MNN - Mother Nature Network

Happy Friday! I’ve got some chocolate-related news for you to read this weekend. Sit back, grab a cup of hot chocolate on this fall evening, and spend a little time catching up on what’s going on in the world of everyone’s favorite treat.

• The Washington Post has the details on a study that ties a country’s consumption of chocolate to its number of Nobel Prize winners. The New England Journal of Medicine reported that there’s a positive correlation between the two. Chocolate, it seems, might not only make you smarter, it could make you genius-level smart. (Take another sip of the hot chocolate you’re drinking.)
• Hershey Co. has announced its commitment to certify 100 percent of its cocoa by 2020. Environmental Leader reports that while the company hasn’t said exactly what certification they’ll use, the “cocoa will be verified through independent auditors to assure that it is grown in line with the highest internationally recognized standards for labor, environment and better farming practices.”
• The University of Alabama’s Crimson White newspaper ran a story about the myths and facts of chocolate. Does it cause acne? Cavities? Read and find out.
• Finally, if you missed my earlier MNN post this week, I gave you a discount code for Endangered Species Halloween Treats, an affordable, responsible chocolate you can hand out to trick-or-treaters this Halloween.