Vanilla

General Mills announced a new initiative today to help vanilla farmers in Madagascar. The global food giant is investing $125,000 over two years to help villages in Madagascar's Sava region, where the global food company sources high-quality vanilla for its Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Madagascar is the world's leading vanilla producer, responsible for over 80 percent of the world's production. The company will partner with vanilla supplier Virginia Dare and the international humanitarian organization CARE to promote sustainable vanilla farming in Madagascar. Through the program, several hundred vanilla farmers will be trained and educated on how to produce a higher quality vanilla crop that is more sustainable. The program will also build vanilla curing and storage facilities.