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A Coconut Shortage In The Caribbean Is Bad News For Your Coconut Milk Latte

by Hope Schreiber
Stocksy

I know what you're thinking. "If there is a coconut shortage, what will I put my limes into?"

Or maybe you're just concerned that this shortage in the Caribbean is going to interfere with your enjoyment of coconut water. Where will you get the potassium your body craves?!

Maybe you're wondering how coconut milk is milked... because, like, it's a fruit not an animal?

The world is coming for your beloved super food. Bad storms, droughts and an insect-borne fruit disease called "Lethal Yellowing" are hurting coconut farms.

According to Bloomberg and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Caribbean coconut farms have shrunk by 17 percent since 1994. A coordinator of a Trinidadian coconut research program said,

It's fair to say that at this pace, the Caribbean is running out of coconuts.
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This, of course, is a huge hit to the coconut economy.

According to The Wall Street Journal, coconut oil has risen in price by 50 percent since 2013, and coconut water is a $4 billion industry.

Coconuts are a health craze that many stars are advocating.

Gwyneth Paltrow even told Goop readers to switch out lube and use coconut oil instead. Now not only will my coconut creamer become crazy expensive, but I guess I'm not having sex either.

Citations: A Major Coconut Shortage With Global Consequences May Hit the Caribbean (Time)