(Photo credits: theconfluencecast.com) Coffee is not just an addiction, it's a way of life to most. Coffee is a staple to the mornings of the people who enjoy it and nothing does better than coffee to wake up anyone. Coffee farming has been a multi-billionaire business and it's fueled by the millions of coffee drinkers in the world. Cafes like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts run close to solely on coffee and has made large success with their coffee chains, testifying the significance of the presence of coffee in our global economy. Yet, the economy for coffee is dropping and the profits from the agricultural business for coffee is dropping steadily. This begs the question of why? Why would such a stable and profitable business suddenly be failing in the pass few years?
Well the root of the issue is back into the soil; agriculture of coffee plants has become more and more difficult for the many farmers looking for a profit from this business. Scientists say half of the world's coffee would be wiped out by 2050 by an infectious fungus spreading spreading in tropical countries. This fungus is the coffee leaf rust. This fungal infection was so bad in the past it forced many to switch and grow tea. Another reason for the difficulty of growing coffee now is climate change and global warming. As the precipitation increases in tropical climate, the rate of fungal spreading increases. Coffee plants grow well in about a temperature of 64°–70°F /18°C–21°C. However average temperatures in Brazil, the largest exporter of coffee, has average temperatures of 73°F to 81 °F /23°C to 27 °C in coastal areas and a highest of 100°F /38°C in mainland areas. This is way above the optimal range for coffee, bringing coffee growing to its decline. All of these issues forced the farmers to change the species of coffee plants they grow. There are 2 main coffee plants grown; Robusta and Arabica. Arabica is more susceptible to disease but yields high quality sweet coffee fruits sold at about $1.60/lb while the Robusta variant is more hardy but yields a lower quality bitter coffee, sold at about $0.85/lb. Farmers are now all switching to Robusta, lowering total profit to ensure a sustainable yield. Soon. no farmers would want to grow Arabica, leaving the world with low quality coffee and, maybe, even switch to tea, reducing the total coffee output in the world. As coffee becomes harder to grow, it becomes more expensive for anyone to have a cup of coffee every morning. For the coffee farmers, life becomes harder and a crop that had once helped them may not be a loss in profit. Very soon, a coffee a morning may be a thing of the past and cafes may be forced to shut down. The way of life of almost half of all Americans and many more in the world may just come to a complete halt due to climate change and if we do not do our best to combat global warming, it'll be gone in a blink of an eye. If this doesn't motivate you to help conserve the environment, the drink motivating you every morning will no longer be around.
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