Comment When I entered Whole Foods earlier this week, it wasn't the splendorous array of organic produce that first caught my eye.
It was a beautiful Peruvian woman holding a woven basket.
“Would you like a chocolate?” she said, flashing a smile.
To tell you the truth, I'm not a huge chocolate fan. But her smile and soft Latin cadence left me with little choice but to try it. Plus, she was offering dark chocolate, which is rich in antioxidants and — according to some health experts — can even lower high blood pressure.
The enchanting young woman was a representative of La Orquidea chocolate, Spanish for the orchid.
I popped the small sample into my mouth.
The chocolate had a nice, bold flavor. I thanked her and she handed me a pamphlet detailing the company and its mission. As I flipped through it, I noticed an intriguing headline on an accompanying Time magazine article, “Drug Lords vs. Chocolate: From Coca to Cacao in Peru”.
It detailed recent attempts by agricultural co-ops to swap their illegal coca crops for the legal cocao plant. 
Now, the first thing to cross my mind was how anyone could convince coca farmers to replace their super-profitable crop with a product that is far less valuable...
I mean, it doesn't take an economist to see the gap between the price of the two products.
And considering that Peru is second only to Colombia in terms of overall coca production, it seemed like a uphill battle, to say the least.
But the triple threat of violence, prosecution, and intimidation is enough to at least tempt some Peruvian farmers away from coca long enough to take a shot at cocao.
The trade could become even more profitable if Peru can position itself as the premier cocoa location in the world, much akin to what Colombia has done with coffee (though it's worth noting the cocaine trade still thrives there).
As far as positioning is concerned, the country is off to a good start.
Last year, the Salon du Chocolat in Paris awarded the Tocache Agroindustrial Cooperative, located in Peru's San Martin region, the prestigious award for the “Most Aromatic” cacao beans.
Peru beat out several South American neighbors, including Ecuador and Venezuela, for the coveted number one spot.
"We used to be known for making cocaine paste, but now we are known for chocolate," Elena Rios, secretary of the winning co-op, told Time.
"There were only 12 of us when we started; now we have hundreds. Our success is contagious. No one wants to grow coca in Tocache. Everyone is thinking about chocolate."
Annual exports of cacao beans has already jumped from 16 metric tons to 250 metric tons since 2006. Some estimates put Peru in line to export up to 600 metric tons this year.
So it was within this context that La Orquidea started business in the San Martin region. And besides shifting agricultural production into the realm of legal markets, La Orquidea also boasts an admirable record on social responsibility and the environment.
The company's website claims to ensure fair wages to the local, small scale farmers they contract with.
La Orquidea has also set up two preservation funds in order to preserve Peru's unique biodiversity. One fund helps preserve an area of rainforest that is home to the vulnerable spectacled bear, known for its ability to climb the Andes' highest trees.
The other fund protects an indigenous orchid, the company's namesake.
And while La Orquidea doesn't yet boast official Fair Trade certification, I dare you to name a global cocaine cartel with a better worker-rights platform...
So while the cocaine trade doesn't look to be going anywhere anytime soon, empowering initiatives like the one taking place in Peru can serve as an example to other farmers who are tired of the constant stress, dread, and intimidation associated with the global drug trade.
And if Peruvian chocolate continues to win international competitions, the more legitimate an alternative it becomes to Peru's most infamous export.
Be Well,
Jimmy
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