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Starbucks: Coffee Faces Climate Risk

Farmers already hit by hurricanes, new rainfall patterns

By Matt Cantor, Newser Staff | Suggested by kokuaguy

Posted Oct 14, 2011 1:14 PM CDT

(Newser) – Melting ice caps, unpredictable weather, and ... no more coffee? Starbucks says climate change could put your morning joe in jeopardy. Global warming creates "a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean," the company's sustainability director tells the Guardian. Coffee farmers are already grappling with devastating hurricanes, shifting rain patterns, and more intense bug threats, which Jim Hanna says are associated with the changing climate.

Hanna heads to Washington today to talk to Congress about climate change's effects on coffee. Starbucks, Gap, and other companies have formed a coalition urging legislators and the administration to move forward in the fight against climate change, but thus far it's been a losing battle. The coalition will start a campaign next month to show how the companies themselves are working for the environment. (Turns out coffee isn't the only beloved drink affected by the climate...)

Starbucks is worried about climate change. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

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Starbucks: Coffee Faces Climate Risk

Farmers already hit by hurricanes, new rainfall patterns

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