This small item in today's Daily Press caught my eye: "...scientists are saying that thanks to climate change and plant diseases, a cocoa shortage for future holidays is a very real possibility." That's about the last thing I want to read, especially in proximity to Valentine's Day.
According to Scientific American magazine, a number of factors could negatively affect the world's supply of chocolate in the future. Primarily, the magazine reports, an expanding population living in a growing number of developing nations will increase worldwide demand for chocolate. Meanwhile, the cacao plant, which produces the seeds that are ground into cocoa powder, is under threat from new diseases, pests, and yes, climate change. The current yield of 3.7 million metric tons of the crop is not expected to meet demand for chocolate by 2020, the magazine reports.
Chocolate is often seen as a holiday gift (we Americans spend an estimated $700 million on chocolate on Valentine's Day alone), but it has other uses. In my household, dark chocolate is an effective remedy for a scratchy throat. *cough* I think I feel the need for some chocolate therapy right now...;)
Links:
Summary of the Scientific American report
News report from the Chicago Tribune
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