argylesock says… To me and to many others, every day is World Chocolate Day. Here in Britain we can choose Fairtrade chocolate. It’s delicious. But those cacao trees (Theobroma cacao) are at risk from diseases and climate change. What does the chocolate future hold? If I see any science about breeding to improve cacao (whether selective breedng or genetic modification – see my ‘cacao’ tag), I’ll tell you about it.
We all love chocolate, don’t we? So much so, that there’s a whole host of chocolate-y celebrations out there – National Chocolate Day, International Chocolate Day, days for different flavours chocolate… Forced to pick one date, I’ve decided to dedicate a post to this particular chocolate day – today, 4 September, we celebrate World Chocolate Day.
Looking at some of the latest chocolate-related science news that I’ve come across, however, the chocoholics among us may in future have less and less reason for celebration, as the future of chocolate looks ominously bleak.
Firstly, it appears that worldwide chocolate consumption is exceeding production, which means that chocolate will increasingly become a luxury commodity, fetching higher and higher prices. Apparently cacao trees can only be grown naturally in a narrow band within 10 degrees around the equator, and more and more farmers in this band are turning to more lucrative alternative…
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