Coffee consumers in university settings and planetary health
Authors: Jonathan Kingsley, Jacqueline O'Brien, Aisling Bailey
Journal: The Lancet Planetary Health (2018)

A world without coffee is hard to imagine. At the turn of the century, humans consumed 2·25 billion cups of coffee a day globally,1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar and its trade, consumption, and supply have steadily increased since.2Ambinakudige S The global coffee crisis and Indian farmers: the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders.Can J Dev Studies. 2009; 28: 553-566Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar Coffee-drinking habits differ across the globe on the basis of trading history and cultural factors.1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar, 3Jolliffe L Common grounds of coffee and tourism.in: Jolliffe L Coffee culture, destination and tourism. Channel View Publications, New York2010: 3-20Google Scholar Coffee culture is intricately linked to customs, rituals, lifestyles, social interactions and positioning, trade, employment, poverty, inequalities, ecosystem decline, and tourism.1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar, 2Ambinakudige S The global coffee crisis and Indian farmers: the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders.Can J Dev Studies. 2009; 28: 553-566Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar, 3Jolliffe L Common grounds of coffee and tourism.in: Jolliffe L Coffee culture, destination and tourism. Channel View Publications, New York2010: 3-20Google Scholar, 4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar This Comment will briefly explore the global coffee-market chain, reviewing some of the health and ecological implications of this process and advocating for consumer-led strategies within university settings to improve planetary health. When researching the nodes and networks of the global coffee-market chain, Ponte1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar acknowledged that coffee “goes a long way and changes many hands from bean to cup”. Ponte1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar outlined its structure in producing countries (involving smallholders, estates, curing plant hullers, domestic traders, cooperatives, and farmers group agents, marketing boards, and exporters) and consuming countries (including international traders, brokers, roasters and instant coffee manufacturers, retailers and supermarkets, and restaurants and cafés). The cultivation, harvest, and export of coffee occurs in producing countries (often less-developed regions with less power in the chain) with the highest value-adding phases often completed and controlled in wealthier consumer countries.2Ambinakudige S The global coffee crisis and Indian farmers: the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders.Can J Dev Studies. 2009; 28: 553-566Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar, 4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 5Giuliani E Ciravegna L Vezzuli A Killian B Decoupling standards from practice: the impact of in-house certifications on coffee farms' environmental and social conduct.World Dev. 2017; 96: 294-314Crossref Scopus (42) Google Scholar Coffee production occurs in more than 60 countries and involves 25 million farmers (mainly smallholders in cooperatives or associations) and more than 11 million hectares of land,3Jolliffe L Common grounds of coffee and tourism.in: Jolliffe L Coffee culture, destination and tourism. Channel View Publications, New York2010: 3-20Google Scholar, 6Läderach P Ramirez-Villegas J Navarro-Racines C Zelaya C Martinez-Valle A Jarvis A Climate change adaptation of coffee production in space and time.Climatic Change. 2017; 141: 47-62Crossref Scopus (117) Google Scholar with “more people involved in growing coffee than any other crop in the world”.4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar Although the coffee industry earns about US$60 billion annually, less than 10% goes to the producers involved in this process, who also have to compete with fluctuations in markets, uncertainty, and environmentally unsustainable practices threatening ecosystem health.2Ambinakudige S The global coffee crisis and Indian farmers: the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders.Can J Dev Studies. 2009; 28: 553-566Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar, 4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar Such inequalities are evident in the coffee-market chain, with control held by the roasters and supermarkets in the USA, the UK, and North Europe who have power over the food market.1Ponte S The ‘Latte Revolution’? Regulation, markets and consumption in the global food chain.World Dev. 2002; 30: 1099-1122Crossref Scopus (412) Google Scholar Fair trade aims to mitigate these inequalities, improving sustainable development and the producers' quality of life.5Giuliani E Ciravegna L Vezzuli A Killian B Decoupling standards from practice: the impact of in-house certifications on coffee farms' environmental and social conduct.World Dev. 2017; 96: 294-314Crossref Scopus (42) Google Scholar, 7Dragusanu R Giovannucci D Nunn N The economics of Fair Trade.J Econ Perspect. 