RRI.CO.ID. Jakarta: Coffee Watch, an NGO, released a new report called 'Poison in Your Coffee' is warning about pesticides in coffee farming. It used hundreds of scientific studies to look at how coffee is grown.
Coffee is one of the crops that uses the most pesticides in the world. In Kenya, coffee farms use about 25% of all pesticides, but they only account for 1% of the farmland. Many of these chemicals are dangerous.
The report found 159 pesticides used in coffee. Some can cause cancer, harm the brain, or affect reproduction. About 60% of these pesticides are banned in Europe because they are too risky.
One example is chlorpyrifos. Europe banned it in 2020 because it can harm children's brain development. Another is imidacloprid, which is known to harm bees and other pollinators.
The authors say the biggest problem is not the coffee we drink. As Etelle Higonnet, one of the report's authors, told RFI: "There are traces of pesticide residues in one in five cups of coffee that consumers drink. But the real catastrophe is that workers are being poisoned.
"Many coffee workers have no gloves or masks when they spray pesticides. In the Dominican Republic, 87% of farmers work without protection. They can suffer immediate symptoms like nausea, dizziness, or skin problems. Long-term, they face cancer, fertility issues, and diseases like Parkinson".
The report says there are better ways to grow coffee, like organic farming and agroforestry. These methods use fewer chemicals and protect nature. The question is whether big coffee companies will start using them more.
Source : RFI.fr
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