Holiday Tour Day 25: Sustain What and Fruition

Where it all comes to fruition

Not that you waited all day at the edge of your seat but… this is it! The final stop of The Cacao Muse Holiday Tour!

Why so late, at the midnight hour? First, our featured writer we planned to close the Tour with, couldn’t make it in the end due to a busy holiday schedule and, you know, life. Several times over the past few weeks it did look like it would happen, but in the end, I had to write another story. Second, it’s Christmas Day. My family went on a 4.7-mile hike with some appreciable inclines, prancing deer (‘tis the season), and lots of impossibly cute bunnies. Third, we wanted to see whether we could turn a chocolate carriage into a pumpk—

[Sound of frantic claws tearing across hardwood floors. Boss Cat’s moving so fast he can’t stop in time and crashes into the side of Birgitte’s desk. Nearly knocks himself unconscious.]

Birgitte: What’s up Boss?

[Boss Cat’s head is spinning from the impact. All he can manage is spit out the note he was holding in his teeth. Birgitte picks it up and nearly falls off her chair.]

Birgitte [running down the corridor to The Cacao Muse head office]: STOP THE PRESSES! Andy’s story is a GO!

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Crikey, that sure messed up the intro we had so carefully crafted for this last stop on the Tour. I was supposed to thank you all for joining us, express my gratitude to all of the authors who participated, thank Boss Cat and his contingent for making appearances we couldn’t refuse, the Art Dogs for their cameo, and the chat bots for not knowing what Gary’s favorite chocolate is.

I was supposed to remind everyone that you only have till December 25th to achieve permanent Cacao Deity status, for 20% less. Oh, wait—it’s expiring already now, because we’re delayed! Hang on. We’re running this story, and we’re keeping this discount live. Alright, done, fixed, you’ve got one more day!

And, and… I was also supposed to publish the ground rules for the Holiday Tour prizes I’m giving away. We might have to push that off a few days too. This whole thing just blew up didn’t it! Sometimes, the chocolate runs all over your countertop. Sometimes it doesn’t set right the first time.

But in the end, it all comes together just the way it was meant to be.

TCM Holiday Tour Day 25 pairing:

SUSTAIN WHAT and FRUITION

Today I had planned on featuring someone I have known and respected for nearly twenty years, long before Substack was a twinkle in its founders’ eyes. I had interviewed him back in 2004 for a report I wrote about social responsibility in the media & communications sector. He is a prize-winning environmental journalist, the author of the Dot Earth blog at The New York Times, and a wonderful human being dedicated to sharing his vast knowledge and insights into the role we can all play in sustaining the only liveable planet we’ve got in the known universe. His name is Andy Revkin.

And tonight, as of literally ten minutes ago, I no longer have to talk about this story in the past tense. I no longer have to write an entire substitute story. Because Andy sent in his responses, and we are a go!

And not a moment too soon, either, if we are to shift the way we do chocolate.

Please welcome

Andy @Revkin

and

Sustain What

.

Kayaking in Lamoine, Maine. Photo courtesy of Andy Revkin.

The Cacao Muse: Andy, so glad you were able to swing by! We just introduced you, but we’d love to hear more about your work, in your own words.

Andy Revkin: My Sustain What webcast and dispatch center on using conversation to drive progress on tough problems that are a bad fit for conventional news articles. My goal is to cut the use of amorphous terms like sustainability or climate crisis and foster a culture of constructive inquiry starting with asking, sustain what? For whom? How? Who is in crisis? The project builds on my 40 years of prize-winning globe-spanning environmental journalism, mostly for The New York Times. 

Birgitte: You’ve sent us some great photos—let’s run those. My favorite first please.

Andy videotaping Joe McConnell, a glacier scientist, in Greenland, 2004. Photo courtesy of Andy Revkin.

Birgitte: This was the same year I interviewed you for that report my company produced. One of my favorite quotes from you is this one,¹ when I had asked you about the roots of the general lack of scientific literacy in the U.S.:

They’re not teaching critical thinking in elementary school, and that’s what’s needed. Science is just critical thinking. It’s a journey toward truth.

~ Andy Revkin

Birgitte: Here’s a photo of you in Copenhagen, Denmark, covering the climate treaty talks during COP15. We just had COP28 in Dubai… might be me but isn’t some percentage of that hot air warming the planet coming from certain closed rooms at these conferences… ? Sigh.

Covering the pivotal round of climate treaty talks in Copenhagen, 2009. Photo courtesy of Andy Revkin.

Birgitte: And finally, a fish that takes three men to hold up:

Helping release a tagged male Atlantic sturgeon in the Hudson River, 2010. (Andy is on the right). Photo courtesy of Andy Revkin.

TCM: Speaking of fish, what’s your favorite chocolate?

Andy: My favorite chocolate these days is pretty basic: Hershey’s Special Dark Mildly Sweet Chocolate with Almonds.² I like the feel and taste of the chocolate, the crunch of the nuts, the company’s commitment to improving its cacao sourcing and—yes—the price. Hershey’s has also worked hard to shift to cacao and palm oil supplies monitored by Rainforest Alliance and other other independent organizations. The company reports it is halfway through a 10-year, $500 million Cocoa for Good program that it says is focused not only on transparent supply chains but also farmer income and ending child labor.

