https://www.futurity.org/coffee-pesticides-agroforestry-2935252-2/
"Globally, people drink nearly three billion cups of coffee each day.
When grown as a monoculture crop, coffee plants face a barrage of attacks by
insects, bacteria and fungi. Climate change may also exacerbate these attacks.
On larger coffee plantations in particular, this has led to the increased use
of pesticides, the primary weapons that farmers use to combat unwanted guests.
In Brazil, the world’s largest coffee producer and pesticide consumer, chemical
pesticide use increased by 190% in a single decade. Estimates show that roughly
38 million kilograms of pesticides are used annually in Brazilian coffee
production.
And since 2019, 475 new pesticides have been approved in Brazil. More than a
third of these are not approved in the European Union due to their toxicity.
“The problem is that there are more and more reports of pesticide contamination
in groundwater and ecosystems, and harmful symptoms and disorders among animals
and humans in areas where coffee is grown—from skin disorders, respiratory
problems, to high blood pressure, organ damage, cancer, and cardiovascular
disease. All of this seems to be linked to the use of pesticides in coffee
production,” says Athina Koutouleas, a newly graduated PhD fellow at the
University of Copenhagen’s department of geosciences and natural resource
management."
Via Rixty Dixet.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
