem in Africa? No. I guess it would be better for responsible firms to stay in Africa and help to improve the situation.”
That is why Mr Wehrli sees the new chocolate developed in Zurich as “very promising… If you use the whole cocoa fruit, you can get better prices. So it’s economically interesting for the farmers. And it’s interesting from an ecological point of view.”
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