Birgitte: So, about Hershey and their reports… no doubt some within the company are trying to move the needle, but there’s a lot Big Chocolate doesn’t want people like you to go investigate. In fact there have been several lawsuits filed by—

[A strange clicking sound, followed by a rather unnerving shredding screech. Then silence.]

Boss Cat: Oops.

Birgitte: Oh no. Did you just run Andy’s chocolate bar through the shredder?

Boss Cat [meowing defiantly]. Ehh, si, l’ho fatto! Yes, I did! This, is a horrible chocolate. It has PGPR. It must be banned forever.

Photo courtesy of Andy Revkin. Or Boss Cat.

Andy: Oh, no no, that’s just a picture of all that’s left of the most recent Hershey’s dark almond bar in the cabinet.

Boss Cat: Bad chocolate. Has PGPR.

Birgitte: Yeah PGPR is definitely one of the baddies on my list. Lecithin isn’t great either, but PGPR, that’s a strikeout. Let me introduce you to a different kind of bar.

[Sounds of the Colombian jungle… birds chirping, frogs pinging (yes some frogs ping), wings flapping, all sorts of paws and feet scurrying around]

Birgitte: Behold, the Colombia Tumaco 85% Dark Chocolate bar, by Fruition Chocolate Works. It’s just emerging from the rainforest, covered in dew.

Boss Cat: [meooooowww purrrrrr]

Birgitte: Ha, look even the poison dart frogs love this one. Look at that little guy trying to drag it away.

Chocolate: Colombia Tumaco Dark Chocolate

Percentage: 85%

Origin: Tumaco, Colombia

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, organic cane sugar

Price: $10.00

Tasting Notes: Just as it emerged from the depths of the rainforest, this bar glides onto your tongue impossibly smooth and creamy, blossoming in rich blackberry and lighter fruity notes. Once melted away, it leaves a nostalgic finish of butterscotch. 

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TCM: Andy, what would you want to ask the chocolate experts?

Andy: I’d love to connect with experts on child labor to learn how to speed a transition to a world where all families along the cacao chain are sufficiently prosperous that their kids might enjoy chocolate on occasion instead of having to work 80 to 100 hours a week in producing this commodity. Last year a U.S. Department of Labor report found that in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, which together produce more than half of the world’s cacao, “1.56 million children are engaged in child labor on cacao farms.”

Birgitte: We can arrange that. [gives Boss Cat a nod; Boss Cat takes off to make some calls] And that 1.56 million figure? That’s the watered-down version… see dark chocolate rabbit hole here.

Andy: I actually haven’t covered the cacao and chocolate trade in all my years on the beat, but the invitation to post here has provided a fresh impetus to dig in. 

Birgitte: The undergrowth, as it were, is certainly plenty deep. Happy to chat more.

TCM: If there were one thing you had the power to change about the chocolate industry, what would it be?

Andy: My focus has long been on how to boost communication capacity and innovation in pursuit of a better human journey on this finite planet. I’d love to use my Sustain What webcast to convene conversations with farmers, the industry’s sustainability professionals, independent watchdogs and retailers to help drive more companies up the Chocolate Scorecard released regularly by a consortium of nonprofit groups and university researchers. It’s concerning to see Hershey’s lower than it should be and companies like Starbucks, Godiva and Kellogg’s scraping the bottom. And Uniliver, a poster child for sustainable commerce, among those not supplying data.

Birgitte: Yep that’s Big Chocolate for you. So much to discuss on this point—these scorecards are but the icing ice on a rather dark chocolate cake. So much greenwashing to air—and so much ethically made chocolate to taste!

Andy, it has been a pleasure to have you with us, and to close the First Annual Cacao Muse Holiday Tour with your feature. I’m honored by the level of attention you’ve given our questions. The more of us roll up our sleeves, the further we will move that cacao needle. As they say, this is just the beginning.

To all, thank you for coming along for the ride, for all your comments, likes, Notes, and restacks. A wholehearted warm welcome to all of the new members of The Cacao Muse, especially our new Cacao Deities, and above all, a huge thanks to all of the authors who participated in the Tour—you gave generously of your time, your thoughtful responses, and your warmth and energy. There would be no Tour without you.

I need a day to sleep, but I’ll be back with the promised giveaway guide. This Tour isn’t really over till those prizes find their forever homes!

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THAT’S A WRAP!

Curious what the replacement story was going to be? Why, I was going to reveal what chocolate I had paired with The Cacao Muse herself! Of course now we’ll have to wait till next Christmas to find out…

~ That is unspeakably cruel. I will wither in desperation by that time.

~ But our original featured writer came through in the end! What was I supposed to do, tell him ‘Sorry too late!’ ?

~ Well, no, but… it’s just that we could have found out what YOUR favorite chocolate is…

~ You will.

1. “The Colors of Perception: A Report on Social Responsibility on the Media and Communications Sector in the US.” Ed. Birgitte Rasine. First Edition. LUCITÀ Inc., 2005. p. L-5.

2. Out of respect for our esteemed featured author, we will list the URL that came with the Hershey’s bar, here. However, given the inclusion of certain “baddie” ingredients in this bar, we recommend to our readers that if they do purchase this bar, that instead of eating it, they ship it directly to Boss Cat’s HQ, where his henchcats will utilize it in some of their special ceremonies. Note, however, the price is suspiciously low… just $2.99 for a 4.25-oz bar. We all know what that means, don’t we…