Big Chocolate in global drive to ward off chocopocalypse
Mondelēz International invests hundreds of millions of dollars to foster smarter cocoa farming and better lives in countries such as Ghana
The year is 2059. The last known sighting of a chocolate bar was in the quaint village of Pucklechurch, South Gloucestershire, England. Like that of the dodo, its extinction was not immediately noticed, and like the flightless bird, chocolate is considered almost mythical. “The best part was peeling the resealable wrapper, breaking off a piece and letting it melt softly on your tongue. Only one piece at a time though.” These are the words of 85-year-old Charles Pip, who used to eat chocolate. The memory casts a pall on his already hallowed features. He is, by all accounts, a broken man. This scenario is a nightmare. Welcome to the chocopocalypse. The doomsday plot made headlines in 2018 following the prediction by so-called research experts that chocolate is slated to disappear in 40 years because the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao, is struggling to survive in drier weather conditions. To be sure, the world is unlikely to run out of chocolate. Demand remains high in developed markets, ...
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