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🗞️ Driving the news: Starbucks, facing the threat of climate change on coffee crops, is developing six new arabica coffee varieties designed to withstand the impact of rising temperatures
• The Inter-American Development Bank warns that by 2050, warming temperatures could reduce suitable coffee-growing areas by up to 50%, prompting Starbucks to take action to ensure a resilient coffee supply chain
🔭 The context: Arabica coffee, the main variety used by Starbucks, is particularly vulnerable to climate change, requiring specific conditions that may be compromised by global warming
• The company, purchasing from about 400,000 farmers in 30 countries, aims to secure its coffee supply by breeding climate-resistant varieties that thrive in a warming environment
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate change poses a significant threat to coffee production, impacting farmers worldwide, making Starbucks' initiative to develop climate-resistant coffee varieties a crucial step toward adapting to changing conditions and ensuring the sustainability of its coffee supply chain
⏭️ What's next: Starbucks' ongoing breeding program focuses on creating arabica varieties that not only withstand climate challenges but also meet taste and flavor standards, emphasizing the need for continuous innovation to adapt to climate change and sustain the global coffee industry
• In Costa Rica, Starbucks operates the Hacienda Alsacia coffee farm, an educational and research center, where a catalog describing the six new varieties is available to farmers
💬 One quote: "Some of the varietals that we’re working with and testing are seeing their harvest in [a] two-year cycle" (Michelle Burns, EVP of Global Coffee, Social Impact, and Sustainability at Starbucks)
📈 One stat: Starbucks has distributed about 70 million coffee rust-resistant trees to farmers, part of its goal to provide 100 million trees by 2025, as the company addresses the challenges posed by climate change in the coffee industry
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