I personally don’t partake in the dark art known as coffee, but for those that do? Boyyyyy are you fucked.
CNN has the scoop (no pun intended):
Researchers at Kew Royal Botanic Gardens in the UK warn that climate change, deforestation, droughts and plant diseases are putting the future of coffee at risk.
“The important thing to remember is that coffee requires a forest habitat for its survival,” senior researcher Aaron P. Davis told CNN. “With so much deforestation going on around the world, wild coffee species are being impacted at an alarming rate.”
Davis added that coffee plants grow in very specific natural habitats, so rising temperatures and increased rainfall brought by climate change can make coffee impossible to grow in places the plants once thrived.
“Considering threats from human encroachment and deforestation, some (coffee species) could be extinct in 10 to 20 years, particularly with the added influence of climate change,” Davis said.
To put this into proper perspective, 60% of all coffee species risk extinction. So unless governments and commercial producers stockpile more seeds and institute better protections for coffee species, you guys are gonna be a hot ass mess until about 11am.
The most popular kind of coffee for commercial production, arabica, is already on the endangered species list. Davis’ previous research revealed that arabica coffee could become extinct in as little as 60 years.
I think I just heard somebody faint.
But even the less common types of coffee are vital, researchers said. Preserving a diverse crop of wild coffee plants is useful for developing commercial coffee that’s resistant to changing climates and pests. To create genetically modified plants, researchers need to preserve diverse coffee genes.The Kew scientists say that compared to other plants, it’s more difficult and more expensive to keep coffee seeds alive in storage banks. So focusing on saving coffee’s natural environment is key.
Maaaaaaaan, ya’ll better tell 45 to stop playing and build a wall around coffee instead of worrying about that damn border.