Coffee is like anything else we consume - we need to consider all the ramifications of our consumption. Each time we consume food or beverage products that are grown or processed using non-organic means we contribute to the poisoning of our planet and all that lives here. Conversely, each time we consume organically grown products we contribute to the healing of our planet. When we commit to an organically-grown and processed product that we consume habitually our lifetime consumption can make a significant difference. One pound of coffee may not seem like a big deal, but one pound a month for fifty years means 600 pounds of planet-friendly coffee. If we pay a bit more for these products, consider it a down payment on a planet that can support our children.

Traditionally and naturally, most coffee has been grown in the shade of rainforests. Beginning in 1972, farmers have been encouraged to increase crop yields by clearcutting their farms and switching to new sun-tolerant hybrids.

The slow but steady conversion to sun-grown coffee has resulted in massive deforestation that continues to this day. Sun growing has also increased pollution, as it requires chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides unnecessary for shade growing. Once committed to this technified process, farmers can find themselves unable to afford the requisite chemicals in times of natural disasters and lean harvests.

Many birds familiar to North Americans migrate to the canopies of Latin American rainforests. In fact, 33% of all migratory birds that breed in the United States spend winter in coffee growing areas of Latin America. Shade coffee farms support over 150 species of birds. This is a far greater number than is found in other agricultural habitats and is only slightly exceeded in undisturbed rainforests. In the midst of shrinking rainforest habitat, migratory birds have found sanctuary in shade-grown farms. To learn more see Cafe Canopy or Song Bird Coffee.