a dozen roses and a large fries
that’s what you may be getting for valentine’s day next year because the mm mm delicious treat that is chocolate may soon become as rare as caviar in the next 20 years. howard shapiro, global director for plant science and external research for mars said that we need to do something to prevent a chocolate shortage. if we do nothing “and the temperature was to rise, and the rainfalls were to change and drought became more prevalent … without looking into new farming practices, then there should be a problem, and there might likely be a problem.” david croft, cadbury’s conformance and sustainability director said “cocoa isn’t a traditional farmed crop…so it’s important we help to maintain that natural eco-system if we want cocoa to thrive and to flourish.”
globalization has accelerated some of the problems. the increased demand for chocolate has forced the clearing of forests and the use of hybrid seeds to bring about higher output in a shorter amount of time. this leads to soil erosion and decreased lifespan of cacao trees.
luckily, cadbury and mars are putting money against the problem, doing things like training farmers in sustainable cacao cultivation and working with scientists to map the genome of the cocoa bean. i’m not taking any chances and am raiding the drugstore post-holiday sales.
photo courtesy of jhritz
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i agree with you 180. i’m not taking any chances either, i spent the last few days eating chocolate.
good thing i don’t have a sweet tooth