In our last article, Coffee Joe was away enjoying the fresh air, mountain streams and nature in general. As he lay watching the clouds roll by, basking in the sunshine, he reflected on how much the planet has changed since his childhood.
Human population is expected to soar to 9 Billion by the year 2050. A scant forty years away. If we don’t take care of the earth now, the natural resources that are being stretched at this moment will be harder than ever to find.
Organic coffee, tea and cocoa are trying to make a difference. CJ says if you buy responsibly from the co-op organizations, make sure the products are fairly traded or fair trade, you will be helping conserve what we already have. This in turn will save resources for the future generations.
However, Coffee Joe’s research shows that by-products such as coffee pulp have become a huge problem. Just a tiny amount of coffee pulp is used by farmers for compost and the remainder piles up or becomes a pollutant when the rains wash it into local rivers. Ignored by the global watchdogs, if it can’t be seen, it can’t be there.
coffee pulp piling up (ZERI)
On the positive side, new innovative plans are in the works. Growing mushrooms with coffee pulp is a new idea for poverty stricken third world coffee countries, especially for the women who usually do all the work, and receive little in return. In addition, solutions are being researched by ZERI (Zero Emissions Research and Initiatives Foundation).
“ZERI discovered that not only do mushroom spores thrive in coffee pulp, the spores also convert the pulp into a livestock feed rich in fibre. In a cycle that reuses local organic material, the manure produced by well-fed livestock can then be used as a rich fertilizer for coffee plants or food crops. This closed-loop, sustainable process developed by ZERI won the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s 2009 “Sustainability Award.”
women, coffee pulp (ZERI)
In some countries, East Africa or Tanzania for instance, coffee farming does not bring in much money, and most are too poor to realize a profit. Mushrooms will bring a little more security to their lives, their communities and their families.
CJ wants you to take the time to be responsible, include organics into your lives, even if it’s only one product at a time such as organic coffee. If you are going to drink coffee anyway, drink organic.
Someone will thank you.
Tags: alternative choices, fair trade, Fairly Traded, organic
