Unsustainable coffee production is making more and more people sick

Intensive pesticide use on coffee farms around the world is leading to progressively more reports of poor human and animal health

Coffee production needs to return to its roots and rediscover sustainability, according to a University of Copenhagen researcher who led a comprehensive review of research concerning alternative protection strategies for coffee plants.

The slightly bitter, aromatic and vitalizing beverage is a lifestyle and daily ritual for many. Globally, nearly three billion cups of coffee are consumed every day by us Earthlings.

Unfortunately, coffee production has also become problematic, with negative health impacts on humans and animals now on our conscience.

Coffee plants are subjected to a barrage of attack by insects, bacteria and fungi as a result of their being increasingly grown as a monoculture crop since the 1990's. These attacks may also be exacerbated by climate change. On larger coffee plantations in particular, this has led to the increased use of pesticides, the primary weapons used by farmers 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 EU due to their toxicity.