Label Mouse says:
Cocoa life is designed to build confidence for consumers, but what it stands for is quite vague, focussed on increasing yields for Mondelez over benefiting workers or the planet
For example, one of the pillars of the Fairtrade programme was that chocolate-makers had to prove their cocoa was not produced with any child, prison or slave labour. But Cocoa Life, aims for the "reduction in child labour and forced child labour".
Mondelez created this programme as a watered down version of legitimate and independently assessed programmes. For example, where Fair trade guarantees a ‘minimum price’ for farmers, cocoa life guarantees a ‘fair market price’. The definition of 'fair' is up to Mondelez.
‘Training farmers’ equates to vowing approximately 25% of farmers involved in the scheme. Mondelez wants to increase production to meet global demand and that is unlikely to benefit the workers.
They promise:
Cocoa Life trains farmers to increase yields and income and adopt good farming practices to protect forests.
It also works to empower workers and combat child labour. Fairtrade sits on the board of Cocoa Life and helps advise.
There are a lot of food labels out there, but its pretty unclear what they mean.
With the UK leaving the EU we're able to define our own regulations on how our food is produced, the impact on the environment and how the animals involved are cared for. This could be a good or a bad thing. The extra player in the mix is that brands are introducing their own schemes which can appear more eco-friendly than they actually are.
Label Mouse does the research to help you make more informed buying choices. Hope it's useful.
Suggestions and support welcome!
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