Last day to save our chocolate!

Ok, I know, in the grand scheme of things to save in this world -polar bears, hungry kids, the environment, etc, etc- chocolates probably rank pretty low on your priority. But there comes a time when we must defend our rights to be frivolous. And that time has come.

I don't know if you've heard, but big agri-business and chocolate companies like Hershey, Nestle, and ADM are lobbying the FDA to allow them to substitute nasty stuff like hydrogenated vegetable oil in place of cocoa butter in chocolate. Why are they doing this? Well, the $$$ of course. According to Bloomberg News, "Cocoa prices in New York have surged about 28 percent in the past six months on speculation that dry weather may impair cocoa production in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, the world's largest suppliers of beans to make chocolate." So now these companies want to substitute cheap vegetable oil and still call the crap they plan to produce chocolate! Mockolate is more like it.

There is something we all can do. The FDA has a website set up for the public to comment on pending issues. If you have a moment -and of course you do- please go to this website (set up by Guittard, a local chocolate maker here in San Francisco) and follow the instructions to submit your objection to the FDA. The public comment process is closing as of tomorrow April 25. Please do it now!