A study produced by CIAT (a South American agricultural research company) claims that by 2030 the West African nations of Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana would not be able to produce cacao, causing a worldwide shortage of chocolate. There are two reasons that I dismissed that article last week and did not report it to you and now that this article is on Huffington Post, it is imperative that you know these reasons NOT to panic.
First, I dismissed this article because there is very little quality chocolate being produced in Cote d'Ivoire or Ghana. There are several types of chocolate, and only the highest yielding are grown in West Africa. The cacao produced in Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana is mostly producing bulk cocoa, cocoa powder and cocoa butter for cake mixes, chocolate "flavored" things and beauty products. We all, as a country and as a world, would be better served by entirely eliminating or reforming these terrible, child labor driven, farms. I found it particularly irritating that re-reporting sites consisting described these farms as Fairtrade, only 0.1% of the world's cocoa production is Fairtrade.
Second, a better grasp of climate and genetics will actually INCREASE the volume of cocoa production and increase the quality of chocolate for everyone. Mars, Inc and Hershey's have both publicly released the genome of the Theobroma Cacao plant, enabling a new breeding capability for farmers who have been solely relying on yield to determine plant strength. The technology we have today is enabling many more places to grow cacao. According to CIAT's own efforts started in 2009, we will soon have a digital map of exactly where each crop can grow. Even if West Africa fails to prepare for temperature changes, other places like Vietnam and the Philippines have increased production and can make up the difference.
Bottom line- chocolate isn't going anywhere. Don't believe the hype.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/03/chocolate-climate-change_n_992762.html
No comments:
Post a Comment