Coffee’s Environmental Complications and Sustainable Alternatives

By Nick Caceres

While the beverage is a staple in Western culture, major coffee brands have a pretty harsh effect on the environment. Everything from the use of coffee pods to farming techniques contributes to landfills, water pollution, soil erosion, and deforestation.

Coffee and Negative Health Effects

Outside of the environmental effects, coffee can affect humans in interesting ways, some positive and some negative. A reasonable amount of coffee daily can lead to health benefits such as an increase in metabolism, improved exercise as well as boosted energy levels. Caffeine has also been proven to prevent a variety of diseases such as dementia, liver disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. 

While it can have its benefits, caffeine is inherently addictive and can cause a variety of withdrawal symptoms if one stops drinking it for a period of time. These symptoms range from anxiety, tiredness, a lack of focus, and even headaches. A higher consumption of caffeine can also lead to potentially severe health issues like osteoporosis. 

Coffee's Environmental Impact

Even if coffee isn’t completely harmful, the industry surrounding it is not as fortunate. Originally, coffee was shade-grown which helped preserve the tropical rainforest habitats that these plants originate from. However, over the decades growing demand for coffee has led to the transition to sun-grown production, resulting in widespread deforestation in places like Central America, The Caribbean, and Colombia, decreasing biodiversity. 

Because of the removal of topsoil, sun-grown coffee heavily uses chemical fertilizers and pesticides and each cup of coffee equates to 140 liters of water and one square inch of rainforest. Even worse, child labor has been reported in some farms, especially in Honduras. 

If these environmental effects are concerning to you, luckily there are countless sustainable and independently owned coffee brands out there. Not only do these brands source their product from traditional farming but they also preserve natural habitats and uphold working conditions. Take for example the winner of the Specialty Coffee Association's Sustainability Award for Business Model in 2021, Pachamama Coffee. This brand’s shareholders are all farmers from Nicaragua, Peru, Mexico Guatemala, and Ethiopia who earn 100% of the proceeds in return for sustainable and shade-grown coffee. 

Sustainable Alternatives to Coffee

Additionally, ditching disposable cups and cardboard sleeves over reusable alternatives can go a long way as well as using compostable coffee pods. 

There are also many beverages out there that can be great caffeine alternatives. Both Matcha and Chai tea have a more herbal approach that can still carry as much caffeine as a cup of coffee. There are also plenty of other beverages with more specific health benefits that coffee may not be able to cover.