{"id":10461,"date":"2016-11-04T01:04:20","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T05:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/hot-chocolate-climate-change-threatens-to-melt-global-chocolate-supply\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T01:07:25","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T05:07:25","slug":"hot-chocolate-climate-change-threatens-to-melt-global-chocolate-supply","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/hot-chocolate-climate-change-threatens-to-melt-global-chocolate-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"Hot Chocolate: Climate Change Threatens to Melt Global Chocolate Supply"},"content":{"rendered":"

Cacao Agriculture & Production<\/strong>
\nThe convenient, accessible chocolate bars we pick up at the local grocery store hardly reflect the global, time-consuming and labor-intense nature of chocolate production. To obtain the central ingredient \u2013 cacao seeds \u2013 the large, football-shaped fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree is split open and relieved of its pulp and seeds. For up to one week, the seeds sit in sweating boxes to ferment in their white sweet pulp, after which the gelatinous mass is dried and packed into sacks for transportation to processing factories. Here, the cacao seeds are cracked, roasted, ground into a thick brown liquid, and pressed to order to extract the cacao butter (approximately 55% of the total volume). Solid blocks of the remaining cacao are then powdered and shipped to chocolate production factories around the world for their final transformation into the familiar delicacies we know and love. [1] [2]<\/p>\n

\"2\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Native to tropical regions of Central and South America, the majority of the world\u2019s cacao trees is grown 10\u00b0 north and south of the Equator and cannot survive beyond a distance of 20\u00b0. This consistently rainy, humid climate with nitrogenous soil, little deviation from a steady 22\u00b0C and low winds is critical for proper tree growth and fruit production. While Brazil and Ecuador are the world\u2019s main cacao producers, trees are also grown and harvested across C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Ghana, Malaysia and Indonesia. [1] [3]<\/p>\n

The Effect of Climate Chang<\/strong>e
\nAlthough the normal tropic cacao tree climate varies only between 21\u00b0 and 23\u00b0C, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that the average temperature in these cacao-growing countries will increase over 2\u00b0C by 2050. [3] [4] While cacao trees can withstand increased temperatures, the real danger lies with evapotranspiration \u2013 increased extreme patterns of both seasonal drought and heavy precipitation-induced flooding caused by Earth\u2019s warming oceans and atmosphere. [5]<\/p>\n

While many chocolate consumers in developed North America or Western Europe may not be phased by a world without Almond Joy or Snickers bars, in fact, billions of livelihoods in counties like Indonesia and Ghana have already been significantly affected. For the past decade, crop yields in Indonesia have been steady and immune to any major agricultural diseases. In 2015, Rainforest Alliance reported that cacao farmers had their crop yields halved by drought, as well as increased landslides and top soil depletion resulting from increased rainfall. This changing and intensifying of weather patterns also resulted in new crop diseases and abnormalities in tree flowering and fruit production. The effect of this climate change can also be seen in Ghana, where most tree stock is already past its prime and there is limited shade to protect them from the harshening elements. [5]<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Mars and the Global Response<\/strong>
\nThis past June, the World Cacao Foundation (WCF) announced an initiative to bring together the Agricultural Cooperative Development International (ACDI)\/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance (VOCA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and leading chocolate companies like Mars to help farmers across the world cope with weather variability and deforestation.<\/p>\n

In fact, chocolate giant and M&Ms manufacturer Mars recently employed a team of meteorologists to analyze global weather patterns to improve ingredient sourcing and supply chain management. For companies like Mars, climate change effects even more than chocolate, since water-intensive ingredients like almonds are also under threat from changing El Ni\u00f1o and La Ni\u00f1a weather patterns. Furthermore, in order to reduce its contribution to the underlying causes of climate change, Mars has pledged to reduce in carbon emissions and all greenhouse cases from its operations over the next 25 years. [9]<\/p>\n

I applaud Mars\u2019 efforts to reduce its contribution to climate change and its attempts to manage variability in its production and supply chains. I would recommend that Mars form long-term partnerships with other private companies, affected governments, and nonprofits like the Rainforest Alliance to directly support cacao tree farmers. I would also suggest that Mars arm these farmers with innovative climate-resilient materials, modern crop strategies and proven agricultural management processes. Finally, I believe Mars should partner with academic institutions and architectural biotechnology companies to invest in genetic engineering research to develop cacao trees that can better withstand current climate change trends.<\/p>\n

(740 words)<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong>
\n[1] https:\/\/www.cadbury.com.au\/About-Chocolate\/Harvesting-and-Processing-Cocoa-Beans.aspx
\n[2] https:\/\/www.bostonglobe.com\/lifestyle\/food-dining\/2016\/02\/08\/how-cacao-beans-becomes-chocolate-bars\/SYeFkmTUbvecyfFIFSrYSK\/story.html
\n[3] https:\/\/www.climate.gov\/news-features\/climate-and\/climate-chocolate
\n[4] http:\/\/www.confectionerynews.com\/Commodities\/Climate-change-Impact-on-cocoa-production-devastating
\n[5] http:\/\/toolkit.climate.gov\/topics\/water-resources
\n[6] https:\/\/chocolateclass.wordpress.com\/2016\/05\/02\/the-future-of-chocolate-how-climate-change-will-affect-cacao-farmers-in-western-africa\/
\n[7] http:\/\/www.confectionerynews.com\/Commodities\/Chocolate-firms-to-help-tackle-impact-of-climate-change-on-cocoa-farms
\n[8] http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/thesalt\/2015\/12\/01\/456369536\/as-big-food-feels-threat-of-climate-change-companies-speak-up
\n[9] http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/mars-chocolate-hires-meteorologists-to-deal-with-climate-change-2016-9
\n[10] http:\/\/www.tucsonnewsnow.com\/story\/33280606\/mars-chocolate-hires-meteorologists-to-analyze-impact-of-climate-change
\n[11] http:\/\/theplate.nationalgeographic.com\/2015\/03\/18\/can-gmos-save-chocolate\/<\/p>\n

Image Sources (in order of appearance):<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/a.dilcdn.com\/bl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2012\/03\/ae6de757abd9724859ded89bd39cb09c.jpg
\nhttps:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Cocoa_bean#\/media\/File:Cocoa_Pods.JPG
\nhttp:\/\/www.confectionerynews.com\/Commodities\/Climate-change-Impact-on-cocoa-production-devastating<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We all know the classic M-and-Ms promise: \u201cthey\u2019ll melt in your mouth, not in your hands.\u201d Unfortunately, chocolate lovers everywhere should fear the negative effect climate change is already having on this beloved sugary treat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2266,"featured_media":10577,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[28,1510,1320,1218,1476,1257],"class_list":["post-10461","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-agriculture","category-biotechnology","category-chocolate","category-climate-change","category-mars-inc","category-weather"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/assignment\/climate-change-challenge-2016\/","yoast_head":"\nHot Chocolate: Climate Change Threatens to Melt Global Chocolate Supply - Technology and Operations Management<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/hot-chocolate-climate-change-threatens-to-melt-global-chocolate-supply\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hot Chocolate: Climate Change Threatens to Melt Global Chocolate Supply - 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