Climate change is reshaping the future of chocolate by threatening cocoa production, disrupting ecosystems, and intensifying sustainability challenges. Rising temperatures, shifting rainfall, and biodiversity loss are destabilizing cocoa yields, while the industry itself contributes to deforestation and carbon emissions.
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🌍 Climate Change and Cocoa Cultivation
• Cocoa trees thrive only in narrow equatorial zones with humid climates, primarily in West Africa, which supplies about 70% of the world’s cocoa.
• Rising temperatures (up to 7°C in some regions) and erratic rainfall patterns are reducing yields by 20–31% cremefilledc.... These changes also increase vulnerability to droughts, pests, and diseases.
• Research shows that climate variability could make cocoa farming unsustainable by 2036–2045, even with proposed cooling methods.
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🍫 Environmental Footprint of Chocolate
• Cocoa is among the highest carbon-emission foods, contributing significantly to deforestation, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
• Expanding cocoa farms often means clearing tropical forests, which worsens climate change by releasing stored carbon.
• Chocolate production also involves energy-intensive processing and global shipping.
Hurricane Melissa is likely to cause severe damage to Jamaica’s coffee production, especially in regions like Mount Airy in St. Andrew. Coffee farmers in Jamaica are bracing for catastrophic impacts as Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 175–185 mph, makes landfall. Here’s how the storm is expected to affect coffee production: 🌪️ Direct Threats to Coffee Farming • Unharvested coffee cherries are at high risk: Farmers in Mount Airy have been rushing to harvest what they can before the storm hits. Many fear that cherries left on the trees will be destroyed by wind, flooding, or landslides Jamaica Gleaner. • Infrastructure damage: Roads in coffee-growing regions like St. Andrew are already deteriorating, and the storm is expected to worsen access, making post-storm recovery and transport of beans extremely difficult Jamaica Gleaner. • Flooding and landslides: Melissa is forecast to bring 15–30 inches of rain and storm surges up to 13 feet, which could wash aw...

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