Standing around an Audubon Society store the other day I picked up a bag of coffee beans that was promoted as being “shade grown”. I had no idea what that meant, but according to the packaging growing coffee in the shade is somehow better for birds. I’m a fan of birds, so I was curious enough to Google it.
Despite my inclination to hug trees, I’m generally skeptical of the latest “save the planet” fads. Reading through the documents, however, their arguments seemed to make sense. The basic concept appears that most coffee plantations are made by clear-cutting forests (not good for birds, and reducing carbon uptake). Further, most coffee strains don’t fair well in the direct sun they’re now forced to be in (so varieties are bred to withstand the light). Roll into this the larger plantations tend to be run by larger corporations (not community farmers) and use more chemical (not organic) fertilizers.
Among the links I turned up, I found a company in Oregon that flipped each negative attribute on its head. Enter Grounds for Change, a roaster and distribution company that claims it’s coffee is:
- 100% Organic
- Shade Grown
- Fair Trade
- Carbon Neutral
Now, that’s a cup of coffee that’ll shine your Earth-friendly halo. And to top it all off, it’s super tasty.
… all I need to do now is figure out how to offset the carbon for transit from Oregon to Massachusetts.
UPDATE: 11/7/2008
I received a couple more links thanks to @2xlp that are worth a look, too:
Tags: audubon society, carbon neutral, coffee, coffee beans, fair trade, organic
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