Post by Owen on Aug 26, 2020 20:11:29 GMT
1 ~~~ How climate change will alter chocolate as we know it ~
matadornetwork.com/read/climate-change-impact-chocolate/ ~ 24 August 2020 ~
IF THERE IS one undeniable truth, it’s that humans around the world love chocolate. But like so many of the foods people love and consume on a regular basis, chocolate as we know it is threatened by climate change. That could mean price hikes in the short term or completely new chocolate regions in the long term. While it’s not fully understood what the future holds, one thing is clear: The chocolate in our candy, cakes, and confections — and, more importantly, the people who make it — will face a series of climate-related challenges in the near future.
Chocolate is made from cocoa, which are the dried and fermented seeds from the cacao tree. The trees are finicky and mostly grow in a humid 20-degree band to the north and south of the equator. This means nearly all cocoa beans come from a relatively small number of countries. Farmers in Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and other countries in West Africa grow around 70 percent of the world’s cacao. Central and South America, where the cacao plant originates, is home to important growing regions in Brazil, Ecuador, Mexico, and Peru. Cacao is also grown in Indonesia.
matadornetwork.com/read/climate-change-impact-chocolate/ ~ 24 August 2020 ~