The Multi-Billion Dollar Coffee Industry: A Threatened Resource

The coffee industry is a multi-billion dollar market that relies on just two species of coffee plants: Robusta and Arabica. While these species are crucial to the industry's success, they are also among the many plant species that are threatened with extinction. In fact, experts estimate that roughly 80,000 plant species are at risk of extinction, with one in five being endangered.

The most popular coffee varietal, Arabica, is not only a staple in coffee shops around the world but also an endangered plant species. Meanwhile, Robusta is known for its complex flavor profile and plays a vital role in the global coffee industry. The fact that these two species are among the many threatened plant species highlights the importance of preserving crop diversity.

Crop Diversity: A Growing Concern

The loss of crop diversity has been a significant issue in recent decades. As farming practices have become increasingly industrialized, humans have lost significant crop diversity. This means that many farm fields and traditional varieties no longer exist. The consequences of this are far-reaching, as we tend to think that growing different kinds of crops will provide us with insurance against unexpected events such as climate change or disease outbreaks.

However, without a diverse range of crops, we may not have the resilience needed to overcome challenges like these. Climate change is having an increasing impact on global crops and agricultural systems. The 2022 IPCC report highlights that rising temperatures can lead to simultaneous crop losses in major food-producing regions. This loss of crop diversity started during the Green Revolution, when scientists developed high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, and other crops.

The Importance of Crop Preservation

As consumers, we may not be able to individually contribute to developing new plant species or changing farming practices. However, we can make a difference by making informed purchasing decisions at the grocery store. By buying seasonal produce, which is harvested when its flavor profile is at its peak, we can support farmers and promote alternative crops.

Seasonal produce is often cheaper because it's in abundance, and it has higher nutrition levels compared to out-of-season produce. This approach also reduces the demand for out-of-season produce, which helps promote alternative crops and can reduce our climate impact. Additionally, seasonal produce requires less transportation, refrigeration, and waste, making it a more sustainable option.

The Role of Seed Vaults

Seed vaults are not only essential for preserving endangered plant species but also serve as gene banks for researchers, horticulturalists, and conservationists. These facilities store and protect a diverse collection of plant species, providing seeds that can be used to experiment with the genetics of particular plant species. The International Plant Genetic Resources Institute (IPGRI) is an example of such a facility.

Seed vaults are becoming increasingly important as the world faces challenges like climate change, drought, and emerging diseases. By preserving endangered crops, we can ensure that there are options available for farmers in the future. Furthermore, advances in technology offer solutions to saving crops facing extinction.

Technological Advancements

Advances in technology have revolutionized the way we approach crop preservation and conservation. One such innovation is clonal micropropagation, a technique that involves placing plant tissue in a flask with sugar and nutrients under artificial lighting. This method allows for the rapid growth of plants on culture media that contain nutrients and growth regulators.

Another important development is the use of DNA sequencing technology, such as the Minion DNA sequencer. This device provides real-time DNA analysis in remote areas, enabling scientists to quickly identify plants in the field and cross-reference them against taxonomic catalogs. This technology has the potential to help researchers better identify threatened plant species.

The Genetically Homogeneous Crop

Industrial farming has led to the development of genetically homogeneous crops, which are a state characterized by a lack of genetic diversity. These crops are often bred for specific traits such as disease resistance or high yields but may not be resilient in the face of extreme weather conditions or changing environmental conditions.

In this sense, industrial crops can also be considered endangered if we don't have the resources available to push them in new directions. As consumers, we play a crucial role in promoting alternative crops and reducing our reliance on genetically homogeneous crops. By supporting seasonal produce and buying from local farmers, we can promote more diverse and resilient agricultural systems.

Vertical Farming: The Future of Agriculture?

Vertical farming is an innovative approach to agriculture that involves growing crops on top of each other rather than in traditional horizontal rows. This method conserves space, often producing higher crop yields per square foot of land used. As the world faces increasing challenges like climate change and drought, vertical farming offers a promising solution.

