Just Add Milk! A panel discussion

I was part of an interesting panel discussion about Milk with the Wellcome Collection in May. It was accompanied by an exhibition titled ‘Milk’, and it was truly an incredible experience ✨

The exhibition explores our collective and individual relationships with milk and its historical narrative of being a pillar of ‘nutrition and “good health” in the UK’. - Wellcome Collection

The panel discussion was about how milk transformed tea, coffee and chocolate into three of the most widely consumed products in the world. The speakers included myself, Halima Begum and Jonathan Morris, and was facilitated by Jenny Williams.

The discussion, whilst focused on how milk has changed tea, coffee and chocolate, also allowed me to go into more detail about how we have created this entitlement to cheap chocolate and the costs involved in that, which are human and sustainability costs.

How have we disconnected ourselves from milk, from the raw product and the farmers?

It's not wasted on me; the number of people who ask, 'Do you use Belgian chocolate????' when they hear about Lucocoa. With no acknowledgement that Belgium doesn't grow cocoa trees...

We want not only to be part of a sustainable supply chain but also to bring the connection between consumer and farmer. Knowing someone on the other side of the world is growing the raw ingredients for one of this country's best-loved foods.

When something becomes a commodity, we begin to collectively choose not to invest in it and, therefore, miss out on the chance to make a change in the world, environment and people's lives 🌍

Our goal at Lucocoa is for people to taste our chocolate and ask why it is so much better than commercial chocolate.

We need to be interested and curious about the things we eat and drink 🙌🏾

Here is the whole discussion 👇🏾