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How dark do you like your chocolate? Probably not as dark as this news: There might not be any left to eat in as soon as 2050. A chocolate shortage is a looming reality, according to some experts.
Cocoa beans, the plant responsible for one of the world’s favorite sweet treats, can grow only in mild, humid rainforest conditions. Due to global warming, the climates of these cocoa-growing regions are expected to get hotter and drier over time, threatening the lives of the plants.
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Experts have predicted that the plant will be impossible to grow by 2050.
In a panic, farmers will be forced to attempt to move their plots to higher ground. There are limited areas at higher elevations however; the competition will be fierce until, eventually, those areas become uninhabitable, too.
Warmer temperatures across the globe could lead to fewer and fewer regions where cocoa beans can be produced. (Reuters)
Already, the demand for chocolate is soaring higher than the ability of farmers to supply it. The average American eats close to 10 pounds of chocolate per year. The average Swiss person eats almost 20 pounds. That’s a whole lot of cocoa, considering just one bar of chocolate can deplete 40 cocoa beans from the stingy supply.
A world without chocolate would be a somber world, indeed. People are going to have to find a new favorite coping mechanism for their breakups and stress.