3 ms·

Has there been a study that weighs benefits from studies of coffee consumption against the societal health impacts of coffee production? I mean we have coffee f

Has there been a study that weighs benefits from studies of coffee consumption against the societal health impacts of coffee production? I mean we have coffee farmers developing kidney disease (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24878647/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24878647/) and the environmental impact of its cultivation and shipping (https://www.sustainablebusinesstoolkit.com/environmental-impact-coffee-trade/ https://www.sustainablebusinesstoolkit.com/environmental-imp...). It's the second most tradeable commodity after oil but as it's largely unnecessary for society to function. I would doubt it would come ahead as a net positive for humanity.

baxtr 6y ago
Where would you start and where would you end the analysis? What about for example the endless number of families that rely on coffee as income in developing countries?
- makerofspoons 6y ago
  One could start by analyzing if the economic benefit of growing it and the healthcare savings of consuming it actually outweigh the long-term damage of its production. My hypothesis is once you strip away subsidies that allow farmers to clear forest for cultivation and fuel subsidies for shipping it across the ocean or by plane the hidden costs start to add up.
mint2 6y ago
But for comparison of workers/environment it’s not accurate to simply consider the effects of coffee, we need to consider the effects of the alternate to coffee. For the case of drinking coffee it’s easier but still a bit tricky. For workers and the environment I think that gets very hard but we should be trying to quantify it anyway. In the absence of coffee, How are they earning a living? Admittedly coffee provides a meager living for the people doing the growing, but what replaces it and are they worse or better off. I honestly don’t have a good idea.

3 ms·

Has there been a study that weighs benefits from studies of coffee consumption against the societal health impacts of coffee production? I mean we have coffee f

by makerofspoons 6y ago

baxtr 6y ago
Where would you start and where would you end the analysis? What about for example the endless number of families that rely on coffee as income in developing countries?
- makerofspoons 6y ago
  One could start by analyzing if the economic benefit of growing it and the healthcare savings of consuming it actually outweigh the long-term damage of its production. My hypothesis is once you strip away subsidies that allow farmers to clear forest for cultivation and fuel subsidies for shipping it across the ocean or by plane the hidden costs start to add up.
mint2 6y ago
But for comparison of workers/environment it’s not accurate to simply consider the effects of coffee, we need to consider the effects of the alternate to coffee. For the case of drinking coffee it’s easier but still a bit tricky. For workers and the environment I think that gets very hard but we should be trying to quantify it anyway. In the absence of coffee, How are they earning a living? Admittedly coffee provides a meager living for the people doing the growing, but what replaces it and are they worse or better off. I honestly don’t have a good idea.