Hawai'i meets Puerto Rico in this discussion of cacao production in the United States! Dr. Viviana Medina of V.M.R. Consulting and Dave Elliott of O'ahu Resource Conservation and Development Council join host Jose Lopez Ganem.Connect with our guests via LinkedIn: Vivana Medina<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivianamedina/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.linkedin.com/in/vivianamedina/</a>Tickets for the HCCA Conference in Hawaii July 10-12, 2026:<a href="https://www.tickettailor.com/events/hawaiichocolateandcacaoassociation/2172522" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.tickettailor.com/events/hawaiichocolateandcacaoassociation/2172522</a>Engage Oahu RC&amp;D's programing here:<a href="https://oahurcd.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://oahurcd.org/</a>

Labor in sugar cane

Welcome to the Chocolate Conservatory, a podcast brought to you by the Institute for Cacao and Chocolate Research and Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund. In each episode, scholars Carla D. Martin and Jose Lopez Ganem host a conversation with researchers and industry members engaged in the study of pressing issues related to cacao and chocolate. They use these conversations to bring research to life and put you in the middle of the questions being asked and solutions being proposed and practiced. From the social sciences to hard sciences, arts and humanities to business and finance, they take you directly to the thinkers who are shaping conversations today.

Get in touch with us! Send your voice recordings and emails to contact@chocolateinstitute.org with suggestions for topics, guests, or what how you might answer the questions we ask and we might just use it on the show!