17 foods you wrongly thought would always be around (hint: chocolate)

Updated

This month Japan announced that it's seeking a global heritage nod to help conserve its Washoku style of cooking, which is being threatened by the rise of fast food staples such as McDonald's and Krispy Kreme. So that got us thinking about our favorite foods that might one day go extinct due to a variety of factors like unstable climate (coffee), insect infestations (maple syrup), floods (peanuts) and low demand (yellow watermelon) and others.

We can't say exactly when these foods will move from the endangered to extinct list, but if nothing else, this gallery should serve as a reminder to never take for granted things like, well, maple syrup-slathered pancakes.

Originally published