2025-08-28
5 分钟Hello, this is Alok Jha, host of Babbage, our weekly podcast on science and technology.
Welcome to Editor's Picks.
We've chosen an unmissable article from the latest edition of The Economist.
Please do have a listen.
The first half of the scientific name for the fiendishly fickle cocoa tree means food of the gods.
By the time Theobrama cacao was christened by Carl Linnaeus, a Swedish naturalist,
in 1753, wealthy Europeans, like the Mayans before them, were already worshipping its seeds.
Three centuries on, demand for cocoa,
the basic ingredient for chocolate, is still climbing heavenwards.
Supply cannot keep pace.
An unholy combination of disease,
climate change and poor farming practices in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana,
where about 70% of the world's cocoa is grown, has caused a severe shortage.
Prices hit a record high of more than $12,000 in December.
Although they have since eased, falling to $8,000 a tonne this month,
that is more than triple the price three years ago.
To survive, sweetmakers have raised their prices and pushed chocolate-free treats such as gummies.
They're working on more innovative solutions too.
Lindt, a Swiss chocolatier, for example, has backed Planet A Foods,
a German start-up which roasts and ferments sunflower seeds to mimic the taste of cocoa.