By diversifying the crops we eat and adapting crops to be more climate resilient, we can create options for farmers in the future. As consumers, we can contribute to this effort by making informed purchasing decisions at the grocery store. By supporting seasonal produce and buying from local farmers, we can promote alternative crops and reduce our reliance on industrial farming practices.

The Power of Consumer Choice

As consumers, we may not be able to individually contribute to developing new plant species or changing farming practices. However, we can make a difference by making informed purchasing decisions at the grocery store. By putting our palate and purchasing power to work, we can create demand for diverse crops and support farmers who are adopting more sustainable agricultural practices.

One way to do this is by reminding ourselves that we can ask for diversity when shopping at the grocery store. We can also seek out seasonal produce, which is often cheaper because it's in abundance and has higher nutrition levels compared to out-of-season produce. By choosing seasonal produce, we can reduce our demand for out-of-season crops and promote alternative crops.

The Importance of Interconnectedness

Finally, it's essential to recognize that no country is self-reliant when it comes to crop production. We all need seeds from other places to survive. As consumers, we have a role to play in promoting international cooperation and sharing knowledge about crop preservation and conservation.

By supporting local farmers and buying seasonal produce, we can promote alternative crops and reduce our reliance on industrial farming practices. Moreover, by choosing diverse crops, we can help ensure that there are options available for farmers in the future. As consumers, we have the power to create change and contribute to a more sustainable food system.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyour morning cup of coffee is in danger not your specific cup of coffee but the beans that make it the multi-billion dollar coffee industry relies on just two species of coffee plants robusta is known for its complex flavor profile while arabica the more popular coffee varietal is on the endangered plant species list coffee plants are one of dozens of important crops threatened with extinction experts estimate roughly eighty thousand plant species one in five are at risk of extinction wild cotton is the second most threatened with 92 percent of species at risk of disappearing three in five avocado species are at risk and 23 percent of wild potato species are facing extinction climate change and deforestation threaten the wild varieties of these popular commercial crops which doesn't directly affect the produce availability in your local grocery store but if the wild varieties of these plants are in danger their commercially grown relatives are too this is because farming practices have become increasingly more industrial as a result humans have lost significant crop diversity crop diversity the full spectrum of farm plants and the related wild varieties no longer exist in industrial agriculture this is a worry because we tend to think that growing different kinds of crops growing crops that are different genetically as well as a wider range of species of crops it's a nice insurance policy if something goes wrong say or or unexpected with climates uh changing or with uh unusual weather patterns in a particular year or with new kinds of diseases or pests the more heterogeneity right the more differences we see within farm fields and across farm fields the more opportunities we might have for resilient crops to survive and thrive even where more vulnerable ones fail climate change impacts and risk to global crops and the production system are becoming increasingly complex and more difficult to manage according to the 2022 ipcc report on climate change rising temperatures increase the risk that the agricultural industry will suffer simultaneous crop losses in major food producing regions the loss of crop diversity started in the early 20th century during what's known as the green revolution when farming practices shifted to high-yield crops like rice wheat and corn to help farmers feed a surging global population at lower cost however a century of selective farming practices has led to a dangerous lack of biodiversity in our foods the diversity of crops that we've come to rely on aggregated globally have tended to diminish we rely a lot on a handful of key commodity crops so things like corn wheat rice potatoes the things that immediately come to mind as items you would see on your dinner plate are likely to be on the list of of species that other people around the world tend to consume and eat but there's another kind of crop diversity that people worry about which is a diversity that occurs below that level so people might um refer at times to the genetic diversity of the crops that we eat historically over 30 000 edible plants and 30 animals have been domesticated for food around the world today over 75 percent of the global food supply comes from only 12 types of plants and just five animals relying on only a few crops for food poses challenges to our health our food supply and the farmers who grow them history shows us the dangers of relying on single varieties of crops the potato famine in ireland killed a quarter of the country's population when a potato blight wiped out potato crops all over the country more recently panama disease