Chocolate Meltdown: World to Run Out of Cocoa by 2020


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The world will officially run out on October 2, 2020. Industry experts met in London last week to discuss the impending meltdown. Confectionery giants revealed there are just not enough cocoa plantations across the globe to feed the demand. They warned we would need the ?equivalent of another planet Earth to fill the gap needed to keep the chocolate ?industry going. Prices are set to soar over the next few years as chocolate becomes harder to get hold of. As a result many big-name ?companies are ?expected to fill bars that are smaller in size with more nuts and fruit because they are cheaper to produce.

 

Chocolate taster and expert Angus Kennedy said: ?There will be a chocolate shortage and there isn't a solution to the problem. Seven years is what we think we have left. Experts have worked out we need 2.3 globes to accommodate man?s needs for chocolate in terms of forestry and space.We need another Earth basically if we carry on at this rate. We are ?destroying the whole thing. The problem we've got is that much of the space that was used for cocoa ?plantations is no longer there. The Chinese love their cars and they have found that rubber makes more money than cocoa and at a much quicker pace. Cocoa farms are being chopped down and turned into rubber ?plantations because they get a ?better yield. If you plant a cocoa plant you get cocoa beans in four years, which means the farmers are ?waiting four years for a profit so ?obviously they think ?What is the point?'?

 

New-Google-mobile-operating-system-Kit-K

 

Manufacturers from all over the world including Iran, Belgium, Lebanon, Germany and Switzerland met at the British Library last week for the annual Chocolate Industry Network Conference where they heard the worrying news.

 

Mr. Kennedy said: ?There is a small amount of growth projected for cocoa consumption in Europe and America but in China and Asia it is set to go sky high. Also cocoa is being used in everything from bakeries to body creams to sprinkles for coffee. It is a very popular ?product. Unless more trees are planted this will happen. What we will see is a higher price for cocoa powder and, in turn, chocolate. The price for bars will go up over the next few years. You will see less ? chocolate in the bars. There will be smaller bars, more ?biscuits, more raisins, more nuts ?because they are cheaper to fill space with. Bars will probably be filled with a lot more sugar as well because it is the cheapest ingredient to bulk out the cocoa.?

 

He added: ?It is going to be very ?different from the chocolate we know and love today.?

Source: Daily Star

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So when the price of chocolate begins to rise, farmers will want to cash in on the potential goldmine. 

Yeah! It's kinda sad that the next generation won't even know what chocolate is! Or coffee...

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Who likes capitalism now?? I have read this same style article 2-3 times in the past year. Theres no money in slow-growing cocoa considering the large amount of work required to process it. I also seen chocolate bars nearly double in price. $1.08 for a bar now which is 5g lighter than the 59 cents it was purchased for in April.

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Bit misleading, not really going to run out, just going to be in very, very short supply.

 

Plants don't just stop and cocoa is no more. - The price is going to sky rocket.

 

In other news, Helium will be gone by 2050, and it's not just used for making your voice squeak ;) medical equipment uses it etc.

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Bit misleading, not really going to run out, just going to be in very, very short supply.

 

Plants don't just stop and cocoa is no more. - The price is going to sky rocket.

 

In other news, Helium will be gone by 2050, and it's not just used for making your voice squeak ;) medical equipment uses it etc.

 

 

Oh that was you .. stop playing with helium.... I thought it was from the mouse squeaking somewhere all this time....

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"They warned we would need the ?equivalent of another planet Earth to fill the gap needed to keep the chocolate ?industry going."

 

Exaggerate much? This sounds like one of those sensationalist tabloid stories... oh wait it is.

 

Source: Daily Star  :rolleyes: 

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We need another Earth basically if we carry on at this rate.

 

why don't they just say "the production industry must double in size"? Saying you need another earth is just silly.

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Who likes capitalism now?

 

 

You're right. Let's turn our economies in communist ones. It's not like they have any issues...

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Plant more trees. Those "experts" don't know anything.

 

 

They are saying the demand is too high to supply. They can't just plant more trees.

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AFAIK, Cocoa trees only can survive and flourish in certain regions.

Indeed, and climate change is dramatically reducing the amount of suitable land. There isn't really an issue though, as consumers will simply migrate to alternative products. Chocolate will become a luxury treat rather than a daily snack. New products will be created as a result, like Nutella was during the cocoa shortage caused by World War II.

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I do agree that it is silly. I am not sure but is coco trees grown in in a certain area and climate range. If so an if it is a small area and there are no more suitable areas on earth then in order to double the supply they would need another earth which would have the same amount of suitable growing area. It none of that is true then they are crazy.

 

So I did a quick search and found that the tree grows in tropical areas and is picky. Here are some links

https://www.cadbury.com.au/About-Chocolate/Cocoa-Growing-Countries.aspx

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs307

 

Oh yea, by the way Hersey has been trying to stop using chocolate in their chocolate for a while now. Whaaa? They add PGPR to their chcocolate bars and use less cocoa. I remember reading some where that they tried to get the FDA to accept PGPR as chocolate so that they did not have to use cocoa at all but the FDA will not allow a product to be labeled as chocolate unless it has a certain amount of cocoa in in. Interesting fact. PGPR is made from castor beans which are contain ricin which is a poison. Here are some links but the blog articles obviously are not scientific studies. Either way it is a good read and to know. Think about that the next time you shove a Hersey bar in your mouth. lol

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricin

http://www.earthyreport.com/site/have-a-little-pgpr-in-your-chocolate/

http://becausenooneasked.com/2009/12/27/pgpr/

http://trylivingorganic.com/2013/03/13/pgpr-in-my-chocolate-bar/

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