Many of us have been literally gob-smacked by the 2018 viral news article stating that chocolate may be extinct by 2050 due to climate change! Quelle horreur.
But upon further (desperate) research by a self-confessed addict it appears that scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, are experimenting with CRISPR gene editing to future-proof the cacao plant so that it becomes tougher and more resistant to viral and fungal diseases. Currently two of the major cacao producing regions (the Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana region of Africa, and Indonesia) are predicted to suffer from a reduced cultivation area as a result of predicted global temperature rises, which will speed up the spread of disease.
The innovative genomic research, backed by the Mars corporation who incidentally has stumped up US$1 billion, intends to safe-guard cacao production for the future, so we can happily satiate our chocolate cravings to the moon and back. So hold the meltdown.
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