is destroying banana plants from asia to africa because of our heavy reliance on a single banana variety diseases pests and a volatile climate can all threaten the viability of our food supply as farmers grow and harvest fewer varieties of plants and animals the global food system could become less resilient greater agricultural resilience means restoring endangered crops and food varieties seed storage facilities play an important role in preserving the seeds of wild and domesticated crops seed vaults act as an insurance policy for the world's food supply offering backup plans for future generations to overcome the challenges of climate change and population growth my name is greta helena evien i'm working as a product manager for the svalbard global seed board the svalbard global seed vault in norway is the largest seed storage facility in the world and houses more than 1 million samples like most seed storage facilities it relies on permafrost a layer of frozen soil to ensure that seed samples remain intact even if the facility loses power permafrost like the name suggests acts like a giant freezer keeping microbes carbon poisonous mercury and soil locked in place but it's not always a foolproof system in 2017 rainwater gushed into an entrance tunnel and the facility flooded fortunately no seeds were lost but the event demonstrated that the permanence of frozen ground is no longer guaranteed as earth's temperatures continue to climb gene banks are vulnerable to many different things that could happen to them if they are left with no electricity and they are placed in warm areas the seeds will lose their viability after a really short time and they have been flooding and could be a fire that that destroy the facilities so so it's really important for those gene banks to also have some copies placed in other areas seed vaults not only store and protect a diverse collection of plant species they're also gene banks an important resource for researchers horticulturalists and conservationists looking to experiment with the genetics of a particular plant species the gene banks that are located all over the world in each country they provide the seeds researchers the breeders and even to the farmers that would like to experiment or to see if they can find a new variety with that have some specific growing features and i think that's a growing interest in many countries that more and more people would like to experiment and to learn about diversity and what you can get from diving into the genetic diversity inside the seeds today's industrial mono crops wither in the face of climate change drought and emerging diseases forcing farmers and plant breeders to look for crops with traits suited for a changing planet experts say saving endangered crops is vital and a future already facing challenges to feed a growing population reduce emissions and find fresh water in addition to gene banks advances in technology also offer solutions to saving crops facing extinction scientists can breed crops to sustain extreme weather conditions and to better adapt to their changing habitat clonal micropropagation is a technique that involves placing plant tissue in a flask with sugar and nutrients under artificial lighting inside the vessels the plants are grown on culture media that contain nutrients and growth regulators the minion dna sequencer provides real-time dna analysis in remote areas the technology is still in early days but these devices could help scientists quickly identify plants in the field and cross-reference them against taxonomic catalogs that way they can better identify if a plant they've stumbled upon is threatened by extinction a genetically homogeneous crop which is a state that characterizes a lot of the things that we grow in industrial production is one that is also genetically vulnerable and in that sense we might also in some cases think of our industrial crops as being endangered in a way they're endangered if we don't have the resources available in order to push them in new directions in the future or if there are new demands put on agricultural production vertical farming is the agricultural process in which crops are grown on top of each other rather than in traditional horizontal rows growing vertically conserves space often producing higher crop yields per square foot of land used diversifying the crops we eat and adapting crops and crop production to be more climate resilient will give us the options we'll need in an increasingly uncertain future as a consumer you might not be able to individually contribute to developing new plant species or changing farming practices but you can put your palate and purchasing power to work at the grocery store even if it's at the level of reminding ourselves that we can ask for diversity we can seek it out and find it in the foods that we eat try eating less of the top crops especially wheat rice sugar and corn instead buy seasonal produce when you can produce that's harvested when its flavor profile is at its peak seasonal produce is often cheaper because it's in abundance and has higher nutrition eating seasonally also reduces the demand for out-of-season produce helps promote alternative crops and can reduce your climate impact seasonal produce requires less transportation less refrigeration and less waste it's also important to that we are interconnected by the crops no country is self-reliant when it comes to crop production we all need seeds from other places to survive you\n"