The 16.3 million coffees Australians collectively gulp down on average each day have a lot to answer for. As one of the planet’s most traded commodities, coffee is big business. But it is problematic.
Major production starts in some of the world’s poorest nations, where coffee plantations are linked to rainforest clearing. Farms often rely on cheap labour. Multiple investigations have uncovered evidence of human trafficking, forced labour and child labour on plantations – kids as young as five were common employees on Honduras farms, a study in 2016 by Finnwatch found.
As an added problem, too many of us choose to consume our caffeine hit in ways that create tonnes of rubbish each year.
But if you can’t live without your morning coffee, our guide offers the best options for consuming it as ethically as possible.
My harvest here is modest coming in at 2 kilos of green beans last harvest. Below a photo of Simon sorting the husks from the bean.
