What to Look For

Choosing better chocolate means that you’re keeping harmful pesticides out of waterways and you’re showing support for farming methods that encourage biodiversity. You also allow farmers to get paid more equitably for their efforts, which in turn keeps child labor off chocolate plantations.

Certified Organic: Chocolate labeled USDA "Certified Organic" has been grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers on land that was free of such chemicals for at least three years prior to certification.

Fair Trade: The "Fair Trade Certified" label is a third-party certification administered in the U.S. by TransFair USA, which means that cacao beans were purchased directly from growers or their cooperatives for at least $0.10 more than the current market price, allowing farmers to invest in community developments such as education and healthcare. Currently, Fair Trade-certified farmers are paid at least $0.80 per pound, $0.89 if it's certified organic. Certification also imposes some environmental-protection standards on growers, including a ban on the most hazardous pesticides and the use of integrated pest management techniques, such as growing cacao under shade canopies.

Rainforest Alliance: Combining aspects of the certifications above, the Rainforest Alliance (RA) focuses on how farms are managed rather than how beans are traded, and covers all aspects of production including environmental protection, worker rights and welfare and the interests of local communities. Certification requires that at least 40 percent of the cacao-growing plantation has to be covered in shade at all times in areas where the original natural vegetative cover is forest, which allows for wildlife preservation and a reduction of pesticides, but they do allow the use of some agrichemicals when pest-related damages would be greater than the farmer could cope with economically. RA-certified cacao farms must also pay workers, including minors, at least the local minimum wage, provide safe working conditions and implement measures to reduce minors' participation in the harvest.

Shopping Tips

• Consider the source of your cocoa even when chocolate isn't the main ingredient. Ben and Jerry's now carries Fair Trade Certified chocolate and vanilla ice cream, and Green and Blacks offers a rich organic chocolate ice cream. For your next batch of cookies, try Sunspire's organic and fair-trade chocolate baking chips ($4.39/9 oz.; www.worldpantry.com).