It is always fun seeing what other people do with a story you’re reasonably familiar with. So it was listening to The Chocolate Curse, a recent episode of Planet Money. ((Yes, you’re quite right, we did Nibble it when it first came out. Ed.))
Long story short: Ecuador’s fabled cacao industry went bust in the 1920s because all the wonderful old trees fell prey to witches’ broom. Along comes a diminutive, independent cacao breeder who, on his 51st cross, produced a diminutive cacao tree that is resistant to witches broom. Alas, the variety, called CCN51, tastes like “rusty nails,” and worse. That’s it in the picture.
We’ve actually been here before: Unintended consequences of cacao breeding. What has changed, according to Planet Money, is that the big chocolate manufacturers have found ways to make use of the less than tasty CCN51 beans. Ecuador has planted it like there’s no tomorrow, and it has spread to lots of other cacao-producing areas too.
Yay!
Two things surprised me about the story, as told by Planet Money.
1. Nobody seemed to think that, having seen their original cacao industry devastated by a disease, a similar thing might possibly happen when more than half of the cacao trees in Ecuador are just one variety.
2. Having seen their original cacao industry wiped out by a disease, nobody made the connection with the fruit Ecuador is even better known for: bananas.
There is so much wrong with this piece, I don’t know where to start. A few bits: Ecuadoran pods are multicolored not one color; the ICCO downgraded Ecuador’s status, not chocolate companies; CCN-51 (when fermented separately and properly) has a chocolate taste on par with West Africa.
A country that has some of the most prized cacao in the world – Ecuador – is replacing delicious, prized Nacional cacao with a high-yield, low-quality hybrid that puts them in direct competition with Ghana and Ivory Coast (a race to the bottom).
The story of monoculture that JC mentioned is the case with bananas and cacao in Ecuador – and with crops of all types all over the world. As the manager of the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Tree Fruit & Nut Crops & Grapes explained to me (when I posed this very question), farmers are hoping they will ride out the clock and the failure won’t happen on their watch.
Further to the point of cacao, however, a team – Planet Money – dedicated to discussing economics failed to mention labor. A big reason we are “running out” of chocolate is because the majority of it comes from West Africa and people are tired of being paid a pittance to grow the crop.
CCN-51 will not save chocolate. Equity, biodiversity and climate change mitigation are a promising start.
I dont agree CCN-51 is a low quality hibrid.
With the “New Fermentation Process” every chocolate factory wants CCN-51
CCN-51 is the only sustainable cocoa variety actually and has improved the living standard of the small farmers in Ecuador!!
Farmers don’t want to live in misery and poverty, and they live better today with CCN-51!!
CCN-51 will not save the chocolate but CCN-51 is giving a better life to thousands of small farmers!
To preserve the Biodiversity cientifics must find more cocoa varieties with high productivity as Homero Castro did 50 years ago!!
Some people are always taking against CCN-51 But they don’t grow cocoa and they don’t see how millions of small farmers are living in misery!