With experts predicting a chocolate shortage in about seven years, we find out if we can imagine a world without these gooey cocoa delights!
The trusted chocolate bar that’s stayed with you through hangovers, hearbreaks, PMS-ing days and celebrations will no longer be available. Yeah, come 2020 and chocolates will go out of our shelfes, thanks to the increasing global demand of cocoa.
When industry experts met at the British Library in London last week, they voiced their opinions on this growing concern. In fact, they have even predicted a date as they are sure the world will be chocolate-less by October 2020, seven years from today. This has got us thinking…can you imagine a world without chocolates? From acting as anti-depressants to being a part of our everyday celebrations, chocolates are as important as anything else. How are starry-eyed teens going to woo their crushes? What will chocolate brands that make maximum profits during Valentine’s Day, Christmas and other festivals do now? And most importantly, what would happen to chocoholics who can’t think beyond a yummy bar?
There is something so comforting about a gooey, warm spread of chocolate that it makes you forget all your worries. From tucking into the cocoa delight on lonely nights to popping a piece while hi-fiving with friends, chocolates are so important. And we will miss them so much. What would happen to kids who will be born later than 2020? They would only hear stories from you and probably spot a couple of pics on social networking sites. Whatever the hell happened to sustainable development? I want my kid(s) to gorge on melted chocolates too! Is this too much to ask for?
We are in this sorry state due to the commercialization of cocoa plantation reserves. Since it takes four years for cocoa beans to mature, there’s not much in it for farmers. Is it the reason why more and more investors/farmers are looking at other options instead of cocoa planting? So, where does this leave us? Now all the chocolate manufacturers will add artificial flavours, nuts, fruits and other substitutes to make up for the lack of cocoa in the world.
We asked around some chocoholics about their views on this topic. Abhimanyu Jadhavrao, a budding entrepreneur, is pretty dejected…’WHAT! How can they do this? I need my KitKat in the evenings…,’ he says. Echoing his thoughts is Mrudula Dasgupta, a painter, ‘S***. I need my Cadbury as much as I need my coffee. Please tell me this is just a rumour.’ But there are others who are not really affected by it. Atulan Dasgupta, a filmmaker by profession, says, ‘Hmm…not a big fan of chocolates in any case. They are gooey and yuck!’
Well, what about you folks? What would happen if you didn’t find your daily choco fix? Let us know in the comments section below…
Related tags: world without chocolates, no chocolates in 2020, chocolateless world, what are the substitutes for chocolates, chocolates as anti depressants, chocoholics
