Is Coffee in Danger? Around the world, coffee is a lifeline for 25 million farmworkers on about 1.09 million square kilometers of land. That’s over 7 percent of Earth’s surface! In Việt Nam, coffee exports reached approximately 1.78 million tonnes in 2022 alone. Every year, people drink more than 500 billion cups. Businesses in the United States (18) ______. Coffee isn’t just a morning ritual - it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry. Unfortunately, climate change is taking its toll on this ...

Is Coffee in Danger?

Around the world, coffee is a lifeline for 25 million farmworkers on about 1.09 million square kilometers of land. That’s over 7 percent of Earth’s surface! In Việt Nam, coffee exports reached approximately 1.78 million tonnes in 2022 alone. Every year, people drink more than 500 billion cups. Businesses in the United States (18) ______. Coffee isn’t just a morning ritual - it’s a multi-billion-dollar industry.

Unfortunately, climate change is taking its toll on this business and the people who depend on it. (19) ______. Too hot, too cold, too wet, or too dry - any misstep can harm the plants or reduce the quality of the beans. As the climate becomes warmer and rainfall patterns shift, many regions currently having perfect weather for coffee production may no longer be suitable. In Brazil - the world’s largest coffee grower - for example, (20) ______.

Even worse, the coffee berry borer beetle, an insect that feeds on coffee beans, also loves warmer temperatures. This means that as the climate heats up, these pests will spread to new areas, (21) ______. In addition, diseases like coffee rust - which causes the tree to lose its ability to produce berries - become more common in hotter, wetter conditions.

Coffee fuels billions of mornings, conversations, and workdays across the globe. (22) ______, it could become part of our history, not our future.

(Adapted from Explore New Worlds)

Read the following passage about coffee and mark the letter A, B, C, or D to indicate the option that best fits each of the numbered blanks from 18 to 22.