The True Cost of Coffee
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Provided by: Our Changing Climate|Published on: April 27, 2021
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This video from Our Changing Climate points out the many positives of traditional shade-grown coffee and details all of the ways that industrially produced coffee is damaging to the environment.
- Students will learn about the practices used in industrial coffee production (also used in many other industrially produced crops) that degrade the soil, damage wildlife and water quality, and make it harder for small farmers to make a living.
Subjects: Biology, Economics
Authors: Our Changing Climate
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This video points out the benefits of consumer awareness to support products that are made in a more sustainable and responsible manner.
- The video also has a solutions focus, which can help students feel hopeful for the future.
Prerequisites
- The video content ends at 9 minutes, 2 seconds. The last segment discusses other videos and content.
- You may have to sit through an ad to view the entire video.
Differentiation & Implementation
- Social studies classes can use this video in lessons about the socioeconomic effects of the expansion of industrialized agriculture in developing countries.
- Science classes can incorporate this resource into lessons about ecosystem degradation, regenerative agriculture, or sustainability.
- After watching the video, students can practice being conscious consumers by searching for indicators of sustainably and ethically grown coffee and identifying companies producing coffee with these indicators.
This resource explores how some commodities have hidden environmental costs and uses coffee production as an example. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
