Over one billion meals a day were wasted globally across households in 2022, per a UN report released Wednesday, amounting to nearly one fifth of total food that year.
The big picture: The staggering amount of waste comes as global food insecurity and the climate crisis plague communities around the world.
Cocoa prices extended a torrid rally, briefly setting a new record above $10,000 in a move that makes sweet treats pricier for consumers and chocolate makers alike.
According to Reuters, major cocoa plants in Africa reduced processing because they couldn't afford to buy beans.
The crisis is likely to intensify, with Ghana set to lose key funding access allowing it to buy beans, Bloomberg reported.
By the numbers: In the past six weeks, prices of wholesale beans traded in New York have doubled, trading just above $10k per metric on Tuesday before closing slightly below that level — a250 percent jump from last year.
At the time of writing, the cocoa price was around $9,700 per metric ton.
Deep dive: The cocoa crisis has been in the making for a long time, according to Tedd George, founder and chief narrative officer at Kleos Advisory. "We saw it coming and unfortunately, it's played out exactly as everyone said it would."
George says climate change and changing weather patterns turbo-charged the financial crisis in Ghana, threatening cocoa production.
He says local Ghanaian farmers have been unable to restore old trees because it costs too much to buy pesticides; this in turn led to the spread of black pod disease and swollen shoot virus during the last quarter of 2023.
This may lead to farmers resorting to smuggling beans to profit from higher prices, because many are currently locked into fixed contracts.
State of play: The Ivory Coast cocoa regulator, Le Conseil Cafe-Cacao, recently stopped selling contracts for cocoa exports forward sales for the 2024-25 season as production numbers drop.
Reuters reports that in normal times, the heavily regulated market allows buyers to set pre-agreed prices a year in advance.
However, in times of shortage, "the system breaks down" and dealers buy the beans at higher than the pre-agreed prices to secure the delivery.
What they're saying: "At the moment, both Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire are scrambling for beans to meet contracts some even from last season," says George. "That's where there's a real problem."
To reduce the cost burden, some candy makers are replacing the ingredient, cutting down on packaging and bar sizes, or using new technologies to make cocoa-free chocolates.
Adam Maxwell, whose food tech startup, Voyage Foods, has also reverse-engineered coffee and peanut butter to make said in an emailed statement:"While we can't say for certain, if you look at long-term historical cocoa pricing data, it's not crazy to think prices will be where they are today or even higher."
Yes, but: Approximately 92 percent of Easter-celebrating Americans are still set to purchase candy and chocolate this year, contributing to over $5 billion in confectionery sales during the Easter holiday season, according to the U.S. National Confectioners Association.
What we're watching: Whether chocolate remains affordable for everyone, or ends up becoming a luxury item.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to send two top Israeli officials to Washington as early as next week for talks about a possible military operation in Rafah, four U.S. and Israeli officials told Axios.
Why it matters: It's a sharp reversal by Netanyahu who on Monday canceled the same trip by the same people in protest over the U.S. not vetoing a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages held by Hamas.
A majority of Americans disapprove of Israel's military actions in Gaza, in a stark shift since last fall, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.
Why it matters: The new findings come as Israel prepares for a controversial ground invasion of Rafah. Tensions have grown between President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the humanitarian toll of Israel's war has mounted.
President Biden is facing blowback from pro-Israel lawmakers in both parties for allowing the U.N. Security Council to pass a resolution calling for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages.
The big picture: The president, who has largely stuck with Israel amid its war with Hamas, said earlier this month that Israel's government must take the humanitarian crisis in Gaza seriously and not use aid as leverage.
Israel has called its negotiations team back from Qatar after 10 days of talks over a possible hostage deal reached a dead-end, sparking a blame game between the U.S. and Israel.
Why it matters: The fallout over the deadlock adds to already spiraling relations between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Biden administration.
A Russian court ordered Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on Tuesday to remain in pretrial detention on espionage charges until at least late June.
Why it matters: Gershkovich has already spent almost a year behind bars without having been convicted of a crime. The newspaper has vehemently denied and denounced the allegations against him, and the U.S. considers him wrongfully detained by Russia.
Crude prices are increasingly at risk from geopolitical factors that are getting harder to control.
Driving the news: Continued conflict in the Red Sea is hampering global supply chains, which leads to higher prices. Meanwhile, waylaid shipments — which include barrels of crude supplies — are being forced to find alternate routes to their final destinations.
A U.K. court signaled Tuesday that it will allow WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to appeal his extradition if the U.S. does not provide certain assurances about his rights.
Why it matters: Assange has been fighting extradition to the U.S. over charges stemming from one of the largest classified intelligence leaks in American history.
The Los Angeles and Miami homes of Sean "Diddy" Combs were raided by law enforcement on Monday.
The big picture: The rapper and producer is facing a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations. He has denied all allegations leveled against him.
Why it matters: Putin's comments in a televised address mark the first time he has linked Friday's shooting claimed by ISIS to anyone but Ukraine — though he continued to suggest the country his forces have invaded was involved, without providing any evidence.
