Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Has the European Union finally crossed a line? Coffee importers who cannot pinpoint the exact geographical source of their product, and prove their product is “deforestation free”, are set to be locked out of the common market, potentially starving European coffee lovers of their morning fix.
E.U. seeks to block import of commodities that drive deforestation
By Bryan PietschToday at 5:04 p.m. EST
The European Union on Wednesday proposed a measure that would seek to restrict imports to “deforestation-free” goods and materials for countries in the bloc, in an effort to fight consumer trends that drive deforestation around the world.
Importers of commodities including coffee, cocoa, soy, beef, palm oil and wood — as well as products made from those materials, such as furniture and chocolate — would be required to identify the geographic coordinates of the land where the materials were produced. To qualify as “deforestation-free,” the land cannot have been deforested or degraded since Dec. 31, 2020.
The proposal — which would need to be approved by the European Parliament and E.U. member states before coming into force — was hailed as “groundbreaking” action to combat the climate crisis by European Commission officials. “We can’t ask for ambitious climate policies from partners on the one hand and export pollution and support deforestation on the other,” said, Virginijus Sinkevicius, a Lithuanian European commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries.
…
Copa-Cogeca, which represents the European agricultural industry, said the tiered system — which the proposal called a “key feature” — was “incompatible” with World Trade Organization rules. The system could have “serious consequences on the future trading relationships and distort the competition on both the EU and global market,” the group said in a statement. As a WTO member, Copa-Cogeca said, the E.U. must “fully respect” WTO rules. Representatives for the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/11/17/eu-commodity-imports-deforestation/
I can’t help thinking the volume of paperwork generated by importers applying for approval for their product will cause more deforestation than any coffee growing operation.
Restrict…so only the elite will get as much as they need
The EC not EU role Europe. Even to break wind you must meet the regulations. Noise, odor, duration. All must be controlled or the planet will reach a tipping point. Fall over and spin out of orbit and burn up in the sun.
I gotta wonder if Biden met all the regulations during his recent time in Europe … or are visiting heads of state exempt?
Will be looking forward to getting more variety of coffee since the EU is taking steps to price themselves out of the market.
Well, if EU stops drinking coffee… more for me ~~[_]3 : )
Mark my word. There will be violence and even possibly murders over this. Don’t even think about screwing with my coffee. I may now wear glasses but I can still shoot a 3 shot group you can cover with a Nickel at 300 meters and nail the bull at 800 using the iron sight more often than not.
For me coffee is as essential as diesel fuel for doing my job and I am NOT a person to be trifled with before I get some of that nectar of the Gods down my neck in the morning or whenever I am awakened.
Truer words were never spoken. 50 or 60 million people forced to go through caffeine withdrawal all at once will be ugly.
Restricting coffee !!
Thin end of the wedge . .
“Renewables” cause major deforestation.
Exactly – the wind and solar farms, NOT good forest mgt. including the production of wood chips.
We buy whole beans and grind our own just before brewing generally. We do not buy Starbucks products but buy various brands. At home and in the truck I have Tim Hortons regular ground also.
Tim Hortons isn’t coffee
https://www.timhortons.com/our-coffee-story
The best bet is the Black Rifle coffee “Beyond Black.”
The rest of the world will have to endure cheap coffee until coffee producers cut back on production.
While europe proceeds with plans to pelletize forests for “zero carbon fuel”.
So sad
not it isn’t sad- it’s awesome as it helps American forest owners keep their land as forest rather than converting it to cotton farming or urban sprawl
the forests ARE NOT PELLETIZED- only a small percent of the harvested wood goes into pellets- the rest goes into high quality timber for construction, furniture, paper products
when are you forest mgt. haters gonna believe me?
Should work a treat. Smuggling appears to be a very effective thing in the EU. This will just add more to the gravy train. Meanwhile, I am sure the elites will still get their morning coffee. May be getting close to really p155ing the rest of the community though.
Only the elites will still be able to afford and enjoy their Kopi Luwak (civet poop coffee) after all other coffees are banned from the marketplace.
“No shit!” …
“No, I shit you not!”
… and they both laughed until they cried!
It’s only a matter of time before the EU becomes a completely authoritarian nightmare. Any administration composed of unelected, socialist bureaucrats is doomed to failure.
Kafkaesque
Exactly … an utter nightmare of meaningless complexity.
More for me.
-> “the EU finally crossed a line?”
I believe that is referred to as “Jumping the shark”.
Is deforestation a good thing?
No.
so this is of itself a good measure.
millions of acres have been deforested for wind and solar farms- no forests have been deforested for chips
Typical of griff to make a blanket statement.
I’m willing to bet that where your mom’s house is, was a forest at one time.
13 million trees cut down in Scotland to make way for unreliable wind turbines. Is that not deforestation?
the fine prints; SINCE dec 2020 seeing as almost everything BUT very new plantations need be some years if not decades old prior to harvest
its not going to affect older producers at all BUT will stop new ones finding an EU market
sounds good to those who dont read it though
That’s dumb. Most coffee is produced in higher elevations, in mountainous or hilly country with good “air drainage”. The places that the EuroGreenies are hyperventilating about are in the flatlands of the lower parts of the Amazon, where little coffee is grown.
hey all;-) Id say the EU may have a whole LOT more to worry about than where the coffee is from
ireland gibraltar now austria and germany upcoming shutdowns
https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/austria-imposes-full-lockdown-vow-penalties-those-who-resist-germany-may-follow
This is great for UK and other countries outside the EU fence. Reduce the demand for products from the EU and their prices drop. Cheaper coffee all around (except in EU).
Hmm but think how much you could get for a couple of jars smuggled across the NI border?
245 years ago a tax on tea caused the American Revolution.
Could history repeat itself?
No.
I doubt the sheep in Europe will do anything other than switch over to chicory.
The president of Brazil is an enemy of the Left. Coffee is one of Brazil’s main sources of export income. Of course the Climate Mafia will use their propaganda machine to do as much damage to Brazil’s economy as they can.
Maybe they Europeans can do like the German Army of the 30 and 40s and brew meth in a cup to stay awake.
And the people have no say but those that do know better.
Puritanical Zeal through and through and through
Tell you what, howzabout banning anything/everything grown on land that was forest everywhere..
That should get the Required Result:- World Popoulation of less than 200 Million
Or what is telling, I notice so, is the ‘drug’ aspect
Coffee is a drug. Caffeine basically and not dissimilar to Nicotine
These being notable as ‘stimulant’ drugs – they wake you up
Other stimulants being, by example, MDMA Ecstasy and Cocaine etc
Notice that they are horribly ‘frowned upon’
Tobacco only gets away with what its continued use via a very long history and the tax revenue it generates.
Where-as the depressant drugs, are not frowned upon.
Stuff like alcohol and cannabis
But also sugar, especially when in the form of cooked starch. That is all it is, carbohydrate food = glucose. period. end of story.
We’re told that we ‘have’ to eat carbs because we need energy, alcohol is good ‘in moderation’ and cannabis is now given free rein
While stuff we evolved eating, saturated fat and animal protein which have no, zero, nil, zilch mind-bending properties what-so-ever are increasingly demonised in favour of the mind (and body destroying sugar.
You know it does that. People of the US, you spend $3.7 Trillion every year trying to fix the damage that shit does. Is that nothing to you – are you really THAT rich?
See the pattern.
‘Someone’ wants us all to be sleepy, chemically depressed and docile.
To have slow reactions, to be unquestioning dull thinkers with poor memories, generally ‘stupid’ and compliant.
¿Stepford Wives?
wonder why
what is really going on here