ADRIAN LING: CEO of Plamil Foods

Forca Vegan speaks with Adrian Ling, CEO of original vegan chocolate manufacturer Plamil, and the brains behind their latest successful vegan fairly traded chocolate range So Free. Adrian has decades of experience in both cocoa sourcing and chocolate manufacturing.

How big an issue is child labour in West Africa?

There are a number of issues about child labour, so let’s be clear, is it forced child labour, labour that forces children out of education or genuine ‘helping family’ that is the issue? Helping the family with labour can be beneficial to the family whilst on the other end of the scale forced child labour, even kidnapping for labour is abhorrent. These are easy distinctions that are made from the armchairs of the UK, but the distinctions are more difficult to assess in the ground in West Africa, and indeed how the distinction between them is controlled, monitored and enforced.

Control, inspection, even certification bodies controlling the cocoa will not get it right all the time.

Is the problem confined to farmer’s families and their children? Or does it go deeper?

Often it is not recognised what the problems are, and without engaging with the farmers it is difficult to assess, and without knowing each facet of the industry in detail it’s hard to know. It is quite impossible to ‘know all the facts’.

As a farmer indicated in a 2019 World cocoa conference, the ‘problem is getting worse, not better’.

Family, community and the region are very interlinked.

What about the standards employed by groups like Fair Trade?

What needs to be understood is that there is no single ‘magic pill’ that can tackle such issues, as it will be a range of social changes that need to be made prior to a solution being made. Organisations such as the Fairtrade Foundation, have some concepts right and have done a great deal in highlighting the issues. There is always more to do, and every organisation plays its part, but individuals and consumers should recognise that the very organisations set up to make a difference also become problematic in solving those issues.

For instance, if we are considering cocoa, it is forgotten that organisations such as Fairtrade Foundation insist that all ingredients in a product that can be Fairtrade must be Fairtrade. Whilst other ingredients may well have equal priorities, it cannot be ignored that this ‘western criteria’ on certification, can often lead to a final product being ‘too expensive’ as it has to contain all Fairtrade ingredients to claim Fairtrade. For the marketplace, this can make a chocolate product uncompetitive or not taste as good, which then leads to a producer not using the fairtrade cocoa as it cannot make that heritage claim.

How does This ‘western criteria’ help the cocoa farmers?

Other certifications may not have this ‘all ingredient’ criteria, concentrate on cocoa, allowing other non-certified ingredients.

Like so many ‘trademarks’ consumers are not aware of the trademark’s actual legal status/meaning, and are lead to almost ‘believing what they want to believe’ with any trademark, without recognising the complexities of them.

Many organisations themselves receive more in trademark revenue terms than the farmer gets in premium. It has been calculated and presented at conference that if the premium on the retail price of a Fairtrade product actually when to the farm, it could be 20 times the annual premium, so it’s all the middle organisations and certification bodies that get the largest part of economic benefit.

With Fairtrade there is no ‘one standard for all manufacturers’, with UK companies forced to comply with one set of rules whilst other imports are not required to follow the same rules making the imports cheaper or more attractive.

How come so many brands like Nestlé get away with these practices?

Consumers can get easily swept away with simple ‘anti’ brand messages.

It should not be forgotten that very few chocolate brands actually make chocolate. Most companies purchase in chocolate made by specialist manufacturers, and flavour it etc. There are many brands who promote and come high in ethical ratings in which they source their chocolate from multinational companies that subsidise their ethical cocoa products with less ethical cocoa. Thus, a brand may be ethical, but its cocoa source is from that which is subsidised by the actual chocolate manufacturer in which consumers would not wish to be associated with.

So, whilst it is ‘easy’ to target companies such as Nestle, consumers should be aware that some of the most ethical brands source their chocolate from very similar companies.

Should the Vegan Society get involved in this aspect with their trademark? Is it a ‘vegan’ issue?

The Vegan Society has I believe for a long time been confused about the term ‘vegan’.

Whilst my views on the trademark are known, I believe the issue stems from a confusion about ‘being vegan’ – what beliefs a vegan may have, and ‘what is vegan’- the object or food. ‘Being vegan’ is journey, to which many will have a range of understandings and values. ‘What is vegan’ – the object or food, is either animal free or not.

I find it hard to consider that the vegan trademark could incorporate any ‘being vegan’ values or criteria, when it allows foods within its Trademark to not be animal free.

This is one of the fundamental reasons why I have for decades been stating the problematic nature of their trademark criteria. If you cannot get the ‘what is vegan’ in terms of object or food correct, can the Society be expected to have or show leadership in any issue with regard to what ‘being vegan’ could be as a social ethos many of us would like to see?

What seems to be holding countries like Ivory Coast & Ghana back from developing their own production?

Politics & prices affect all aspects of West African production.

Until western governments engage in, together with African governments a more constructive approach to economics of the region, major economic factors will always dominate, to the detriment of the lives of individual farmers.

However, until the consumer accepts that food is ‘too cheap’ and ‘food values’ are changed these issue will always exist. How is it that people will pay more for 100ml of water than 100g of chocolate?

How do you rate guides like Ethical Consumer and Food Empowerment Project when it comes to guidance on brands and standards?

Whilst ethical publications try their best, and have done some great work, and continue to do so, I have witnessed badly misleading headline information, often due to asking the wrong questions, or jumping to conclusions based on no information at all.

There is a ‘well known’ chocolate brand that scores highly in the UK- due to certification, but badly in the USA, as they recognise the actual manufacturer of the chocolate to be heavily involved in non-ethical cocoa production.

Over many years I have come to the conclusion that it is the general direction that must be supported- quite often a headline is needed to keep the public interested in the subject, but often the detail, the brand or organisation that is rated cannot always show the real detail or work/ lack of work in any particular subject.

Where do the solutions lie to this abhorrent practice?

Individuals must recognise they must first change their values of life, recognise they ‘vote’ every day, with the products they purchase and periodically vote politicians into power.

I find it amazing that many who have been so involved with organisations such as BLM, and those that claim to support such ideas, continue every day to purchase products, or fail to highlight to the same degree, such a direct link to child slave labour. For instance, if those that supported BLM, actually practised the same ethos every day with the purchases they made, what a difference this would make to child slave labour.

Tell us about your own efforts, achievements and standards with Plamil and So Free.

For decades I have at Plamil sourced our organic cocoa from the Dominican Republic, or via the Rainforest Alliance cocoa standard. We have made our own chocolate since

the 1980’s, taking great care in the sources of cocoa we purchase from. We have always purchased certified cocoaonce these came to the market. I have for decades been advocating that the chocolate industry should be ‘cleaning up its act’, and that the real questions and solutions should be asked.

One day it is hoped that political or food trends will start to recognise that issues are not isolated, are not ‘of the moment’ but an intertwined labyrinth in which the individual should not cherry pick issues that mean more to them but embrace a better more sustainable approach to life every day for the benefit of all living creatures and the planet.

www.plamilfoods.co.uk