Chocolate firms sign up to support 300,000 cocoa farmers through CocoaAction
A dozen of the world’s largest chocolate companies have signed a joint agreement to improve sustainability in key cocoa-producing countries, starting with Ivory Coast and Ghana. The 12, which include Mars, Hershey, Mondelez International and Nestlé, have pledged to work with the Ivory Coast and Ghanaian governments and other key institutions to train farmers, provide materials and promote community development. The work is expected to improve the lives and productivity of 200,000 farmers in Ivory Coast and 100,000 farmers in Ghana, the two countries responsible for around 55 per cent of the world’s cocoa supply. The scheme, known as CocoaAction, is part of the work of the World Cocoa Foundation (WCF), and there are plans to roll it out to other producer countries. Barry Parkin, WCF chairman and chief sustainability officer at Mars, said: “This agreement represents one of the most significant steps the sector is taking to make cocoa sustainable. This alignment of objectives, commitment of resources, and sharing of best practices is the type of transformative initiative that will really help farmers become more productive and secure the future of cocoa.” (Supply Management)
Cadbury Malaysia in pork DNA investigation
Chocolate maker Cadbury Malaysia, part of Mondelez International, has launched an investigation after two of its products were found to contain traces of pork DNA in a random test. The company voluntarily recalled its Dairy Milk hazelnut and Dairy Milk roasted almond bars last Saturday after Malaysia’s Ministry of Health confirmed it had found pork DNA in them. After initially downplaying concerns, Cadbury Malaysia issued a statement, saying: “We understand how important halal is to the Muslim community. It is also of the highest importance to us here at Cadbury. Since our first learning of this, we have been actively engaging with the concerned authorities to investigate the issue with the highest urgency.” According to the New Straits Times, at least a dozen Islamic NGOS are demanding tougher action against the company, such as the closure of all its factories. “This will teach all companies in Malaysia to maintain and protect the sensitivities of Malaysians,” Sheikh Abdul Kareem Khadaied, the head of research with the Muslim Consumers Association Malaysia, told a news conference in Kuala Lumpur. (Al Jazeera; Reuters)
Environment
Americans care deeply about ‘global warming’ – but not ‘climate change’
New research has found that Americans care more deeply when the term “global warming” is used to describe the major environmental challenge. “Climate change”, in contrast, leaves them relatively cold. The two terms are often used interchangeably but they generate very different responses, according to researchers from the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communications. “The choice of these two terms really does matter, depending on who you are talking to,” said Anthony Leiserowitz, a research scientist at Yale and one of the lead authors of the research. While scientists often prefer climate change for technical reasons, Americans in general were 13% more likely to say that global warming was a bad thing. Differences were even more pronounced among Latinos, African-Americans, women, and young people. George W Bush swapped the term climate change for global warming in 2002, on the advice of the Republican political consultant, Frank Luntz, who advised that climate change was “less frightening” than global warming. Officials in Obama’s first term avoided any mention of either term, preferring instead to speak about “clean energy” and “green jobs”. (The Guardian)
EU agrees biofuels compromise in an attempt to restore policy certainty
EU diplomats look to have brokered a compromise on biofuels policy in a behind closed doors meeting in Brussels yesterday. It has emerged that representatives of the 28 member states have agreed to cap the use of crop-based biofuels at seven per cent of the EU’s 10 per cent renewable energy target for the transport sector, while including a 0.5 per cent sub target for advanced biofuels. Under the reported terms of the deal, the European Commission will produce annual reports on indirect land use change (ILUC) emissions relating to biofuel production, such as the clearing of rainforests. Green groups have argued that once ILUC factors are taken into account some biofuels have higher lifetime emissions than fossil fuels. “Advanced biofuels”, made from waste, agricultural residues, or algae, avoid ILUC emissions, making them a more sustainable alternative. Yesterday, Friends of the Earth published a report said that a land area three times the size of the UK would be needed to meet EU biofuel demand in 2030 unless a cap is imposed. Robbie Blake, biofuels campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe, welcomed the news of the cap, but argued that “the measures agreed are very weak… The reckless use of food crops to fuel our cars should be phased out altogether.” (Business Green)
Policy
Top scientists warn WHO not to stub out e-cigarettes
A group of 53 leading scientists has warned the World Health Organisation not to classify e-cigarettes as tobacco products, arguing that doing so would jeopardise a major opportunity to slash disease and deaths caused by smoking. The UN agency, which is currently assessing its position on the matter, has previously indicated it would favour applying similar restrictions to all nicotine-containing products. In an open letter to WHO Director General Margaret Chan, the scientists from Europe, North America, Asia and Australia argued that low-risk products like e-cigarettes were “part of the solution” in the fight against smoking. “These products could be among the most significant health innovations of the 21st century – perhaps saving hundreds of millions of lives. The urge to control and suppress them as tobacco products should be resisted,” the experts wrote. Leaked documents have suggested the WHO views e-cigarettes as a “threat” and wants them classified the same way as regular tobacco products under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, to which 178 countries are signatories. Major tobacco companies, all of which have made investments in e-cigarettes in recent years, have backed the report. (Reuters)
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