Voice 1 Thank you for joining us for today's Spotlight program. I'm Liz Waid. Voice 2 And I'm Joshua Leo. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1 Do you ever eat chocolate? This sweet, rich tasting treat is very popular everywhere in the world. But experts now believe that chocolate is not just a sweet. It may help save the world!
Voice 2 How is this possible? First, it is important to understand where chocolate comes from.
Voice 1 Cacao trees grow deep in the forests of many southern countries. Throughout the year, round fruit grows on the cacao trees. The fruit can grow up to thirty five and a half centimeters long. And it can be many different colours - yellow, green, red or purple.
Voice 2 Traditional farmers own most cacao tree farms. The trees have been a part of some families for many years. Growing cacao trees and harvesting the fruit is often a long time family tradition. When the fruit is ready, the farmers come and take the fruit from the tree, just as their ancestors did over a thousand years ago.
Voice 1 The farmers open the fruit. They remove the soft pulp and seeds from the fruit, and let it dry in the sun. It must dry for several days. When everything is dry, they remove the cacao seeds. The cacao seeds continue to dry. Then seeds go to a factory. There, workers wash them, and then roast them - cook them over a fire. Finally, people use these roasted seeds from the cacao tree to make chocolate.
Voice 2 Now back to our question. How can chocolate help save the planet? Well, it is not the chocolate that will help save the planet, but the cacao tree.
Voice 1 As many people know, our world is very sick. People are poisoning the air with carbon dioxide. When people burn fossil fuels, they create carbon dioxide. Fossil fuels include gas and oil. People use these fuels for many activities - and they are necessary to many communities. But high levels of carbon dioxide are causing climate change - including rising temperatures around the world.
Voice 2 So what does this have to do with the cacao tree? Cacao trees usually grow in rainforests. And rainforests can help protect the planet from climate change. This is because the trees in a rainforest store carbon dioxide. They take it out of the air. And they do not release it until they die.
Voice 1 But, there is a lot less rainforest than there once was. For example, there used to be 1,300,000 square kilometers of rainforest in eastern Brazil. But people have been cutting down the trees of this rainforest. They use the trees for wood and the land for farms. Big companies also cut down the trees so that they can mine for oil and precious jewels.
Voice 2 Many people in Brazil believe that the only way they can survive is to burn down trees and farm the land. But the soil of these farms goes bad very quickly. It does not have many of the nutrients necessary for growing food. The soil loses these important chemicals, and the food will not grow. So, the farmers must leave the land, and find new land. They continue to cut down more and more trees to get new farmland. Only seven percent of the rainforest in Eastern Brazil remains.
Voice 1 That is why many people are interested in saving the rainforests around the world. But, saving the forests means helping the farmers first. They need to be able to make money and survive. That is why Dario Ahnert believes that chocolate is the answer.
Voice 2 Dario is a plant expert. He understands the concerns of the farmers. Many of their crops will not grow under the thick leaves of the rainforest. But he does know that cacao trees will!
Voice 1 Dario's friend Joao is a fourth generation cacao tree grower. Joao, his brother and his father own some rainforest land where they grow cacao trees. They use a method called “cabruca.” Cabruca involves cutting down just a few of the tall rainforest trees. They plant cacao trees under the remaining trees. The ground around the trees is covered with a thick layer of wet leaves. These wet leaves feed the soil. They return the nutrients taken by the cacao trees.
Voice 2 Joao's cacao tree farm does not produce as much fruit as other people's farms. People who farm on open land produce more fruit. But, as Joao explains, these people face other problems.
Voice 3 “You produce more but you have lots of problems. You have more plant disease and more insects, so we decide to protect the rainforest.” Voice 2 With the cabruca method, Joao is making money from his cacao trees. And he is also protecting the rainforest.
Voice 1 Some farmers do not believe that growing cacao trees in the rainforest is the answer. They want to produce more fruit so they can make money faster. But, they do not understand that soon they may no longer have any good land to farm. The soil will continue to be bad as long as they continue to burn down rainforest trees.
Voice 2 Dario hopes that the farmers will soon make a better profit from growing cacao trees in the rainforest. There is a growing demand for environmentally friendly chocolate. This kind of chocolate comes from trees that help protect the rainforest.
Voice 1 And many groups around the world have started giving “carbon credit.” Carbon credit is a new idea. Carbon credit offers money to people and businesses who work to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the air. The groups measure the amount of carbon saved. Then, they give money in relation to the saved carbon.
Voice 2 Today, these groups are trying to find a way to measure how much carbon rainforest cacao tree farms save. The hope is that farmers who plant cacao trees in the rainforest would gain carbon credit. They would receive money for their cacao seeds and for protecting the rainforest. Cutting down the rainforest trees will no longer seem like a good idea.
Voice 1 So, will planting cacao trees in the rainforests of Brazil fix the Earth's climate problem? No, it will not. But in this little part of the world it may help. It may even help other parts of the world save their rainforests too. Hopefully, farmers around the world will find ways to grow crops and save the rainforests. And, just think, more cacao trees also means more chocolate!
Voice 2 The writer of today's program was Rebekah Schipper. The producer was Liz Waid. Computer users can hear more Spotlight programs on our website at http://www.Radio.English.net. This program is called “Can Chocolate Save the World?” Voice 1 You can send comments and questions to Spotlight at radio @ english . net. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye!
Music in this program came from Podington Bear.
