The production of coffee beans is notoriously bad for the environment. On an emission basis, coffee is one of the highest emitting crops that exists. Now, a new startup is trying to change that.

‍What’s happening:‍

• French crop tech startup Amatera has raised £1.5M in a pre seed funding round
  
• The round was led by PINC and included participation from Exceptional Ventures, Mudcake, Joyance Partners and others
  

The big idea:‍

• Amatera is developing a non-GMO approach to genome editing which enables them to cultivate their own coffee varieties and also bypasses the need for regulatory approval to sell their crops to farmers
  
• Their technology is based on accelerating a plant’s natural evolution at the cellular level which will help the end crop adapt to the environment and climate it is growing in
  
• Amatera believes this could be a breakthrough in developing new coffee varietals that are not vulnerable to extinction and can thrive in changing environments
  

Why it matters:‍

• The most popular coffee varieties in the world on a fast track to extinction largely due to deforestation and plant diseases
  
• Coffee has more harmful emissions than nearly any other type of food outside of dark chocolate and red meats
  
• There is a large, looming ethical issue around the conditions in which much of the coffee in the world is produced and growing concerns about human rights
  

The intrigue:‍

• Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) recently created half a dozen coffee varietals that they believe will be able to be resilient against climate change
  
• Those new varietals will be given away to coffee farmers for free in hopes of creating a healthy global supply of coffee