A hotter climate threatens chocolate. This German company invented a substitute

Climate change is affecting our food, and our food is affecting the climate. NPR is dedicating a week to stories and conversations about the search for solutions.

Cacao trees are notoriously finicky and grow within a range of just about twenty degrees north and south of the equator. Two countries, Ghana and the Ivory Coast, are responsible for over half the global supply of cocoa beans. But climate change is contributing to erratic weather where cocoa beans are grown and threatening the global chocolate supply. Record rainfall last year led to fungal infections among cacao trees and dwindled supply of cocoa beans. Heat is also making it more difficult for cocoa beans to thrive.

So, for day three of NPR's Climate Solutions Week , we look at one innovation in the food industry: chocolate substitutes.

As big chocolate manufacturers rush to stockpile cocoa beans, some companies like Planet A Foods are looking for a more sustainable solution: An alternative that looks like chocolate, tastes like chocolate and feels like chocolate — without chocolate.

You can read more of international correspondent Rob Schmitz's reporting here .

Interested in hearing more climate solutions? Email us at shortwave@npr.org – we'd love to hear your ideas!

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This episode was produced by Rachel Carlson and edited by Rebecca Ramirez. Tyler Jones checked the facts. James Willets was the audio engineer.

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