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To grow coffee, you need a lot of land, and for years, researchers, activists, and policymakers have pointed to coffee farming as a significant contributor to deforestation. While coffee growing does result in forest loss, a new study says coffee’s impact is relatively small compared to other agricultural commodities.
Researchers from Sweden used satellite data and agricultural statistics to track the rate at which 184 different commodities contributed to deforestation from 2001 to 2022. Their approach “gives us the most comprehensive and accurate picture yet of what is driving deforestation worldwide,” said lead author Chandrakant Singh in a press release.
The study, published in Nature Food, found that beef was by far the largest contributor to deforestation, accounting for 40% of all agriculture-linked deforestation during the study period. Coffee, by comparison, was responsible for 1%.
As Nick Brown reports for Daily Coffee News, 1% is still a big number. The study found that 122 million hectares were deforested over more than two decades, meaning coffee was responsible for 1.2 million hectares of forest loss during that period.
Brazil was responsible for the most forest loss, carrying out 32% of all deforestation over the 21 years. A report published last year by the non-profit Coffee Watch found that, over a similar period, 300,000 hectares of land in Brazil’s Cerrado and Atlantic Forest were cleared specifically for coffee production.
“Our data shows where the risks are and where initiatives are needed most,” Singh said. “The goal is for the model to connect researchers, decision-makers, companies and civil society.”
Read more on how coffee contributes to deforestation from Daily Coffee News here.
Photo by PROJETO CAFÉ GATO-MOURISCO on Unsplash
