We're all eating too much chocolate!
Life is like a box of chocolates, and some of them may or may not ever be eaten again...
So, you know when we all thought that kid from Matilda ate too much chocolate? Well, looks like we are all worse. Last year, the world ate 70,000 tonnes more cocoa than it produced. And it looks like our chocolate consumption, is forcing the world into chocolate deficit! We are in the longest consecutive streak of chocolate deficit in more than 50 years.
So, we are eating too much chocolate that's for sure, but climate change plays a big role in the production side of it. Pretty much, it's all about supply and demand. We are demanding way more chocolate than can be produced, and why can't it be produced? Yep, Climate change!
70% of the world's cocoa is produced in the Ivory Coast of Ghana, however, increasing dry weather has devastated cocoa plants. And because of global warming, this is only going to get worse as temperatures increase. Our chocolate has also been exposed to a disease that has wiped out between 30% and 40% of the worlds cocoa production.
Scientists are trying to rectify the situations, by selectively breeding a new form of cacao, however this could take up to 12 years to cultivate
This means, your chocolate is getting pricier, and it could disappear completely! Should we stop eating chocolate? Or could we save the chocolate production by reversing the harsh effects of climate change?
Let us know what you think, comment below.