Start Stockpiling: Devastating Chocolate Virus Killing Sweet Supply

Start Stockpiling: Devastating Chocolate Virus Killing Sweet Supply

Brace yourselves for a bittersweet reality check because chocolate is trouble.

Move over COVID-19, there's a new viral villain in town, and it's killing cacao trees in West Africa, the birthplace of over half the world's chocolate.

Willy Wonka would be HORRIFIED.

CSSVD, short for cacao swollen shoot virus disease, is the culprit behind this cocoa crisis.

It's spread by pesky mealybugs chomping on cacao trees. And this disease is causing some serious damage.

The symptoms? Swelling stems, roots resembling balloons, and leaves sporting angry red veins.

(Sounds like something you get in college. ANYWAY.)

We're not sure if the plants are losing their sense of smell and taste, but we're having a tough time digesting this news.

Hold onto your cocoa beans because the numbers don't lie.

Ghana's already seen harvest losses of 15% to 20%, with a staggering 254 million cacao trees wiped out in recent years.

That's a lot of wasted "WatchamaCallits" lost in the mix.

Battling this virus is no cakewalk, especially since those mealybugs have developed a resistance to pesticides.

Yes. Scientists are rolling up their sleeves and vaccinating cacao crops against CSSVD.

However, there's a catch—the cost. These vaccines don't come cheap, and many farmers are struggling to foot the bill on low wages.

Will our chocolate fix be impacted? According to experts, the answer is yes.

Brace yourselves for potential shortages as this virus threatens to throw a wrench in our sweet supply chain.

The New York Post isn't sugarcoating it either, urging us to stock up while we still can.

Climate change is already playing its part, causing (willy?) wonky weather and poor harvests, driving up chocolate prices even further. With some cocoa processors struggling to afford beans, the chocolate industry is facing a double whammy of challenges.

So, what's a chocoholic to do?

Stockpile your favorite bars while you can.

We all need a treat!

This is a survey we can all get excited about! The Fine Nine Deserts!

But, did the people who ran this poll forget that ICE CREAM exists? 2,000 Americans were asked to name their favorite type of dessert, But somehow, ice cream is nowhere to be found unless it sits atop a nice slice of apple pie.

People were allowed to pick more than one type of dessert they consider a "favorite." That is would be a tough job, but as you see the list is of people's favorite is actually very good and includes all of our favorites.

Here are the top ten . . .

Who doesn't like a brownie? For me, I prefer mine walnuts in mine, unfortunately my wife hates them with walnuts.

Candy for dessert? No thanks, unless you're a kid that has a sack full of Halloween candy that has to be eaten before mom and dad say "you've had enough"

Love a pastry, and there are so many options for it. Not just for breakfast!

Cupcakes are always a great dessert, they're ready to eat, just take them out of their paper wrapper and enjoy!

I usually think muffins are a breakfast food with coffee, but there is no reason they can't be for dessert either.

Again, donuts are usually something we have in the morning, but these days donuts are part of wedding receptions and parties, the donut board is a very popular attraction at any occasion.

Gotta love the All American Pie! So many varieties to choose from, Apple, Blueberry, Cherry, Lemon and on and on....

We love our cookies, of course chocolate chip is always the number one cookie, but I can't think of a bad cookie. Dip and dunk and enjoy!

Hard to argue with cake, because most of the time it is associated with a celebration of some sort, so you're automatically happy, especially if you get to cut the cake!