Heat Damages Colombia Coffee, Raising Prices ( New York Times)

Families of Colombian coffee productions are now suffering from the country’s abnormal weather changes; effecting global prices on the coffee produce. This article incites the downfall of Colombia’s major export and correlates to accelerated prices throughout global coffee brands in America, Paris, Brazil, India, and China. As mentioned in the article, it introduces a man named Luis Garzon and his family from the Cauca region of Colombia who “thrived for decades by supplying rainforest-friendly Arabica coffee for top foreign brands like Nespresso and Green Mountain”. However, this region is experiencing rising temperatures and unexpected rainfalls that throw off the balance needed for coffee plants to ripen on time and maintain their taste. Environmental scientists blame these events to global warming. Colombia’s temperatures have risen “nearly one degree in 30 years”. They fear that coffee supplies may continue to decline unless growers expand production globally. The Garzon family’s productions went down 70 percent from five years ago, and have very little money for clothing and possibly to send their children to college. “Profits of high-end coffee chains like Starbucks and Green Mountain have been eroded”. The shortage also affects consumer opinions on raising prices in New York markets and Paris cafes. 

By the fact that scientists argue that global warming is not a crucial matter for the safety of the environment, there could be another cause to why Colombia’s coffee plants fail to succeed. Because of the little one degree chance in temperature, my belief is that overuse of the coffee plant crops could have exhausted the nutrients need to grow normally. Colombian coffee cultivators could alternate when to grow coffee beans or produce another crop so that their complete reliance of consumer sells to coffee productions will have balance.