Why Sustainable Farming is Vital For the Coffee Industry
One of the values that PT RAAS is strongly committed to is sustainability. This is the practice of using resources wisely so they are not depleted or destroyed, allowing the environment to naturally recover itself over time. Likewise, sustainability addresses the role of human resources, those people who work and live in the farming area and can be affected by the various elements of farming and processing coffee. At PT RAAS, we know that our future depends on the (hopefully long!) future of the coffee industry and the wonderful farmers with whom we work. Sustainable farming is even more important for the coffee industry—read on to find out why!
A Bad History
Coffee doesn’t have a sustainable history. Coffee trees require quite a few resources to grow, produce relatively little fruit, and create significant CO2 emissions. Further, the processing of coffee can create problems with the local water supply and cause air pollution. All of this is complicated by a very high demand for this resource—farmers just can’t keep up! For many years, coffee production wreaked havoc on the environment. Many coffee-friendly growing areas are in or near rainforests.
A Better Future
Fortunately, the best coffee farmers and processing plants are discovering more and more ways to operate sustainably in today’s world. By embracing technology as well as ancient techniques of soil preservation and recovery, today’s coffee farmers are working with the environment, not against it. Certifications, such as those that PT RAAS boasts on many of our coffees, indicate the growing need to attend to the future.
Protecting People
While most of the world’s coffee is exported and consumed by people in “first world” countries by relatively well-off individuals, most of the world’s coffee is grown by those in the greatest poverty. For unethical businesses, this is the perfect situation for exploitation. For those who value the hard work and dedication of local farmers, this means demanding changes in the industry and committing to paying all farmers a fair trade—the idea behind the Fair Trade Certification.
With all these great reasons, you just can’t make an excuse to participate in non-sustainable operations! When you order from PT RAAS, you can feel good that your investment isn’t harming the environment—in fact, it can be helping it!
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