Imagine a world with no chocolate

Snapping a tough bar into bite-sized pieces only to have tinier smithereens flying about; dipping strawberries into fondue only to have it drip over a new dress; stirring a mug of hot chocolate in bed only to have it spill over a favourite book. Bean there, done that.

It's tasty, sometimes messy, and if eaten copiously, unhealthy. But I don't know of one person who has been able to give up chocolate - even despite aspirations of a lean body and flawless skin. People have used everything from PMS to breakups as an excuse to eat extra chocolate. And the fact that dark chocolate is an excellent source of antioxidants (just like red wine, chuckle) can't be ignored.

Alleged reports of a cocoa shortage in the next few years are unlikely to deter consumption, despite a significant rise in cocoa prices. Even Barry Callebaut has attested that. It's a little peculiar, though, that statistics show a growth in demand for chocolate particularly in Asia. I thought there was a type for everyone, with mint, orange, raspberry and even chilli melded into bars. Also, "good" chocolate is no longer just Swiss, Belgian or Mexican. A recent trip to Kerala opened up a world of South Indian handmade chocolates for me (green tea is a great flavour if you're bored with the plain or nutty, by the way).

The International Cocoa Organisation has recently tried putting fears of a mass chocolate shortage to rest by claiming this was an overstatement. Whether or not people have been able to let go of the dystopian image is another matter.

I feel compelled to think about what a cocoa shortage would mean, even if hypothetical. Maybe more white chocolate. Not too long ago, a friend from Buenos Aires told me with great enthusiasm: "White chocolate has no cocoa in it. It's all butter. Why do you look so shocked? Yes, I know all about chocolate. I'm Argentinean." I had never stopped to consider the fact that white chocolate had no cocoa, obvious as it may have been. Doesn't "chocolate" always bring "cocoa" to mind?

Worst comes to worst, in the dreadful event of a cocoa shortage, chocolate will get more expensive than it is right now. Maybe people will buy it in smaller amounts, maybe they won't. Maybe some of us will learn to live without it. Or if you're really desperate, you might decide to make peace with white chocolate. I just hope people don't end up eating their cocoa butter body lotion.