There is some very sad news, chocolate lovers.
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International Business Times reported that chocolate could vanish as early as 2050, about 30 years from now. Now scientists are fighting to save the plant that brings the world delicacy, the cacao plant.
Cacao plants can only survive in a handful of specific regions, but those regions have since become volatile. The plants are frequent victims of fungal disease, climate change andĀ Cocoa Swollen Shoot Virus, or CSSVD.
Scientists and researchers at places like UC Berkeley and Mars, Incorporated hope to use technology to modify the cacao plant seeds to become adaptable to more climates.
And the technology wouldn’t just stop at cacao leaves.
Jennifer Doudna, geneticist and inventor of theĀ CRISPR being used on the cacao seeds, thinks the experiment could change the way food is grown.
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“Personally, I’d love a tomato plant with fruit that stayed on the vine longer,” she said.
But all is not terrible in the land of chocolate news.
World-renowned Swiss chocolatierĀ Barry Callebaut unveiled another type of chocolate called “ruby chocolate” in September.
The pink-hued creation with berry undertonesĀ joined the ranks of dark, milk and white chocolate nearly 80 years after the introduction of white chocolate. The ruby chocolate does not obtain its color or flavoring from additives. Instead, the chocolate was created following over aĀ decade of testing a special cocoa bean.