Are we really running out of chocolate? According to major chocolate producers, we are consuming more chocolate than we are producing. In the last year alone, we ate 70,000 metric tons more than it produced. Seventy percent of the world’s cocoa is produced in the Ivory Coast and Ghana. However, disease, drought, and farmers wanting to grow more productive crops, like corn and rubber, made growing conditions less than than perfect.
But there is hope for chocolate!
In Costa Rica, new disease resistant strains of cacao are being developed. Three specific strains are showing promise, not only because of them being resistant to disease but also because they have a better taste than the other strains being developed.
It is still unclear if these new strains can reverse the shortage, however these cacao beans could be a sweet promise for the future.
Is there any sign of the economy being affected in Ivory Cost and Ghana from cocoa being less available from the disease and droughts going around. Also, do you think they will be able to make chocolate the same with this cacao strain being developed and will it taste like it is being made with cocoa even though it's not?
ReplyDeleteChocolate can be made from these new strains. Three strains taste better than the others that have been developed but I don't know if it will taste the same as the chocolate we have now. As for the economy in ivory Coast and Ghana, I don't believe that it is effected yet, but there is concern about Ebola spreading to cocoa supplying countries.
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