Coffee Impacts: Socoeconomic, Disease, Climate Change, COVID

Photo by Zack Guido

"It took years to eventually manifest itself, but it was linked to changes in market prices. Coffee became less viable in the years following the recession; many farmers pulled back from their investments on the farms. And by the time the prices started to get back up, farmers realized that their farms were literally infested with this coffee leaf rust disease."

"I don't think many people realize how volatile the coffee industry is. It's extremely volatile. And any time there is a crisis, the people who feel the brunt of that are the smallholder farmers, the migrant and seasonal labourers who depend on coffee for a living."

"And thinking about poverty reduction and all of these issues, even though coffee is considered a high-end product, it is extremely important in sustaining the livelihoods of millions of farmers and farm workers across the Americas and throughout the world."

Kevon Rihney, assistant professor, Department of Geography, Rutgers-New Brunswick, New Jersey

"It's a plant disease, yes. But a lot of t he disease epidemic -- the massive resurgence of disease we've seen -- can be traced back to socioeconomic factors more than anything else."

"It's all a matter of getting resources and information to farmers. And when you don't have the infrastructure, you have these catastrophic failures."

Cathie Aime, professor of mycology, College of Agriculture, Purdue University

. Photo by Zack Guido

"30 to 50 percent of the plants were impacted; something like $500 million of export value was lost. And that rippled through the owners, to the labourers, to the exporters, to the coffee shops there and to our coffee shops." 

"COVID is just another thing that is added on top of it that exacerbates ... all of the other issues that they continually deal with. We can abstract this and think about, 'Will the coffee cup be more expensive to us'? But unless we're thinking about how that coffee is produced and the different challenges that people experience within the context of COVID, I think we're missing an opportunity to empathize. And really, we're missing an opportunity to correct what I see as an imbalance."

Zack Guido, assistant research professor, Arizona Institutes for Resilience

Climate change is threatening all manner of crops, and coffee is among them. Helped by deforestation and disease, including the devastating coffee leaf rust. There are no fewer than 124 species of coffee, yet only two among them -- arabica and robusta -- appear on the human menu. Arabica is by far the preferred brew across the world, but it is highly susceptible to coffee leaf rust, while the hardier of the two species, robusta, is less desirable. It has become clear that arabica is at risk of extinction, along with sixty percent of wild coffee species.

Dr.Rhiney and fellow researchers from the University of Arizona, University of Hawaii at Hilo, CIRAD, Santa Clara University, Purdue University West Lafayette and University of Exeter have reached the collective conclusion of the imminence of that threat laid out in a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. An industry that finds itself in a precarious position is facing yet another threat; COVID-19.

 

A coffee leaf infected by coffee leaf rust. Photographed in Rwanda

 

Coffee leaf rust -- a fungal disease which in the late 1800s destroyed coffee production in Sri Lanka now affects regions of coffee growth all over the world. Leading the researchers to examine the root cause of past outbreaks to more fully comprehend the depth of the present threat. What they discovered is that a host of socioeconomic disruptions linked to COVID-19 promises to result in new epidemics which would include rising unemployment, travel and mobility restrictions, alongside stay-at-home orders.

These looming epidemics, they predict, will in all likelihood be the cause of a crisis in coffee production which in turn will threaten the livelihoods of the approximately 100 million people employed in the global coffee production industry. Professor Rhiney drew on his previous experience on the impact of coffee leaf rust on Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee when he realized that despite much of the scientific focus on developing rust-resistant coffee variations and chemical fungal controls, socioeconomic factors have an important role to play in major outbreaks.

The Rutgers-led research team drew on recent studies of the fungal disease, which has severely impacted several countries across Latin America and the Caribbean over the last decade. Credit: Zach Guido

 

In 2012-13 the "big rust" affected coffee-producing countries across Central America and the Caribbean, and it traces back to the fallout of the financial crisis that gripped the world in 2008. Environmental conditions at that time hastened the presence of coffee leaf rust according to the researchers, an outbreak that was also reflected in the way that people managed their farms. Susceptibility to coffee leaf rust hits weaker plants more disastrously, the concern being that the presence of COVID-19 would add a similar complicating effect.

