My first ever ambassador report...Hope you are enlightened by it...

You wake up in the morning after banging the ?snooze? button for the 100th time, take a hot shower and brew up a cup of coffee. Grab the crisp newspaper and read a small bit. And then you hop in the car/bus/tram/metro to get to work/school on time. But have you ever paused to consider the total environmental impact caused on the Earth by your daily chores. The ecological footprint is one technique to answer the question of how our lifestyle affects the planet.

Let us consider more deeply the issue of coffee. Many of us consider coffee to be a popular social beverage and a wonderful way to start the day, but fail to realize where the coffee comes from and what type of effect it has on the environment.

Land is needed to grow the coffee beans, for the processing and distributing operations, to house corporate management and advertisers as well as the downtown store. Additional forest land is needed to absorb the CO₂ resulting from all the energy burned harvesting, processing and shipping the coffee. Somewhere on the planet land was mined to make the metal for the machinery used in each step of the process and for the chemicals used in fertilizers and pesticides.

For this reason, many coffee companies have begun to create specialized styles of coffee that work to benefit the environment instead of affecting it negatively. Many of these coffee companies are created to have a conscience, and even the leading coffee brand, Starbucks, has begun to contribute to environmentally friendly coffee growing practices. Some examples of this are shade grown, organic, and fair trade coffee practices. In fact, socially responsible coffee growing styles are used in over 40 countries, including Mexico, Peru, and Ethiopia.

Shade grown coffee

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         Coffee trees are cultivated under the shade of larger trees, which creates a natural habitat for native insects and animals within the ecosystem.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         This offers a climate that is temperate to promote the growth of the coffee trees, and all of the leaves from the larger shade trees that fall to the ground work to fertilize the soil.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         Many times, these coffee farmers will also use composted coffee pulp as opposed to harmful chemical fertilizers, making it even better for the environment.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         Within this system, coffee crops will normally be rotated among other crops, which will create an additional income for the coffee farmer.

Sun grown coffee

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         Another alternative to increase the yield of the average coffee crop.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         Sun cultivation is not a preferred method that is friendly to the environment because trees must be cut down, and it also uses pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         This creates a number of environmental issues, such as pollution, destruction of ecosystems, deforestation, and soil degradation.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         However, up to 40% of the plantations in Latin America have begun to use sun farming techniques, which may soon replace the shade grown style of coffee cultivation.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>         This will cause a negative impact on the environment, with detrimental effects from this coffee growing practice that include the use of pesticides, fertilizers, and harmful chemicals to help the coffee beans thrive under the harsh rays of the sun.

?span style='font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman" font-size-adjust: none font-stretch: normal'>          

Also it must be kept in mind that we must choose coffee that is not just shade grown but also guarantees a set wage to the farmer. Shade grown coffee calls for more labor than sun grown coffee cultivation, making it important for the farmer to be protected through fair trade practices.

This is your opportunity to make educated choices. You can still enjoy a delicious cup of coffee while also benefiting the environment! There is no reason to turn a blind eye to the coffee practices being utilized worldwide that may or may not affect the environment for the worse. The choice is up to you!

(Picture designed and conceptualized by me. Also background photographed by me :)