Climate Change

Pic:getty/3Dsculptor

French wines return from space for analysis

By Rachel Arthur

Bottles of French wine have returned to Earth following a stint on the International Space Station: with researchers now ready to assess how the wine has changed.

Shaping Rwanda's tea industry to withstand climate change

Shaping Rwanda's tea industry to withstand climate change

By staff reporter

Tea plantations in Rwanda face a changing climate: and future conditions will be different to the environment tea is planted in today. But by planning ahead, the tea industry can respond and adapt to ensure it is still thriving decades from now.

Arabica coffee fruits in Ethiopia.

‘This is the first time a coffee extinction risk assessment has been made – and the results are worrying’

‘This causes concern for the future of coffee production’: 60% of wild coffee species threatened with extinction

By Rachel Arthur

New research shows that 60% of all wild coffee species are under threat of extinction due to climate change, deforestation, and fungal pathogens and pests. Furthermore, wild Arabica coffee – the origin of the world’s most popular coffee – is now categorised...

Barley yields could decrease by 17% in the most severe weather scenarios. Pic:getty/westend61

Climate change could cause beer shortages and double prices

By Rachel Arthur

Global beer consumption could decline by 16% - wiping out the equivalent volume of annual US beer consumption - and the average price of beer would double, in the event of the most severe climate events being realised, according to a new study published...

A tea plantation in Bandung, Indonesia. Pic: getty/antosetiawan

Tea production rises: but FAO warns of climate change threat

By Rachel Arthur

Global production of black tea is projected to rise annually by 2.2% over the next decade, while green tea is predicted to grow by 7.5% a year. But tea is highly sensitive to changes in growing conditions – and many tea-growing countries will be ‘heavily...

Coca-Cola HBC Carbon Disclosure Project

Jumps from B to A rating in Carbon Disclosure Project

Coca-Cola HBC to rebrand its cold drink equipment in 2015

By Jenny Eagle

HFC-free coolers, investing €3m in energy saving programmes, such as installing LED lighting across plants in nine countries and expanding the Russian sugar beet industry, to avoid sugar imports, are some of the initiatives Coca-Cola Hellenic (HBC) put...

Jellies emission heavy says Carbon Trust

Special Edition: alternatives to carbon heavy processes

Stoving eco project flounders but dairy and bakery go green

By Jane Byrne

Little industry interest in scaling up alternatives to the energy intensive conventional stoving method for jellies parked a UK agency’s bid to develop a microwave based method but low carbon technology projects in dairy and bakery are taking off.

The weather excuse

Weekly Comment

The weather excuse

With all the threats facing food and beverage production -- from
contamination in the food chain, to rising input prices --
there appears to be one menace that towers above the rest, namely
'The Weather'.