The Coffee World
Coffee is presently the second most widely consumed hot beverage in the world after tea. 50% of all coffee harvested today in the world is already organic. However, only 10% is certified organic, which requires full traceability. This is in fact, Professor Gavidia’s passion, working to help tens of thousands of farmers to achieve traceability. Coffee is one of the fastest growing commodity markets in the world, with 10 billion kg sold yearly and a consistent growth of over 10% annually. However, the demand for organic coffee has been increasing even more rapidly, averaging 13% yearly, including in 2019. The Challenge and Solution 98% of coffee consumed around the world may put people at risk of nerve damage and/or developing cancer because of most commonly being drum roasted with hot air heated by petroleum by-products that release a potential carcinogen into the coffee called acrylamide. According to a lead article in Business Insider.com from March 30, 2018 entitled, ”Here’s How Worried You Should Be,” Starbucks (serving 4 billion cups of coffee annually) and other retailers were required in 2017 by California law to warn every customer of a risk for cancer associated with acrylamide.