Organized crime exists in many areas. German Mercedes end up in Eastern Europe, conversely Eastern European girls in German brothels, illegally felled Romanian wood at Swedish furniture manufacturers, ivory in China and drugs almost everywhere. But that it would even hit the vanilla, that dark pod of fragrant content – who could have thought that? At most maybe Dr. Oetker, because its vanillin sugar has always managed almost without vanilla.
A real environmental thriller has been going on in Madagascar for three years around the plant, a species of orchid. The East African island is the largest “producer” of vanilla, almost 80 percent of world production is harvested there every year. One kilo of the aromatic plant brings in almost 700 euros. As much as silver. A lucrative business.
The scene of the organized vanilla crime is the Sava region in the northeast of the island, where 99 percent of the population live from vanilla cultivation and distribution. There have already been several deaths in the vanilla farmers’ fight against the thieves, apparently on both sides. Farmers were shot, thieves lynched. In order to protect their harvest, the farmers finally hired security guards and paid around 100 euros per month for them.
But the conflict isn’t just about vanilla. The gangs also target rosewood. But the trees are threatened with extinction. Because vanilla is cash-intensive, both businesses are mixed together, one covering the other. Money laundering and extortion are flourishing. In the meantime, the export of rosewood has been banned on the island and Madagascar’s government has promised to act with all its might against environmental crime. However, it lacks staff, and the region is woody and mountainous and extensive observation is hardly possible.
Many farmers now also grow cannabis out of frustration or to cover the costs of security guards. It’s illegal on the island, but looking to the future, it may be as profitable as vanilla. However, this creates new problems in the area of crime, because here too gangs are trying to take over the business. The cultivation also contributes to deforestation. Environmentalists complain that 80 percent of Madagascar’s forests have already been cleared, the country has the highest rate of deforestation in the world, which in turn has resulted in great losses of biodiversity. It can be assumed that this deforestation is also being driven by criminal structures. One depends on the other, and it is easy to lose track of how exactly it actually is. So it is only wise that Dr. Oetker stays out of the way and produces his sugar with flavorings.
The juxtaposition of vanilla and cannabis, however, raises a question: What happens when the two lines of business are also linked here? If, perhaps by mistake, cannabis ends up in the vanilla powder. Dried and finely ground? Coca-Cola is one of the biggest buyers of Madagascar vanilla. And doesn’t the drink get you high somehow?
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