Over 2 billion coffee cups are consumed every day in the world which makes coffee one of the most popular drinks on the planet. But it’s not just that. Coffee became a highly profitable industry, second most tradable good after oil – and where’s big money, there are problems. Here, the biggest problem is for the environment. Of course, fair trade coffee exists, there are brands that care about being sustainable and eco-friendly, but unfortunately, not all of them. Do you ever wonder what impact the coffee industry has on the planet? Here are some examples.
Natural problems of sun cultivation
Normally, coffee beans grow in the shade, under a canopy of trees, so they are cultivated with various tree species – that gives a home to a variety of flora and fauna. With time, big corporations started to grow coffee beans as a monoculture, in the full sun, using chemical fertilizers. Because of it, there’s no longer diversity of animals and plants in the regions where coffee is cultivated that way and it interferes with the diversity of the whole area.
Chemicals
Speaking of fertilizers, they are poisonous for both humanity and the environment. A recent study shows that there’s a huge human exposure to pesticides in the developing world, especially in Latin America. This study sounds even more horrifying when you’re aware that, for example, in Kenya, 30% of instant coffee pickers are younger than 15 years old.
Are you interested in this subject? You can read more about the impacts of the coffee industry on the environment and the ways to fight it in the infographic provided by HotShot Coffee Sleeves:
