Quick Take — Coffee at risk of extinction: researchers’ challenge begins with forgotten species

Coffee, the world’s most popular drink, is under threat. Global warming, soil depletion, wars, genetic erosion and other interrelated factors are threatening its survival – and not just in the case of the two most widely used varieties, Arabica (Coffea arabica), which is particularly vulnerable to excessive heat, and Robusta (Coffea canephora), which requires large quantities of water, but also for all the others. These are varieties about which, until recently, little was known; not all are suitable for roasting, yet they too are at risk.

According to a 2019 study, which analysed 124 species of wild coffee according to the criteria of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and its ‘Red List’, in germplasm collections (where seeds are preserved) and in protected areas around the world, 60 per cent of species are at risk of extinction, 45 per cent are not present in any collection (and could therefore easily be lost forever) and 28 per cent are not present in any protected area. Furthermore, current conservation measures are insufficient and inadequate to address the current risks…

We have already discussed this.

Quick Take — France, climate change and the grape harvest: fewer grapes and difficulties in finding grape pickers

In mid-August, many seasonal workers are still on holiday: Joël Boueilh, a winegrower from the Gers and president of the Vignerons Coopérateurs de France, told *Le Monde* that he has 25 per cent fewer workers than his usual team.

The problem with yields is even more serious. The prolonged drought and water stress are resulting in smaller grapes with less juice; in the most vulnerable plots, some grapes are scorched by the sun or are being removed to protect the vine. In Champagne, a harvest of just 6–7 thousand kilos of grapes per hectare is forecast, compared with the appellation’s maximum limit of around 9 thousand, resulting in a significant financial loss. In Alsace, where the soil retains less water, yields are feared to be halved; at Château de Fontenille, in the Bordeaux region, a loss of 25–30 per cent compared with the average of recent years is estimated…

Quick Take — Nestlé: a 2 per cent increase in sales volumes had been forecast, but growth was only 1.8 per cent and the share price plummeted by 7 per cent

Profit margins have been squeezed by high coffee and cocoa prices. Shares in the KitKat manufacturer plummeted by nearly 7 per cent on Thursday after the company said it expected an operating profit margin “broadly similar” in the second half of the year compared with the first, following earlier forecasts of higher margins.

The company’s operating profit margin fell by 0.1 percentage points year-on-year, standing at 16.4% in the first half of the year…

Operating profit fell by 2.8% to 7.1 billion Swiss francs ($8.7 billion). Nestlé stated that its operating margin was also affected by increased marketing expenditure, customs duties and the global recall of infant formula earlier this year

In an attempt to emerge from a prolonged crisis, the company recently announced that it had sold 50 per cent of its water business to the Platinum Equity fund.

Quick Take — The Po Valley is the most polluted area in Europe, partly due to intensive livestock farming

Global meat production hasrisen by 400 per cent, with Asia leading the global market. According to the study, global meat production rose from around 71 million tonnes in 1961 to 361 million tonnes in 2022, marking a more than fivefold increase. Over the same period, milk production has almost tripled, whilst egg production has increased more than sixfold.

Eggs are considered nutritious and affordable, as well as healthy; they are also one of the most sustainable sourcesof animal protein in terms of feed, water and land use. However , avian influenza is now regarded as a ‘physiological component’ of the sector, which also limits the expansion of poultry farms, at least in Italy.

This has led to trials of a vaccine in the provinces of Mantua and Verona in an attempt to eradicate the disease…

The article in *La Repubblica* is dated 2 March 2026, whilst the one in *Il Sole* is dated 30 May 2026