Research: Coffee bean shortage predicted due to climate change

Columbian coffee bean are photographed after the roasting process, at Dan Harrison's workshop. Columbian coffee bean are photographed after the roasting process, at Dan Harrison's workshop. Photo: Ellen O'Nan, Associated Press Photo: Ellen O'Nan, Associated Press Image 1 of / 28 Caption Close Research: Coffee bean shortage predicted due to climate change 1 / 28 Back to Gallery

If you weren't already concerned about climate change, would it draw your attention if it affected your coffee habit?

It turns out that coffee is the latest food item to be under threat due to the rise of global temperatures. In a recent study, it was found that 80 percent of areas in Brazil and Central America that grow Arabica coffee will not be able to carry on growing those beans by 2050 if current temperature trends continue. Internationally, that decline is estimated to be 50 percent, resulting in a spike in prices and a drop in production.

Besides coffee drinkers, the estimated 25 million farmers who grow Arabica coffee stand to suffer, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), who helped work on the study. With this information, the organization said the hope is to "adapt the coffee plant to the effects of climate change."

Starbucks, for one, is taking the news seriously, and is not only reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, but is working with farmers on growing coffee in warmer temperatures, MIT Technology review reported.

Along with the rising temperatures, leaf rust has also begun to rear its ugly head on coffee crops, as a result of climate change. The fungal disease was responsible for a 60 percent loss of crops in Chiapas, Mexico, in 2014.

Coffee producers have known a shortage is in the works, as previous studies have shown that coffee production may need to move to new areas to accommodate the global rise in temperature, Eater.com pointed out.

Coffee isn't the only food being affected by climate change. Scientists have discovered that climate change could possibly shift wine-growing regions from their traditionally held areas in the world, and cocoa might also experience production issues thanks to the heat, according to CIAT.