How Chocolate Could Resolve the Occupy Wall Street Protests

Seeing the messages of the people demonstrating all over the world for various noble and good causes has been great. Issues that sometimes go unmentioned are forced into the light and cleansed of the dirty lies that usually accompany them. I think a majority of people can agree with a majority of issues raised, but when it comes time to solving those problems or attaining justice for those wronged, it is then that the majority splits and creates a new dynamic of answers.

So the real problem is not whether the corporate or political systems should change, but HOW they should change to better reflect the will of the people. Some companies have taken great strides at improving or showing the public their community involvement, progressive environmental policies, or building LEED certified offices. In some companies, however, though they may have made many positive contributions, protesters insist that the company's overall impact is negative to the people. And protesters could be correct.

When we see an industry in need of reform and hesitant to do so, we should look at past examples of forced change and see how the industry has performed. That's where we look at chocolate. The chocolate industry was (some argue still) corrupt. For all of its history, there has been corruption, malfeasance, price fixing (see previous post), religious interference, and slavery.

Only since1970 has real reform started, but chocolate makers have made great strides. Now we are on a verge of a chocolate renaissance. Changing everything at once is impossible, but over a number of years, things will happen.