Climate Change Could Cause Chocolate Shortage

Scientists say climate changes and plant diseases could lead to a chocolate shortage according to a report in Scientific American.

…the cocoa bean could already be in danger, according to authors and Mars Inc. food scientists Harold Schmitz and Howard-Yana Shapiro.

The crop — Theobroma cacao, known as the “chocolate tree” — is delicate and difficult to grow. The plant thrives only in a thin strip around the equator, where climate change has exacerbated weather patterns, causing high winds, droughts and floods, the report claims.

Devastating diseases such as frosty pod rot are sweeping through Latin America, killing trees. Experts fear that other ailments, such as witches’ broom, could be introduced to West Africa by accident or through bioterrorism and destroy much of the crop.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.