Death of Chocolate: A Case for Bio-Engineering



Cocoa pods -wikimedia commons

Being an ample person, it will come as no surprise to learn that I love chocolate. Chocolate is my pacifier when I’m upset, and I know that I’m not the only one. It comes of no surprise to me that Google results for chocolate extends beyond fourteen million, five hundred thousand references.  For example, Henrylito d. Tacio details in his article “Life is a Box of Chocolates” the history of cocoa and various physical effects of chocolate.  He gives words of wisdom on chocolate by many well-known people. One that I totally agree with is by cartoonist John Q. Quillius: “Nine out of ten people like chocolate. The tenth person always lies.” In another reference, Gloria Tsang, RD (Registered Dietician), reveals that chocolate may “lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. The research also found that levels of LDL cholesterol in these individuals dropped by 10 percent.” Certainly, no one argues that chocolate is often a necessary ingredient to satisfy the cravings of a pregnant woman, which is good as chocolate is believed to prevent pre-eclampsia. With all the history and benefits surrounding chocolate, I was horrified when I read that chocolate is in danger of disappearing!

Michael Moyer’s “Death and Chocolate: Disease Threatens to Devastate Global Cocoa Supply” provides one of the best arguments for mapping genomes and bio-engineering that I have read. Usually, when someone hears of gene mapping, it is the mapping of the human's genome to find the causes of diseases or the mapping of chimpanzees to find how closely they resemble us. These are admirable causes for gene mapping, but I cannot think of a more deserving pursuit than the mapping of the cocoa genome to save chocolate! If chocolate disappears, it will cause industries to disappear, not to mention the sanity of countless human beings, my sanity being paramount.

Who would have believed that witches broom and frosty pod, both plant diseases, would present a bio hazard of such worldwide proportions? With several warnings posted for the past several years, such as Gareth W. Griffith's 2004 article in Biologist, it is reassuring that gene mapping of cocoa is now being used to understand how to bio-engineer resistance to the dangers of these two plant pathogens. Hopefully, this will come in time to safeguard the emotional well-being of humanity. Whew! This is too close. Pass the Herseys please.