Cacao: the sound of extinction
A performative multisensory experience that explores the artistic and scientific correspondences between food and sound to tell the story of the colonization of cacao and the loss of bitterness from our palettes.
Cacao advocacy initiative
This collaboration between composer and sound designer Alexei Galar (Mexico) and food designer Inés Lauber (Germany) sheds a light on the problems associated with the modern chocolate industry: environmental degradation, contribution to global warming and impoverishment of communities of farmers in countries where cacao grows – such as Mexico, Guatemala, Ecuador, Ghana or Ivory Coast – while the chocolate industry is worth billions of dollars.
Give Back to the Source has partnered with Cacao: The Sound of Extinction in order to bring alive this initiative and optimize the social & environmental outcome of this peice of art.
Spreading Cacao: the sound of extinction
This project serves as an informative link between social and natural
sciences studying the chocolate industry and its effects on the communities
growing cacao, and the rest of the population.
We are currently facing rising challenges in rural area farming communities with climate change and the degradation of farmers’ livelihoods. Spreading awareness of the current situation is crucial and, most importantly, sharing alternatives to our consuming practices.
Why is it relevant?
Social Perspective
The communities that grow cacao are not benefiting from the exploitation of their lands, and in many cases are suffering the effects of extensive monoculture agricultural practices.
Environmental Perspective
The use of pesticides, monocultures and other industrial practices have led to land degradation. This is important to point out because there are alternative systems that do not exploit the land in such a negative way.
Gastronomical Perspective
Cacao is naturally bitter. However, most people associate cacao with the sugary flavor that many chocolates are imbued with. This phenomenon – what we call “the loss of the bitter” to sugar, fat and salt– can be observed in many instances of gastronomy.
