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A bee visits a cacao flower. Note how the flower grows directly from the trunk.
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Chocolate in peril?![]() But there's trouble down at Chocolate Court. The cacao tree, source of cocoa, the raw material of chocolate, is being whacked by fungal diseases. At best, we could see a hike in the price of cocoa. At worst, we could see a shortage of the irreplaceable flavor. The chocolate industry issues soothing words even as, behind the scenes, it ponders its options. "Chocolate will be there whenever anyone has the urge to enjoy America's favorite flavor," said Susan Smith, senior vice president of public affairs for the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. "We won't ever run out of chocolate." But the association admits that "cocoa bean supply is expected to increase steadily but may not keep pace with demand."
Global cocoa reserves have been falling since 1991, and the price of cocoa futures it at its highest in 10 years. At its root, the chocolate shortage is caused by an imbalance between the demand for chocolate and the land available for planting. Traditionally, farmers have fought back against disease by planting trees on new land. Today, little land is available.
Chocolate shake
The most ardent chocoholic would agree that a chocolate shortage would be only slightly less grave than the planetary bake-off called global warming. Yet like global warming, the chocolate crisis may be prevented by ecologically sensitive, or "green," technology.
Since the upcoming chocolate crunch reflects a shortage of disease-free rain forest, some scientists have begun discussing a solution that could preserve vanishing rain forest and the chocolate supply at the same time. Just as reducing the burning of fossil fuels could help avert global warming and reduce acid rain, solving the chocolate crisis could help plants and animals that depend on the rain-forest ecosystem preferred by cacao.
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