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• Why are some animals black and white?
• The power of pepper
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Introduction

How often do you eat chocolate? It's one of the most loved sweet treats in Europe, but a new EU law could make chocolate more expensive. A business owner, who has small cocoa farms in these places, shares their thoughts and concerns about the new law. We also hear from chocolate lovers about whether they would pay more for their favourite chocolate, and about whether they looked at where their chocolate was produced. Neil and Becca discuss this and teach you some new vocabulary.

This week's question

Europeans are big fans of chocolate, just like us! Around how many tonnes of cocoa beans were imported to Europe in 2023? Was it:

a) 500,000 tonnes
b) two million tonnes
c) 10 million tonnes 

Listen to the programme to hear the answer.

Vocabulary

deforestation
the process of cutting down trees

co-op
a farm owned by its workers

social enterprise
a business that wants to help the community

to trace something back to something
to find out where something has come from

geolocation
data taken from a device which can show you exactly where a person or thing is

remote
at a large distance from places where other people live

TRANSCRIPT

Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript. 

Neil
Hello, this is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

Becca
And I'm Becca. How many of our listeners, Neil, do you think love chocolate?

Neil
Well, I can't think of anyone who doesn't love chocolate. I know, I certainly do.

Becca
Yes, I thought you might say that, having seen your mid-morning snack most days!

Neil
That's true. I do love a bit of dark chocolate. Do you know, I really like the one that's got some chilli in it. What's your favourite, Becca?

Becca
Oh, I also love dark chocolate, but chilli is a bit spicy for me. I like it with sea salt.

Neil
Hmm, that's also good. But now to the stuff that makes chocolate possible - cocoa - a key ingredient and it's become more expensive in recent years.

Becca
Now, a new EU law could make chocolate even more expensive. Today, we'll talk about how this law could change things for farmers, companies and chocolate lovers, as discussed on the recent BBC World Service programme Business Daily.

Neil
As always, we'll learn some useful new words and phrases and you'll find all the vocabulary along with a transcript on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.

Becca
Before we get started Neil, I have a question for you. Europeans are big fans of chocolate, just like us! Around how many tonnes of cocoa beans were imported to Europe in 2023? Was it:

a) 500,000 tonnes
b) two million tonnes
c) 10 million tonnes

Neil
Well, I have no idea, but I'm just going to guess and say 500,000 tonnes.

Becca
We'll find out if you're right later on!

Neil
Now, that new EU law that we were talking about earlier would stop companies buying cocoa from land where any trees were cut down in the last six years. The process of cutting down trees is called deforestation.

Becca
Albert Smith, who owns a small chocolate business, believes that the new law wouldn't change too much for his company.

Albert Smith
…we have all the information on farm level already because the producers that we work with are small plantations that either work through a co-op or social enterprise and all of our cocoa is already traced back to the plantation.

Neil
Albert adds that they already know where the cocoa beans come from, as they work with farmers from co-ops or social enterprises. A co-op in this case is a farm owned by its workers.

Becca
A social enterprise is a business that wants to help the community. Because of working with farmers who are part of these organisations, Albert says that the cocoa they buy can already be traced back to the farms. To trace something back to something, means to find out where something has come from. Here’s Albert Smith again.

Albert Smith
Mapping means that farmers have to actually provide the geolocations of their plantation. And you know, for some farmers that are very remote, that comes also with a challenge.

Neil
Albert suggests that giving a geolocation is difficult for some farmers, as they live in remote places and don't all have mobile phones. Geolocation is data taken from a special device which shows exactly where something is, and the term remote means at a large distance from places where other people live.

Becca
Because of these changes, the price of chocolate might go up even more, meaning that chocolate lovers us could really notice the difference in our bank accounts. Reporter, Matthew Kenyon, asked a chocolate lover on the street if they would pay more for their chocolate.

Chocolate Lover 1
Absolutely I would do that because I think the normal chocolates are way too cheap. Definitely we will pay, we have to pay more because the money will go to the local people, to give them a better life, also to tackle deforestation.

Neil
And he asked another chocolate lover about whether he looks at where the cocoa beans come from.

Chocolate Lover 2
For me, personally, absolutely not! Out of principle, because I want them to be produced most efficiently as possible. The cost is completely irrelevant. But on principle, I want production to be as efficient as possible. Otherwise, it's a waste of everybody's time.

Neil
Mixed opinions, it seems there Becca! Whilst one chocolate lover would pay more for chocolate to support farmers and production, the other doesn't worry too much about the cost, but says the production process should be as efficient as possible.

Becca
OK, time to answer our quiz question. Earlier, I asked you how many tonnes of cocoa were imported to Europe in 2023 and you said 500,000 tonnes. Well, Neil, I'll tell you, it is 2 million tonnes!

Neil
Wow. Well, I was wrong and that really is a lot.

Becca
Between us, we've probably eaten a few tonnes already this year!

Neil
At least, Becca! I'd be interested to know what kind of chocolate our listeners enjoy!

Becca
Me too! And whether they would be happy about paying more for their favourite chocolate bar!

Neil
OK, let's recap some of the vocabulary from today.

Becca
Deforestation is the process of cutting down trees.

Neil
We heard co-op which is a farm owned by its workers.

Becca
A social enterprise is a business that wants to help the community.

Neil
To trace something back to something is to find out where something has come from.

Becca
Geolocation is data taken from a device which can show you exactly where a person or thing is.

Neil
And finally, remote means at a large distance from places where other people live.

Becca
Once again, our six minutes are up, but if you want to test your knowledge, visit our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you'll also find a worksheet and quiz for this episode. Bye! See you next time.

Neil
Goodbye!

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