Today, discussions of environmental impacts and carbon emissions are commonplace. We know that modes of transportation and production are contributors, but what about the simple pleasures in life?
SeriousEats.com reports the findings of two studies, one in Costa Rica, the other in El Salvador, that examined the carbon footprint of coffee, from production on the farm all the way to the café where you order your non-fat sugar free vanilla latte with two pumps and no foam.
When you think about the environmental impact of commodities such as coffee, it's very easy to blame large trucks, bustling farm equipment and ocean crossing super tankers. While those things do indeed contribute to coffee's carbon footprint, the largest contributor in the chain may surprise you. When all is said and done, all the steps coffee takes from farm to table produce waste and carbon emissions. However, the study points to cafés, and subsequently consumers, as the largest overall contributors in the chain.
When you really take a moment to analyze the issue, the conclusions make sense. At cafés, the opportunities for waste are numerous. Large farm equipment may spew out diesel fumes, but between paper cups, sleeves, lids as well as straws, napkins, pastry bags (much of which is also imported) and more, just the trash coming out of our favorite drink stops must be massive in quantity. That is before we get to any mention the electricity and water required to pump out your shot of espresso in the morning. Add to that lights, air conditioning, customers on laptops, audio systems and all the things that make the store run, and we are looking at a lot of consumed resources. The nail in the coffin is food waste. Unused milk from lattes, united food and coffee waste adds up to hundreds of pounds of trash. All of this means that coffee shops and consumers account for a not surprising ~50% of the carbon foot print of coffee, with the other 50% being split between the farm, transportation, and roasting.
As you can see, the actual store uses quite a lot of resources. However, the store is not the only culprit. As consumers, not only can individuals vote with our wallet to try and support more environmentally friendly coffee shops, but also learn some new habits to employ at current cafés. Bringing in a reusable mug from home saves a paper cup, and lid, and customers can help cut back on electricity by unplugging devices once they are charged. Check out the source link below for SeriousEats.com's full article.
Check out the full article online at seriouseats.com
Source:
SeriousEats
http://drinks.seriouseats.com/2013/10/calculating-coffees-carbon-footprint-energy-usage-to-farm-pick-ship-roast-brew-coffee.html
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