GEO: Traditional Commodity
This week, we'd like you to begin reflecting on some of the complex histories shaping how particular commodities came to be a central part of our lives. If you choose to write about economic geography for this week's reflection journal, some of the questions you could respond to include:
Why is it important to investigate the power-relations behind the production of commodities like chocolate?
How does the global supply chain obscure the relations of production (past and present) behind commodities?
Do you think knowing about the often unequal relationships behind the production of chocolate will change how people relate to the product? Will it change the way you shop for chocolate?
Look around your home, what other products might also have a colonial legacy? Do a bit of research to learn about the history of this product’s production.
Traditional Commodity
Name
Institution
Traditional Commodity
In his renowned book, Species Plantarum, Carl Linnaeus dedicated the scientific name Theobroma to cocoa in 1573. In Latin, the word means “food of the gods”. The Spanish people are credited with the introduction of cocoa production in Central America in the 16th century. In the centuries that followed up to now, cocoa production and processing as well as its intake transformed significantly. The history of chocolate and cocoa production is deeply embedded in the activities that characterized colonial and imperial history (Hackenesch, 2017). However, there many factors that emerge when it comes to cocoa production usually that affects the prices and performance in international and domestic market. These factors are policy reforms, demand shifts and changes in structures of governance and regulations. An understanding of power relations and the production of commodities such as cocoa will give a clear reflection of how this interaction affects price commodities. This will further shape the global market trends of commodities. Squicciarini and Swinnen (2016) argue that in the Ivory Coast, the greatest cocoa producer, the liberalization str...
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