Is Chocolate In Trouble?

The world’s biggest chocolate-maker says we’re running out of chocolate

               

This article does not have a whole lot to do with museums and such but if what it is saying is true then chocolate could be history! There are already museums dedicated to chocolate, but chocolate may end up having a prominent place in these museums and more museums in the future. There is The Chocolate Museum in Canada, The Hershey Amusement Park and Museum in Pennsylvania, countless museums dedicated to chocolate in Europe, and there is even the International Cocoa Council.

Chocolate is my favorite food, so when I saw this article my first thoughts were, “Not chocolate!” and “Anything but chocolate!” This article states that we could be in the longest streak of consecutive chocolate deficits in more than 50 years and there is some data provided to back this up. What is basically happening is the world is consuming more chocolate than is being produced. The main cause of this problem is supply or what is preventing the supply of chocolate. Dry weather in Africa has greatly hindered the production of cocoa along with the appearance of a fungal disease known as frosty pod that spread across the continent. The results of these hindrances have caused farmers to switch to growing more profitable crops and dropping the cocoa business. A rise in the popularity of dark chocolate has also not helped with this problem. Dark chocolate is healthier to eat, in moderate amounts, and it contains significantly more cocoa than milk chocolate. Efforts are being made to balance out the consumption of chocolate with its production, such as raising prices. If this keeps happening chocolate could become more of a delicacy than what it already is! There are also researcher in Africa who are experimenting with the development of trees that can produce up to 7 times the amount of cocoa beans than regular trees can. I do not like the sound of this because it is not natural and I am not sure what that would mean for our health. It is possible that the use of these new trees could compromise the taste of chocolate. I hope a good solution can happen to prevent the disappearance of chocolate. Chocolate has a history all of its own but I do not like the idea that it could actually become history!

Article link: Not the Chocolate!

Save the chocolate!