Chocolate could reportedly vanish as early as 2050. This revelation has led scientists from the University of California at Berkeley to work with Virginia-based manufacturer Mars Incorporated to save the cacao plant from disappearing.
据报道,巧克力很可能最早在2050年就将绝迹。这个发现致使加州大学伯克利分校和总部位于弗吉尼亚的巧克力制造商玛氏公司联手拯救可可树,以使其免于灭绝。
Warmer temperatures and drier weather conditions are expected to be the root of the cacao plants' potential disappearance.
更高的温度和更干燥的气候条件被认为是可可树可能会消失的根源。
New technology, known as CRISPR, is being used by UC Berkeley scientists to modify the DNA of the plants. The crop's tiny seedlings would be able to survive in different climates if the experiment is proven successful.
加州大学伯克利分校的科学家正利用一种叫作CRISPR的新技术改造可可树的DNA。如果试验成功,可可树幼苗将能在不同的气候下生存。
Mars Incorporated is well aware of these problems and other related issues that climate change poses. This has led the company to make a $1 billion pledge towards reducing its business and supply chain's carbon footprint by more than 60% by 2050, in a plan called "Sustainability in a Generation".
玛氏公司已警觉到气候变化带来的这些以及其他相关问题。该公司承诺,将出资10亿美元推动“世代永续”行动,让旗下事业与供应链的碳足迹在2050年前减少逾60%。
Mars' decision to collaborate with UC Berkeley scientists is a part of this initiative.
玛氏公司决定与加州大学伯克利分校的科学家合作,也是这项计划的一部分。
"We're trying to go all in here," Barry Parkin, Mars' chief sustainability officer, told Business Insider. "There are obviously commitments the world is leaning into but, frankly, we don't think we're getting there fast enough collectively."
玛氏公司可持续发展首席行政官巴里·帕金向《商业内幕》透露:“我们正在试图全力以赴。显然大家都在期待,但说实话,我们认为实现这一目标的速度并没有那么快。”