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Food For Life - Caribbean - Cacao beans

Cacao beans commonly known as the cocoa bean, are the seeds of the tropical cacao fruit. They are about the size of an almond and the taste is rich, creamy and full of cacao's complex flavor notes that range from berry to coffee. Pure cacao beans are an excellent source of nutritious antioxidants, vitamins and minerals that can boost your energy levels and may help to keep your immune system functioning at an optimal level. Shade-grown cacao, grown under mature Moringa trees which are been grown for the pods and seeds, create income for farmers without compromising the natural resources.

The tropical trees naturally withstand flooding and drought, demonstrating a safe choice for growers facing climate change and grows prolifically in all parts of Africa.

Nearly 70% of the world crop today is grown in West Africa and it will do very well on our ABCD Hope Estate, the 275 acre of land that we own in Uganda. On this land ABCD will be cultivating commercial Moringa and will require millions of Moringa seeds. To grow shade-grown cacao under the mature Moringa will make full advantage of the land.

Some information sourced from http://www.foodispower.org/slavery-chocolate/
In recent years, a handful of organizations and journalists have exposed the widespread use of child labour, and in some cases slavery, on cocoa farms in Western Africa. Since then, the industry has become increasingly secretive, making it difficult for reporters to not only access farms where human rights violations still occur, but to then disseminate this information to the public. We will NOT be using child labour on Hope Estate, however it will enable us to give employment to the many orphans in our care over the age of 16 years and to the many women in our empowerment programmes.

Antioxidants help fight off premature aging and even cancers. Think of antioxidants as fire fighters putting out a blaze. And cacao is one of the sources highest of antioxidants

Flavonoids come from plants they are similar to antioxidants in that they have a free radical scavenging capacity and have anti-cancer properties while other flavonoids show potential for anti HIV function. We get a significant amount from cacao.

A one ounce serving of cacao has 64 milligrams of magnesium making it one of the best dietary sources of it. Magnesium is starting to be really recognized as a very key element for the body as it is involved in hundreds of functions in the body such as:

• protein synthesis
• muscle and nerve function
• blood glucose control
• blood pressure regulation

Some information sourced from www.lifehack.org