Today is an excuse to drink more coffee. After all, it is National Coffee Day; but, reaching for your morning cup of “Joe” could become more difficult – and expensive – thanks to climate change.
As a recent New York Times article pointed out, growing coffee requires a precise, stable environment. Climate volatility can wreak havoc on farmland, which can also lead to disease and pests. Any change in weather patterns can have a huge impact on the seasonal yield and permanently threaten coffee farming.
Climate change is a hot topic on the U.S. Presidential campaign trail, with one candidate claiming it’s a hoax and the other side fully embracing it as a real threat to our way of life. Coffee growers and companies need not listen to a debate to figure out there is an issue – they are already feeling the heat.
In a report released by the Climate Institute this month, Mario Cerutti, Green Coffee & Corporate Relations Partner at the coffee brand Lavazza stated, “We have a cloud hovering over our head. It’s dramatically serious. Climate change can have a significant adverse effect in the short term. It’s no longer about the future; it’s the present.”
Meanwhile, the Union of Concerned Scientists reported household brands such as Maxwell House, Yuban, and Folgers increased retail prices by more than 25 percent in 2010 and 2011 due to low supply and wholesale prices. If prices are already being affected by shifting weather patterns, surely, the future must be alarming for the industry.
What does that mean for your morning caffeine fix? Will you have to save money elsewhere just to enjoy your favorite pick-me-up? Perhaps your favorite bean or variety will cease to exist altogether?
Or, there’s another option — maybe it’s not too late to turn the tide and stand up for the Earth? What can you do to keep enjoying your favorite dark, succulent, aromatic roast?
You and your organization can raise awareness about climate change by pledging to become an Ambassador for our planet. Please click here to secure your own .Earth domain name and make a statement about climate change — and your love of coffee.
