Chocolate...
We all know it, we all love it. In fact, the average American eats about 10 lbs or 4.5 kilograms of
chocolate a year
(Colorado State). When you do the math, that comes out to a whopping 1.3 billion
kilograms each year, making us the world’s largest importer of chocolate and products with
chocolate (Statista). It’s a part of almost all of our major holidays, and it’s featured in our favorite
desserts, but do you know about its dark side?
Our story starts in the jungles of West Africa - Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire to be exact, where more
than 60% of the global output is produced (Bloomberg). Cacao trees thrive in the warm, humid
climate, and every year, farmers harvest many millions of tons of cacao beans to meet the
demands of Western markets.
Chocolate is derived from cocoa beans, which are the fruit of the Theobroma cacao tree. From
there, the cacao pods are harvested, before the beans are fermented and left to dry under the
sun. Then, they’re sent to countries throughout Europe and North America where they’re turned
into the candy we all know and love. The supply chain is complicated - a dense, confusing web
of small farmers, corporate plantations, international traders, and industry conglomerates.
Every year, this dense web grows to make room for Westerner’s increasing desire for chocolate,
and every year, vast stretches of tropical rainforest are cut down to make room for cacao trees.
Our want for chocolate is destroying biodiversity in West Africa and Southeast Asia, disrupting
delicate ecosystems and accelerating the rate of climate change by reducing the amount of
carbon-absorbing trees
(Schroth and Harvey).
Beyond that lies rampant socio-economic issues. Many cocoa farmers make less than $1.50
a day, and children as young as 11 and 12 are sent to work in corporate plantations, wielding
machetes instead of attending school. The volatility of the market causes cocoa prices to
fluctuate, leaving farmers with unstable incomes while massive corporations continue to profit
off of their exploitation
(Corporate Accountability Lab, West Africa Cocoa Report 2023).
Meet Choccy. He's our mascot, and represents our mission to engineer a world where chocolate
production is more sustainable and ethical. Through our work, we're addressing key issues in
environmental sustainability, food security, and reducing reliance on cocoa farming. By utilizing
genetic engineering, we're creating an innovative and eco-friendly approach to chocolate
production that can be reproduced by future iGEM teams and corporations.
Our project, Lactochoccus, was created to be the future of chocolate. We are engineering
Lactococcus bacteria — a common, food-safe organism used in yogurts and cheeses — to
synthesize four key compounds responsible for chocolate’s signature flavor: pyrazine,
HDMF, phenylethylamine, and theobromine. By reproducing these compounds, we are
creating a synthetic chocolate flavor, offering a more ethical alternative to current
products. With Lactochoccus, we can enjoy the taste of chocolate in a way that’s gentler
on both our conscience and the planet.
Project Promotion Video
Our Sponsors
We are grateful for the support of our sponsors:
And a heartfelt thank you to all of our community supporters and GoFundMe donors!
Thank you for helping us make our project a reality!