2014; 28: 217-236Crossref Scopus (117) Google Scholar Although fair trade has sometimes been associated with improved ecological sustainability, analysis of this association has been inconclusive and issues around inequalities, quality of life, and social implications persist.4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar, 5Giuliani E Ciravegna L Vezzuli A Killian B Decoupling standards from practice: the impact of in-house certifications on coffee farms' environmental and social conduct.World Dev. 2017; 96: 294-314Crossref Scopus (42) Google Scholar, 7Dragusanu R Giovannucci D Nunn N The economics of Fair Trade.J Econ Perspect. 2014; 28: 217-236Crossref Scopus (117) Google Scholar The health and wellbeing implications of unequal trade relationships, labour-intensive crops, and the economic uncertainty involved in coffee production, as well as the low nutritional value of coffee crops, increases the likelihood of malnutrition, poverty, reduced rates of school enrolment, social unrest, and forced migration.2Ambinakudige S The global coffee crisis and Indian farmers: the livelihood vulnerability of smallholders.Can J Dev Studies. 2009; 28: 553-566Crossref Scopus (9) Google Scholar, 4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar. The ecological implications for producer countries include environmental degradation, deforestation, and reliance on pesticides and fertilisers.4Austin K Coffee exports as ecological, social and physical unequal exchange: a cross-national investigation of the java trade.Int J Comp Sociol. 2012; 53: 155-180Crossref Scopus (28) Google Scholar Researchers have attempted to measure the environmental effects of the coffee-market chain through life-cycle assessments.6Läderach P Ramirez-Villegas J Navarro-Racines C Zelaya C Martinez-Valle A Jarvis A Climate change adaptation of coffee production in space and time.Climatic Change. 2017; 141: 47-62Crossref Scopus (117) Google Scholar, 8Häkkinen T Vares S Environmental impact of disposable cups with special focus on the effect of material choices and end of life.J Cleaner Prod. 2010; 18: 1458-1463Crossref Scopus (32) Google Scholar Evidence shows that these environmental effects vary greatly (eg, the carbon footprint associated with transporting and manufacturing and associated waste), but suggests that nodes and networks involved will need to change to tackle climate change.6Läderach P Ramirez-Villegas J Navarro-Racines C Zelaya C Martinez-Valle A Jarvis A Climate change adaptation of coffee production in space and time.Climatic Change. 2017; 141: 47-62Crossref Scopus (117) Google Scholar Although these findings are inconclusive, research exploring the environmental effects of disposable cups is conclusive and they can be addressed relatively easily by the consumer.8Häkkinen T Vares S Environmental impact of disposable cups with special focus on the effect of material choices and end of life.J Cleaner Prod. 2010; 18: 1458-1463Crossref Scopus (32) Google Scholar To tackle these environmental challenges, policy and programmatic actions are needed at all scales and stages of the coffee-market chain. At the consumer stage, attention to waste and recycling initiatives that apply sophisticated local strategies to address waste reduction are required, as well as behavioural changes. As Smyth and colleagues9Smyth DP Fredeen AL Booth AL Reducing solid waste in higher education: the first step towards ‘greening’ a university campus.Resour Conserv Recycl. 2010; 54: 1007-1016Crossref Scopus (120) Google Scholar identified, addressing the excessive waste associated with disposable drink containers would be a good place to start. The higher education sector could have a considerable role in addressing this waste reduction issue at a local scale, because of its ability to undertake academic research and influence the behaviour of future generations.10Harris B.K Probert E.J. Waste minimisation at a Welsh university: a viability study using choice modelling.Resour Conserv Recycl. 2009; 53: 269-275Crossref Scopus (8) Google Scholar University campuses bring together a range of people, including students and hospitality, academic, and professional staff, and are composed of a range of facilities that include food and beverage services. Furthermore, worldwide hundreds of millions of students enrol in university annually; therefore these settings can be viewed as microcosms of society that present opportunities to implement the kinds of changes that people might wish to see in the wider community. We propose that universities should take a lead role in the reduction of disposable coffee cup use. Such actions have been taken in some universities, in which strategies to change student behaviour have involved financial incentives, refillable cups, raising awareness, and marketing.10Harris B.K Probert E.J. Waste minimisation at a Welsh university: a viability study using choice modelling.Resour Conserv Recycl. 2009; 53: 269-275Crossref Scopus (8) Google Scholar Waste management strategies in university settings have shown great potential, but a greater understanding of waste production and management is required.9Smyth DP Fredeen AL Booth AL Reducing solid waste in higher education: the first step towards ‘greening’ a university campus.Resour Conserv Recycl. 2010; 54: 1007-1016Crossref Scopus (120) Google Scholar This improved understanding requires universities engaging and innovating to change coffee drinking culture, increase knowledge, and develop recycling waste management systems that minimise the effects of the already concerning social, health, and environmental inequalities in producing countries. We declare no competing interests.