Fungus Threatens to Cut Central American Coffee Crop Up to 40%

The U.S. government, leading scientists from around the world and a multibillion-dollar industry are teaming up to fight one of the biggest threats modern civilization has ever faced.

No, it's not terrorism or climate change they're battling — it's coffee rust, a microscopic fungus that's wreaking havoc on coffee crops in Central America.

Specifically, the pest is attacking arabica coffee trees (Coffea arabica) that produce the high-end, superior brews favored by cappuccino drinkers worldwide. The fungus has already wiped out the arabica variety in places like Java in Indonesia, which once produced much of the world's best coffee Read more...