At that earlier time as a result of the recession, the established boards ensuring that coffee farmers were given access to equipment and information were defunded and disbanded. Professor Aime saw first- hand how farmers in Central and South America were afflicted by the damage caused through a lack of fungicides, spraying equipment and coffee leaf rust information. The knock-on effect was that many producers were forced to switch to other crops or leave farming, with households impacted when their quality of life was affected, with reduced supports.

At this timely juncture, researchers feel there will be a one-year lag until the full effects of COVID-19 are seen on the coffee industry, a fragile production chain whose impacts are not immediately apparent, yet can be long-lived. Volatile prices, climate-related impacts and biological issues are constant concerns for smallholder farmers -- representing mostly how coffee is grown, primarily on parcels of land less than five hectares, in developing countries.

The study concluded with the authors drawing a parallel between "essential but under-recognized elements of the process of production; human health, food security and sustainability". Their hope is that a lasting side effect of the pandemic will ensue; that individual health is linked to collective health and in the case of COVID-19, demonstrated in vaccinations and precaution-taking to limit the spread, while in coffee it means ensuring people earn enough income to continue their farming vocation.

"Our paper shows that coffee leaf rust outbreaks are complex socio-economic phenomena, and that managing the disease also involves a blend of scientific and social solutions," Rhiney said. "There is no 'magic bullet' that will simply make this problem disappear. Addressing coffee leaf rust involves more than just getting outbreaks under control; it also involves safeguarding farmers' livelihoods in order to build resilience to future shocks."

Kevon Rhiney, Department of Geography, Rutgers-New Brunswick

Over the past year, COVID-19 has become a new threat to the coffee industry by acting as potential trigger for renewed epidemics of coffee leaf rust – the most severe coffee plant disease in the world. University of Arizona ANews

Expanding Medical Knowledge, Creating New Protocols

"The pancreas was considered a sterile organ until a couple [of] years ago."
"While past studies from our group have shown that bacteria travel from the gut to the pancreas, our new study is the first to confirm that fungi too make that trip, and that related fungal population changes promote tumor inception and growth."
Dr.George Miller, oncologist, New York University School of Medicine

"We have long known that Malassezia fungi -- generally found on the skin and scalp -- are responsible for dandruff and some forms of eczema, but recent studies have also linked them to skin and colorectal cancer."
"Our new findings add evidence that Malassezia is abundant in pancreatic tumors as well."
Deepak Saxena, PhD, professor, Basic Science and Craniofacial Biology, NYU College of Dentistry

"Moving forward, one goal for our team is to determine which species are most relevant to cancer, as doing so could guide future attempts to slow tumor growth with targeted antifungal medications, and to avert side effects."
Smruti Pushalkar, PhD, research scientist, NYU College of Dentistry

Some gut fungi may promote the development of pancreatic cancer, a new study finds.

In the United States this year alone, close to 57,000 people will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer -- their outcome poor, as three-quarters of those diagnosed die within a year of diagnosis leaving only about one in ten to live longer than five years.  "This (new study) is an enormous opportunity for intervention and prevention, which is something we don't really have for pancreatic cancer", commented cancer researcher Dr.Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue, at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New York.

The new study she refers to, its results published in the journal Nature early this month, made the discovery that fungi is able to infiltrate deep into the pancreas, an internal bodily organ one of whose functions is to secrete digestive enzymes into the small intestine. The fungi was found to proliferate 3,000-fold compared with healthy tissue, in mice and human patients with pancreatic cancer. One particular fungus was recognized as responsible for inciting pancreatic tumours to grow.

This discovery surprised the researchers by their very presence and tremendous increase in numbers found in disease, though fungi have not been unknown to be present, simply not so deeply ingrained.
Research had revealed that some microorganisms like bacteria were able to infiltrate past a muscle separating the pancreas from the rest of the gut; the feeling was that fungi could possibly colonize the pancreas in the same manner.

Laboratory mice were fed a species of brewer's yeast colour-identified with a green fluorescent protein, by Dr. Miller and his study team. It became clear that the yeast had moved to the pancreas -- thanks to the revelation of the marker -- from the digestive tract in a matter of mere minutes. A genus of Basidiomycota called Malassezia, found on the skin and scalp of animals and humans, able to cause skin irritation and dandruff, was found to be most abundant.

