Climate change increases price of Easter eggs

Climate change increases price of Easter eggs   

This year's Easter eggs will be much more expensive than last year's. The reason is climate change. Extreme weather patterns have made growing cocoa more challenging. Cocoa beans are used to make chocolate. Around 70 per cent of the world's cocoa beans are grown in West Africa. Recent heatwaves, droughts and heavy rain in Ghana and the Ivory Coast have greatly reduced the amount of cocoa beans grown. Temperatures have been four degrees higher than normal. The Reuters news agency said cocoa prices have more than doubled compared to this time last year. Amber Sawyer, an energy and climate analyst, said farmers in West Africa were, "struggling in the face of both extreme heat and rainfall".

Chocolate eggs are given as gifts for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. Traditionally, people dyed and painted chicken eggs. Wikipedia says chocolate eggs first appeared at the court of Louis XIV in France in 1725. In 1873, the English chocolate company J.S. Fry produced the first hollow chocolate egg, similar to the ones people give today. Wikipedia says: "In Western cultures, the giving of chocolate eggs is now commonplace, with 80 million Easter eggs sold in the UK alone." However, climate change is making it more difficult to grow the cocoa beans. Climate analysts say we need to do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions if we want a steady supply of cocoa and chocolate.

1. CHOCOLATE: Students A strongly believe chocolate is very, very, very important; Students B strongly believe the opposite. Why?
2. GIFTS: What are the good and bad things about these gifts? Complete this table.

	Good Things	Bad Things
Chocolates
Flowers
Books
Gift voucher
Jewellery
A sweater Bitcoin

3.Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	reason	a.	Difficult or requiring effort to do.
2.	extreme	b.	How hot or cold something is.
3.	challenging	c.	The cause or explanation for something.
4.	heatwave	d.	Very intense or severe; at the farthest end of a scale.
5.	drought	e.	A period of unusually very hot weather
6.	temperature	f.	A long period of time with little or no rain, leading to a shortage of water.
7.	struggling	g.	Having difficulty or facing challenges.

    Paragraph 2

8.	gift	h.	Having a hole or empty space inside.
9.	celebrate	i.	Something given to someone, often as a present.
10.	resurrection	j.	Changed the color of something by using plant leaves or chemicals.
11.	dyed	k.	Something that happens often or is ordinary.
12.	hollow	l.	Do something special for a happy event or occasion.
13.	commonplace	m.	Things we use for energy, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, that come from the remains of ancient plants and animals
14.	fossil fuel	n.	The act of coming back to life after death.

4. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. expensive
2. challenging
3. normal
4. doubled
5. extreme
6. gifts
7. dyed
8. grow
9. reduce
10. steady

1. increased twofold
2. coloured
3. serious
4. farm
5. difficult
6. stable
7. costly
8. cut
9. presents
10. usual

5.Role play

Role  A – Chocolate You think chocolate is the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why):

Role  B – Strawberries You think strawberries are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why):

Role  C – Nuts You think nuts are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why):

Role  D – Beans You think beans are the most important ingredient of desserts. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their ingredients aren't as good. Also, tell the others which is the least necessary of these (and why):

OR Milk Cheese Sugar Eggs

6.Discussion - Easter Eggs

1. What do you know about Easter?
2. What do you know about cocoa?
3. How important is chocolate to you?
4. How worried are you about climate change?
5. What are your chocolate eating habits?
6. What food prices are worrying you?
7. How difficult is it to be a farmer?
8. What do you think of extreme weather?

11. What do you think of giving chocolate eggs as gifts?
12. Are painted or chocolate eggs best?
13. What are your favourite religious celebrations?
14. What can you do with chocolate?
15. How can we reduce fossil fuel emissions?
16. What would life be like without chocolate?
17. What questions would you like to ask cocoa growers?