Bioneers 2025 Conference

Chocolate Rebellion: Creating a Global Value Chain Based on Economic Justice 

Chocolate is a pleasure, but the cultivation and harvest of the cacao bean is hard, skilled labor, a labor most often undervalued by an international commodity market that rewards middle-men and end producers while exploiting the cacao growers of Africa, South America and the Caribbean. In this session, Gillian Goddard, founder of the Chocolate Rebellion, will describe how she has helped bring economic equity to small growers in Trinidad and Africa by developing a network of value-added chocolate enterprises. She will be joined by Laura Ann Sweitzer, Director of Sustainability and Strategic Sourcing at TCHO, a Berkeley-based, organic, Fair Trade, certified B-corporation that produces a full line of quality chocolates and invests in the communities where cacao is grown by partnering directly with technicians and scientists worldwide and paying premiums to farmers to create better quality cacao.

March 27th | 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm

Panelists


Laura Ann Sweitzer
Director of Sustainability and Strategic Sourcing
TCHO Chocolate
Gillian Goddard
Founder
The Chocolate Rebellion