 Malassezia, found on human skin surprised scientists. Science Source

The discovery was that Malassezia was present in extremely high numbers in samples from pancreatic cancer patients, not just abundant in mice that grew pancreatic tumours. When an antifungal drug was administered to the fungi in mice, it served to eradicate the fungi to keep tumours from developing. Tumours began growing once more when the treated mice once again received the yeast, serving as an indicator that the fungal cells were responsible for driving the growth of the tumours.

As vital as the genetic factors driving tumour growth, increasing scientific consensus has arisen that the factors in a tumour's "microenvironment" are just as important. Support or prevention of cancer growth relies on surrounding healthy tissue, immune cells, collagen and other fibres that hold the tumour. Fungal population in the pancreas may now be recognized as a valid biomarker for just who may be at risk for developing cancer, along with recognizing potential targets for future treatments.

Species at Risk -- White-Nose Syndrome

"It's tough to guess if it's [the fungal morbidity of bat colonies] going to have a long-term effect on pest control in agricultural systems."
"Enough species are around that we may see them pick up the slack [in the absence of the affected species]."
Justin Boyles, professor of zoology, Southern Illinois University, Carbondale

"I have literally seen this species decline before my very eyes."
"We have to put the bats in the context of the landscape. We have to conserve or build that environment."
Mark Ford, professor of zoology, Virginia Tech

White nose syndrome is fatal to most of the bats exposed to it. (Ryan von Linden/New York Department of Environmental Conservation/AP)

Pseudogymnoascus destructans is the scientific name of a deadly fungus causing bats throughout North America to die in alarming numbers. It is also called White-Nose Syndrome, and is responsible for the deaths of over 90 percent of the bats susceptible to the disease, northern long-eared bats. These tiny, nocturnal creatures eat flying insects and they also fertilize crops. Researchers are focused on a desperate search to find and examine the bat species that the disease has not harmed to discover what it is that allows them immunity from the deadly effects of the fungus, allowing them to survive.

Some 2,000 bats winter in Pearson Cave in Tennessee.  Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic Photographic Collection

"We have to understand what we need to protect", explained doctoral student Sam Freeze who hunts at night in search of bats escaping the ravages of this mysterious disease, in the woods located behind  Virginia University. With the use of "mist nets", the team working alongside Freeze set the nets about twelve feet in height, like large volleyball nets. Once a bat is captured having flown into the trap it is put in a brown paper bag and taken nearby to an outdoor laboratory for examination.

Weight and gender recorded, fecal samples are taken to determine diet and then small transmitters are affixed to the bats with surgical glue. Resistant to the unwanted handling, the bats try to bite the offending fingers. Tagged, details duly noted, the bats -- focus on eastern red where the fungus causing white-nose has been found yet the species seems unaffected -- are released, the device with its antenna tracking their movements and position.

For the past decade, millions of bats in the 32 states and seven provinces -- east of Saskatchewan -- have been killed from the deadly effect of white-nose syndrome, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. In the absence of bats consuming insects, the fallout could result in farmers having to deal themselves with an increasing insect population, no longer falling prey to a diminishing number of bats. The alternative is a greater use of pesticides rather than risk losing crops to insect predation.

Since white-nose syndrome was first identified it has spread to thirty-one states. The consequences—for bats, humans, and the U.S. economy—could be disastrous.

Photograph by Michael Durham / Minden Pictures / Getty

Hope lies in the fact that other species may increase in numbers to deal with burgeoning insect populations. Primarily fewer northern bats are now in flight, since they specifically have been targeted by the fungus. Originating in Europe and Asia, white-nose syndrome made its way to North America. It destroys the membranes in the bats' wings. The telltale white dots covering dead bats speaks of the presence of the disease in caves where bats are known to hibernate.

The disease awakens bats prematurely -- when they should remain in hibernation until winter is past -- depleting critical fat reserves, with dehydration then setting in. As the bats leave the protection of the cave, they may die from starvation or exposure to the inclement weather conditions. The disease was described as "the most devastating epizootic wildlife disease of mammals in history", in a scientific paper published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Once infected, bats behave in an erratic fashion during their winter hibernation, emerging from their caves -- where crowded conditions of thousands of bats are present, aiding the fungus to spread -- during the day and failing to return to the caves. Theories do exist, that bats may survive or attempt to by avoiding caves, instead spending the winter months in trees where the threat of white-nose is reduced, or some may simply be resistant to the disease.

Little brown bat with WNS symptoms | Courtesy of University of Illinois/Steve Taylor