Companies Grow Cocoa Beans in Lab to Produce Chocolate
2024-09-18
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Climate change pressures have led some companies to try growing cocoa in new environments to produce chocolate.
2Some of the companies have set up growing operations in laboratories to produce cocoa from cell cultures.
3Others are experimenting with non-cocoa substances in an effort to create chocolate alternatives.
4Higher temperatures worldwide have made it harder to grow cocoa beans in traditional rainforest environments.
5But worldwide demand remains high for chocolate.
6So, scientists and businesses are looking to create new products to meet that demand.
7California Cultured is a plant cell culture company based in West Sacramento, California.
8It is growing cocoa from cell cultures inside a lab and plans to start selling its products next year.
9The process involves putting cocoa bean cells in a container with sugar water.
10This helps them quickly reproduce and mature.
11Alan Perlstein, chief executive of California Cultured, spoke to the Associated Press.
12He said his company's process can produce a harvest in just one week.
13This compares to six to eight weeks for a traditional harvest.
14He said the method also uses a lot less water and labor than harvesting cocoa beans in a field.
15Perlstein said he sees the demand for chocolate continuing to increase, while the supply decreases.
16Using alternative processing methods might be the only way to increase the supply of cocoa without causing environmental harm or greatly increasing costs, he said.
17Cocoa trees grow about 20 degrees north and south of the equator in areas with warm weather and a lot of rain.
18But scientists fear further climate change will dry out the land in such areas.
19The worldwide market for chocolate is huge.
20The chocolate market for candy worldwide reached $238.5 billion in 2023, research website Statista reports.
21Sales in the United States alone reached more than $25 billion in 2023, the National Confectioners Association said.
22The trade organization represents the candy industry.
23The price of cocoa increased earlier this year because of rising demand and West African crop losses from plant disease and weather changes.
24West Africa produces most of the world's cocoa.
25Carla D. Martin is executive director of the U.S.-based Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute.
26She told the AP that drops in the world cocoa supply have led some companies to look for ways to replace the ingredient that produces the taste of chocolate.
27Planet A Foods is once such company in Planegg, Germany.
28It believes the taste of mass market chocolate is created not only by the bean itself, but also how it is fermented and cooked.
29The company has tested out many ingredients, from olives to seaweed, to find a possible substitute.
30It is currently using a mix of oats and sunflower seeds as the best tasting chocolate alternative, said company spokesperson Jessica Karch.
31Planet A Foods calls the product "ChoViva," which can be used in place of other ingredients in baked goods.
32"The idea is not to replace the high quality, 80 percent dark chocolate, but really to have a lot of different products in the mass market," Karch told the AP.
33Similar efforts can be found in Israel.
34One company there, Celleste Bio, is taking cocoa bean cells and growing them indoors to produce cocoa powder and cocoa butter.
35The company's co-founder, Hanne Volpin, said that within a few years the company aims to be able to produce cocoa no matter what the situation is with climate change and disease.
36Volpin added, "We only have a small field, but eventually, we will have a farm of bioreactors."
37I'm Bryan Lynn.
1Climate change pressures have led some companies to try growing cocoa in new environments to produce chocolate. 2Some of the companies have set up growing operations in laboratories to produce cocoa from cell cultures. Others are experimenting with non-cocoa substances in an effort to create chocolate alternatives. 3Higher temperatures worldwide have made it harder to grow cocoa beans in traditional rainforest environments. But worldwide demand remains high for chocolate. So, scientists and businesses are looking to create new products to meet that demand. 4California Cultured is a plant cell culture company based in West Sacramento, California. It is growing cocoa from cell cultures inside a lab and plans to start selling its products next year. The process involves putting cocoa bean cells in a container with sugar water. This helps them quickly reproduce and mature. 5Alan Perlstein, chief executive of California Cultured, spoke to the Associated Press. He said his company's process can produce a harvest in just one week. This compares to six to eight weeks for a traditional harvest. He said the method also uses a lot less water and labor than harvesting cocoa beans in a field. 6Perlstein said he sees the demand for chocolate continuing to increase, while the supply decreases. Using alternative processing methods might be the only way to increase the supply of cocoa without causing environmental harm or greatly increasing costs, he said. 7Cocoa trees grow about 20 degrees north and south of the equator in areas with warm weather and a lot of rain. But scientists fear further climate change will dry out the land in such areas. 8The worldwide market for chocolate is huge. The chocolate market for candy worldwide reached $238.5 billion in 2023, research website Statista reports. Sales in the United States alone reached more than $25 billion in 2023, the National Confectioners Association said. The trade organization represents the candy industry. 9The price of cocoa increased earlier this year because of rising demand and West African crop losses from plant disease and weather changes. West Africa produces most of the world's cocoa. 10Carla D. Martin is executive director of the U.S.-based Fine Cacao and Chocolate Institute. She told the AP that drops in the world cocoa supply have led some companies to look for ways to replace the ingredient that produces the taste of chocolate. 11Planet A Foods is once such company in Planegg, Germany. It believes the taste of mass market chocolate is created not only by the bean itself, but also how it is fermented and cooked. 12The company has tested out many ingredients, from olives to seaweed, to find a possible substitute. It is currently using a mix of oats and sunflower seeds as the best tasting chocolate alternative, said company spokesperson Jessica Karch. Planet A Foods calls the product "ChoViva," which can be used in place of other ingredients in baked goods. 13"The idea is not to replace the high quality, 80 percent dark chocolate, but really to have a lot of different products in the mass market," Karch told the AP. 14Similar efforts can be found in Israel. One company there, Celleste Bio, is taking cocoa bean cells and growing them indoors to produce cocoa powder and cocoa butter. 15The company's co-founder, Hanne Volpin, said that within a few years the company aims to be able to produce cocoa no matter what the situation is with climate change and disease. Volpin added, "We only have a small field, but eventually, we will have a farm of bioreactors." 16I'm Bryan Lynn. 17The Associated Press reported this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. 18_____________________________________ 19Words in This Story 20culture - n. the process of growing things, especially bacteria, for scientific purposes 21alternative - n. one of two or more things you can choose between 22mature - v. completely grow or develop 23ingredient - n. one of the different foods used to make other foods 24ferment - v. when a substance is stored and the sugar in it changes into alcohol because of a chemical process