# @ucberkeleyofficial on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/DRVOdAGEryb
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/64635323-ucberkeleyofficial-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/f7ba6ba84a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2025-11-21T20:18:44.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** UC Berkeley (@ucberkeleyofficial) — https://gondola.cc/ucberkeleyofficial

## Caption

*This post was written under the influence of 48% milk chocolate 🍫 

A future without chocolate seems almost unimaginable. Nightmarish, even. But according to UC Berkeley’s Brian Staskawicz, it is a very real possibility.

The world’s cacao crops, the majority of which are grown in the West African countries of Ghana and Côte D’Ivoire, are under siege from the combined threats of climate change and disease. Excessive rains damaged last year’s harvest, as did the ravages of the Cacao Swollen Shoot Virus (CSSV), an infection spread by tiny insects called mealy bugs. Reductions in supply last year made cacao a more lucrative commodity than bitcoin.

At Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute, Staskawicz and his colleague Myeong-Je Cho are working towards solutions, using CRISPR gene editing technology to create cacao plants that are resistant to CSSV and other diseases. 

While the team’s primary goal is to save the source of chocolate for future generations, they hope their work also builds public support for genetic engineering of crops: The same methods that they are now using to save everybody’s favorite tasty treat could also be applied to staple foods like wheat and rice, which face similar threats as cacao.

“I don’t think people understand that we have a serious problem. Once you don’t have food, you don’t have food security, and that will cause wars,” said Staskawicz. “If you can use this technology to save a consumer crop like chocolate that everybody loves, you’ll likely start to gain more acceptance of these methods.” 

🔗 Visit the link in our bio to learn more about how Berkeley research is changing the world: berkeley.edu/research-impact

#ResearchWithResults #UCBerkeley

📸 by Mathew E Burciaga/UC Berkeley

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