The world without chocolate Booga Booga

A tweet by Brent Spiner recently used the term "Booga Booga" and it made me smile.  At the same time it made me consider what would thrill me in the sense that the expression implies, with a childish fright of a monster under the bed. I’ve come to terms with the destruction of our environment and the inevitable and imminent collapse of humanity, that no longer gives me pause; and if the destruction of humanity no longer thrills me in the Booga Booga sense, I imagined that little would.  I pondered the issue for a while and eventually I found something: Witch’s Broom. No, not the kind of witch’s broom flown by a cartoon version of Elizabeth Montgomery in the opening credits of Bewitched.  But rather the fungal disease that is threatening to wipe chocolate off the face of the earth. 

a healthy cocoa fruit

The cocoa tree was originally domesticated in Central America.  The Mayans were fond of a cocoa derived drink some 1500 years ago, the conquistadors brought chocolate to Europe and we have all been addicted ever since.  Fungal infections such as witch’s boom have completely decimated cocoa production in its native land.  The fungal spores can be spread by wind and through direct contact and can quickly eradicate cocoa production in vast areas.  In a recent visit to Ilheus in the north of Brazil I had the opportunity to visit a cocoa farm that had been destroyed by witch’s broom, there was nothing left.  Throughout the nineteenth century Ilheus and surroundings produced  and exported a third of the world’s raw material for chocolate. In doing business with Europe and the world, the city was incredibly wealthy and sophisticated, as described in the novels of a local resident Jorge Amado, whose works have been translated into most languages these days. Today Ilheus produces no cocoa and its past grandeur has given way to dilapidation and poverty, all due to – you guessed it – witch’s broom.

a cocoa fruit with witch's broom

 Once a region is affected by witch’s broom there is no cure, there is no pesticide or spray that will do away with the fungus. Scientists are frantically working on genetically altered cocoa trees that are able to withstand the infestation.  The greatest fear is that such funguses will cross the Atlantic Ocean and destroy the crops in West Africa.  Around 70% of the world’s chocolate comes from West Africa and the trees there have no immunity to witch’s broom.  The world’s supply of chocolate is one careless farmer or one uninformed tourist away from being completely destroyed.   I bet you didn’t know that.  Booga Booga!