Greetings to everybody! I like to drink coffee, I'm just fond of coffee. And I try to read some articles and news connected to this topic. Few days ago I found an article, which interested, gripped and even a bit frightened me. This article is not about coffee only, but about some other products, which can disappear from our planet. But the thing is that the article is written in a foreign language, so I made a translation. I think that this topic can be of interest for you.
"The main reason for the impending catastrophe for gourmets is the man himself and the consequences of its activities .
A coffee berry beetle, a bee mite, a banana fungus are just few points in the long list of dangers that threaten our favourite foods and beverages. The expansion of diseases and pests is related to climate change and growing demands of the planet population. The fact that humans use natural resources unreasonably also impacts this situation. As a result, the main reason of the coming disaster is the aftermath of human activity
Coffee
The scientists from Australian Climate Institute suppose that the coffee plantations areas will decrease in half by the middle of the century, and the wild coffee trees will disappear to 2080. The reason is global warming, which makes climate unsuitable for this crop, and various fungi which multiply rapidly in hot weather conditions. Several years ago there was an emergency situation in Guatemala, Costa Rica and Honduras because of the coffee rust epidemic. Last year Brazil coffee plantations were invaded by pestiferous coffee berry beetles.
Chocolate
Diseases, drought, irrational use of land resources and growing demand of Asian markets for this product are the reasons of coming cacao beans deficit. Mars Inc. and Barry Callebaut, the leading companies dealing with cacao beans, analyzed the recent tendency. They came to a conclusion that the demand for cacao beans will exceed the possibilities for growing cacao beans by 2020. Columbian scientists forecast that the rising rate of average temperature, at 2, 3 degrees by 2050, will damage and reduce the cacao beans planting areas in Ivory Coast.
Bananas
Panama disease is a fungus discovered one hundred years ago in Panama, now it is widely spread in the territory of Costa Rica, Guatemala, Columbia and Ecuador. This fungus wiped out one of the most popular sorts of bananas Gros Michel. The panama disease cannot be cured, the only way out is to grow new sorts of fungus resistant bananas. Up to now, the most disease resistant variety of bananas was the most popular Cavendish. But few years ago the fungus mutated and now it wipes out Cavendish banana plantations in South-East Asia, Australia and Africa. The disease is now called Tropical Race 4.
Wine
The higher the average annual temperature the more frequent droughts occur. Droughts reduce the chances for Bordeaux, Tuscany and East European grapes to ripe. The scientists forecast the disappearing of Bordeaux wines by 2050. Global warming threatens winegrowers of Europe and California.
Honey
Pesticides and other chemicals poison land, water and plants. They not only fight insect pest but beneficial ones as well. The lack of crops variety makes bees less disease and vermin resistant, such as Varroa Oudemans. Besides, the scientists discovered one more bee’s disease – colony collapse disorder. This disease makes bees of Europe and USA to leave their colonies forever without any reason. The scientists reached a verdict – honey bees will totally disappear from the Earth’s surface by 2035."
Original article is here, but it is in Russian: https://focus.ua/world/357182/
Well, I think that these diseases and fungis are quite a problem. But is seems to me, that we shouldn't take into consideration all that the scientists say. We should believe that everything will be all right and we will drink coffee and bananas as much and as long as we want:)
Hope you like this topic.