Science at UM [S03-ep19]: The Domestication of Cocoa
This week on *A l’UM la science*, we’re discussing the domestication of cacao with geneticist Claire Lanaud from the Agaplaboratory . The segment takes us to Baillarguet with Sébastien Vidal, head of the microcosm platform. Finally, in the closing minutes, Agnès Pesenti will introduce us to the upcoming Science Bar dedicated to Brain Awareness Week. The show airs every Wednesday at 6 p.m. on Divergence-FM 93.9.
You can enjoy it very dark, like a good cup of coffee, with a pinch of salt or chili for a bit of flair. You might prefer it topped with hazelnuts or almonds for a crunchy texture, or let it melt, rich and steaming, to savor it by the cup. For many of us, chocolate is much more than just a treat.
Every year, the French consume more than 300,000 kg of chocolate, or 7 kg per person. In Switzerland, in 2023, the press lamented the fact that, for the first time in 40 years, chocolate consumption had fallen below 10 kg per capita per year. Champions in a world that consumes 7.2 billion tons of cocoa every year. That’s all there is to it.
Paradoxically, producing countries are far from being the leading consumers. In Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s leading producer with over 2 million tons produced each year, consumption amounts to about 500 grams per person per year.
Yet cocoa does not originate from Africa, the leading exporter, nor from Europe, the leading importer, but from South America—more specifically, the Amazon—before humans brought it out of the forest to domesticate it.
When? That’s the question we’re exploring today with our guest. She is a distinguished geneticist at the Agap laboratory. With a team comprising an archaeologist, an anthropologist, a geneticist, and a biochemist, they have detected traces of ancient DNA on pottery dating from 5,000 to 400 years ago to trace the history of cocoa domestication. A study conducted with her colleagues Hélène Vignes, Xavier Argout, Bénédicte Rhoné, and Olivier Fouet from the Agap laboratory.
In the second half of the program, you’ll see our second episode at the Ecotron in Baillarguet. This week, we visit the microcosm platform with Sébastien Devidal, the research engineer in charge of the Ecotron’s microcosm platform, who introduces us to its 13 identical, independent climate chambers, each measuring 2 cubic meters, which can accommodate not only plants but also soil and even butterflies—all to study the effects of climate change.
Finally, we will be welcoming Agnès Pesenti, as the Science Bar is back, and this time the lecture is part of Brain Awareness Week.
At UM Science, you’ve got the program—let’s get started!
Co-production: Divergence FM / University of Montpellier
Host: Lucie Lecherbonnier
Interview: Aline Périault / Lucie Lecherbonnier
Reporting: Aline Périault, Lucie Lecherbonnier
Editing: Aline Périault
Directed by: Alice Rollet / Tom Chevalier
Tune in to the show “A l’UM la science” on Divergence FM 93.9
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