NATURE AND
COFFEE FARMING PRACTICE
We are nature. For Latitudes Brazilian Coffees, there is no other way of being, living and producing other than with total respect for our forests, our waters and our fauna.
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Everything in the management of coffee plantations and the entire property must be done with a minimal environmental impact and with a maximum of what we call the Nature Index, a scoring system created by Latitudes Brazilian Coffees that measures the set of actions and coffee farming practices aimed at environmental preservation.
The Nature Index measures everything from certificates to actions a such as the preservation of the native forest, care for water sources, the presence of animals (a sign of a balanced ecosystem), the presence of pollinators, wastewater management, care for the soil, the presence of other crops, and use of alternative energy sources.
This is a way to ensure our commitment to sustainability to our roasters and our clients. It's also a way to recognize, value and reward coffee growers who dedicate themselves daily to work in harmony with nature.
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"
WE ARE THE FIRST GENERATION
TO FEEL THE EFFECT OF CLIMATE
CHANGE AND THE LAST
GENERATION WHO CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT."
- BARACK OBAMA
Latitudes has a serious commitment to sustainability. For us, quality walks hand in hand with environmental protection and social responsibility. One of our missions, in this sense, is to select and pay premium to farm partners that have concrete actions to minimize environmental impacts and use water in an efficient way. Thus, we follow clear policies in order to choose each supplier, that is, estates that believe in what we believe. Only farms with good coffee farming practices are selected.
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Coffee and life are identical. They both have distinct phases. Every year a new beginning, blossoming, development of the cherries, harvest, post-harvest, warehousing up to the moment when it reaches the cups of the most demanding specialty coffee consumers. New cycle, new harvest and new flavors.
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Furthermore, biodiversity has been under great pressure around the world. Many species have died or are threatened.
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Across the land, animal and plant species are becoming extinct with alarming speed. We are losing important ecosystems and we are at risk of losing that specific plant for a medicinal cure in the future.
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The Brazilian government has a tough policy for environmental preservation. At least 20% of the land on the properties must preserve forests and permanent preservation areas. We always have conversations with our partners about this subject.
We also strongly encourage and discuss with our farm partners about “Regenerative Agriculture” which describes farming and grazing practices that, among other benefits, reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle.
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Specifically, Regenerative Agriculture is a holistic land management practice that leverages the power of photosynthesis in plants to close the carbon cycle, and build soil health, crop resilience and nutrient density. Regenerative agriculture improves soil health, primarily through the practices that increase soil organic matter. This not only aids in increasing soil biota diversity and health, but increases biodiversity both above and below the soil surface, while increasing both water holding capacity and sequestering carbon at greater depths, thus drawing down climate-damaging levels of atmospheric CO2, and improving soil structure to reverse civilization-threatening human-caused soil loss. Research continues to reveal the damaging effects to soil from tillage, applications of agricultural chemicals and salt based fertilizers, and carbon mining.
Regenerative Agriculture reverses this paradigm to build for the future.