I found this while mucking around in the Mast Brothers chocolate controversy where the origin of chocolate and chocolate production methodologies are under scru

I found this while mucking around in the Mast Brothers chocolate controversy where the origin of chocolate and chocolate production methodologies are under scrutiny. From the Quartz article on the Mast Brothers [1]: 'Transparency is important to all elements of the food movement, but it is particularly relevant in the realm of chocolate, Carla Martin, lecturer on African and African American Studies at Harvard University, and founder and executive director of the Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute, told Quartz. She cites examples like Cadbury’s ignoring the use of slave labor in its supply chain in the early 1900s, and early industrial chocolate makers who were found to be bulking up chocolate with corn sugar. “It’s something that people involved in the craft chocolate movement are very concerned with,” she says. “There are ideals about this kind of openness in one’s business practices and it comes from very real concerns about fraudulent practices in the food industry.” Similar concerns continue to the present day: Most of the world’s chocolate comes from West Africa, where practices like child labor and rainforest clearing are rampant.' In addition to providing transparency, the institute offers services for training how to grade cacao and soon a database for "database for external evaluation, cut tests, and organoleptic evaluation of cacao." _ (For those interested in the Mast Brothers issue: There is also a 4 part series exploring the Mast Brothers and their chocolate by a Dallas based food blogger [2.]. And NPR article to make you feel better about yourself if you're anxious about this 'controversy' and your recent chocolate purchases [3.].) _ References: 1. Quartz Article: http://qz.com/571151/the-mast-brothers-fooled-the-world-into-buying-crappy-hipster-chocolate-for-10-a-bar/ http://qz.com/571151/the-mast-brothers-fooled-the-world-into... 2. Dallas Food Blog Exposé on the "Credibility" of Mast Brothers (4 part series): http://dallasfood.org/2015/12/mast-brothers-what-lies-behind-the-beards-part-1-tastetexture/ http://dallasfood.org/2015/12/mast-brothers-what-lies-behind... 3. NPR Article: http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/23/460819387/are-you-a-sucker-if-you-like-mast-brothers-chocolate http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/12/23/460819387/are...