The Honest Cost of the Best Chocolate w/ Jerry Toth of To'AK Chocolate

My guest is Jerry Toth of To'AK Chocolate, a luxury chocolate brand. Jerry studied economics at Cornell University and was a Hansard scholar at the London School of Economics. After very briefly working as an investment banker, he switched gears and relocated to South America in his 20s and then nomadically roamed the continent for several years, working as a foreign correspondent first for Adbusters magazine and taking other odd jobs. But during that time, he witnessed an era of unrestrained economic growth, an ecological decline in Latin America, and he ultimately set out on a mission to demonstrate what sustainable economic development can look like in real life. In 2007, Jerry laid roots in the Pacific Forest of Ecuador, where he co-founded a rainforest conservation organization called TMA, and created multiple rainforest preserves, became a food forest farmer, resurrected an ancient cacao variety from the brink of extinction, and launched this luxury chocolate company called To'AK, and is now building a regenerative cacao growers association across a 100 ,000 acre conservation corridor. Jerry's work has been featured in hundreds of media outlets across six continents, including National Geographic, Forbes, Vice, Smithsonian Magazine and Modern Farmer, among others... Folks who make the show possible... Farmhand is the only all-in-one virtual assistant built by and for farmers. Sign up for a free trial with the link in the show notes, because NOW is the best time to dial in those systems for the next growing season. ASAP (Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project) will offer the Business of Farming Conference on Saturday, February 22, in Asheville, North Carolina. Find out more at asapconnections.org. Since 1972 Ohio earth food has been the go-to source for soil testing, consulting, fertilizers, seed starting soils, foliar sprays and disease and insect controls. Visit them at ohioearthfood.com. ... and, as always, our work is powered by the individual growers who support us every month over at patreon.com/notillgrowers. You can pick up a copy of The Living Soil Handbook if you don't have one already, as well as a No-Till Growers hat or other merch, check out our YouTube channel, and you can ask you questions or share your insights into ecological market gardening on our free growers forum at notillgrowers.community.chat