Chicago Chocolate Tours

We know that chocolate is the food of the gods, and the favorite food of many of us humans, but do animals eat it too? Juliet, I'm glad you asked!

Monkeys, rodents, and birds that are indigenous to the Central and South American regions where cacao trees grow do indeed eat the sweet pulp from the cacao pods. They don't, however, eat the bitter seeds from which chocolate is ultimately made. The animals spit out the seeds, and new cacao trees grow. A happy strategy!

The fact that the cacao seeds contain a chemical called theobromine takes us to the next point. You may have heard that dogs shouldn't eat chocolate. The reason is that their systems can't process theobromine, an alkaloid chemical in chocolate that is similar to caffeine and that gives humans a wonderful feeling yet which can cause sickness, seizures, or even death in dogs. In addition, horses and livestock fed cocoa bean hulls have died due to theobromine poisoning.

The amount of theobromine in chocolate is quite small and is metabolized by the liver in humans, while dogs and other animals metabolize it more slowly.

Interestingly, theobromine might have additional benefits for humans besides making us feel good: it might lower blood pressure, help treat asthma, and might even be useful in preventing cancer.

OK, back to the main point: animals that live among cacao trees in the rainforest crack open cacao pods to eat the sweet pulp, while avoiding the seeds. The seeds are what chocolate is made from; chocolate contains theobromine which is pretty marvelous for humans but which can be toxic for dogs and other animals.

So, share your chocolate with your friends, but not with man's best friend.

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