Recently, the national media delighted in reporting on a story (which initially ran in The Grocer) outlining that Penguin and Club bars are no longer classed as ‘chocolate’ after rising cocoa prices led the makers to switch to other ingredients.
Both treats must now officially be described as ‘chocolate flavour’, as the amount of cocoa they contain has been reduced and replaced with cheaper alternative ingredients. And yes, it’s because of climate change.
This is not an isolated incident. The UK sources cocoa beans from West Africa, where severe droughts and poor harvests in cocoa-producing countries, such as Ivory Coast and Ghana, have resulted in restricted supplies and higher prices across the board.
The fact that a popular snack – which for years has been considered a lunchbox staple – is now in the reformulation firing line, has caught the public imagination. Chocolate bars that are no longer actually ‘chocolate’, whatever next! It seems almost comical.
But there is of course a serious side to all this, with wider-reaching implications we can no longer ignore.
The growing issue of supply disruption
It’s clear that climate change, resource constraints and geopolitics, are converging to make food production less stable and more expensive. A recent report from the Autonomy Institute predicts UK food prices could climb 34% by 2050, driven by what is now being coined ‘climateflation’.
And globally we are seeing the same patterns. This year, the price of eggs soared for US consumers, driven by the rise of bird flu and a number of other related factors. The war in Ukraine and drought in Bulgaria pushed sunflower oil prices up by 56%.
Similar climate pressures are also affecting Vietnam and Brazil, the world’s leading coffee producers, where arabica prices have doubled over the past year. This, coupled with President Trump’s tariffs, mean Americans are paying more than ever to enjoy a cup of coffee.
And in the UK, US and EU, beef prices continue to climb. Cattle herds have dwindled to their lowest levels in decades, due to a cumulative strain of drought, high feed costs and shifting land use patterns.
Finding a solution to promote food stability
Conventional agriculture cannot, and should not, shoulder this burden alone. That’s where cultivated meat and precision fermentation presents a viable solution to this growing issue.
What once seemed impossible is now becoming a reality: meat, fish, eggs, cheese, oils, fats and even cacao and coffee can all be produced in new ways – grown in bioreactors, for example, rather than fields.
These innovations have the potential to shorten supply chains, reduce GHG emissions, ease pressure on land and water, guard against livestock diseases and support farmers in regenerating soils and restoring ecosystems, all while continuing to meet consumer demand.
The good news is that new technological breakthroughs continue to drive down costs at a pace that echoes solar and wind in their early days – meaning that what was once a futuristic idea is edging closer to reality and price parity.
But for clean food to have its biggest impact, the sector needs to scale. And this means continued investment and support from governments and industry. Realising the potential of these advancements will increase food security globally and set us on the path to feeding our rising population, without exhausting the planet.
Jim Mellon is executive chairman of Agronomics
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