Bitter Sweet: The Climate Reality of Our Valentine’s Day Traditions

As Valentine’s Day approaches, many of us reach for a traditional symbol of affection: a box of chocolates. But the "right relationship" we strive for with our planet is being tested by a bitter reality. The climate crisis is no longer a distant threat to our food systems; it is fundamentally altering the products we love and the industries that provide them.

The Melting Chocolate Industry

For the first time, many American consumers are noticing a change in their favorite sweets: major candy companies are quietly removing the chocolate from our favorite chocolate bars.  Extreme weather and shifting climate patterns are driving down cocoa production, causing prices to surge and forcing companies to change their recipes to reduce their reliance on cocoa.

Some of the most popular candy bars no longer meet the U.S. regulatory definition of milk chocolate, as companies replace increasingly scarce, expensive cocoa butter with other fats. Image via The New York Times.

The industry is reaching a literal boiling point. In West Africa—responsible for about 70% of global cocoa production—farmers are now grappling with an additional 40 days of temperatures per year that exceed the threshold where cacao plants can thrive. This heat effectively shuts down trees’ ability to produce, leading to the "mockolate" trend where real cocoa butter is swapped for vegetable oils.

Shifting Soil, Same Vulnerabilities

As West African farms struggle under the extreme heat, the industry is looking toward new horizons, particularly in Ecuador. But is far from a climate "safe haven": Ecuadorian farming remains deeply vulnerable to the erratic shifts of a warming world, including intensified El Niño events and unpredictable rainfall patterns. This shift in geography of cocoa production is not a solution; it is only a temporary relocation of a systemic problem. Without a fundamental change in our "right relationship" with the land, expanding production to South America only resets the clock on an inevitable crisis.

Beyond Consumption: A Call for Collective Action

At USCAN, we believe that the climate crisis is a political tragedy driven by a refusal to regulate the hidden costs of our operations. When companies switch to "chocolate-flavored" substitutes rather than addressing the climate impacts on the farmers who grow their cocoa, they are ignoring the true cost of production.

This is where our work as indispensable infrastructure becomes vital. We cannot solve the crisis of a warming food system through individual consumer choices alone. We need unified, strategic, collective action to protect the democratic guardrails that hold corporations accountable for their environmental footprints. We must bridge the gap between the local community struggles of farmers in the Global South and the global policy decisions that drive emissions.

Love as Stewardship

This Valentine’s Day, let us redefine what it means to show love. Let us move beyond superficial fulfillment and lean into the relational stewardship of our planet. True affection requires us to care about the people and the ecosystems that produce the things we enjoy.

We are part of a cord of many strands," and our connection to a cocoa farmer in Ghana is real. We must continue to build a durable, aligned movement that demands a just transition for our entire global food system. Let’s work together to ensure that the "sweetness" of our future is not just a flavor, but a reality for everyone.

In Solidarity and Strength,

Dr. Ife Kilimanjaro 

Executive Director, U.S. Climate Action Network (USCAN)

Cover image by Towfiqu barbhuiya via Pexels