why shade grown coffee

B YWWW. B U YO R GAN I C C O F F E E . O R G

WHY SHADE GROWN COFFEE?

http://www.buyorganiccoffee.org/

HTTP://BUYORGANICCOFFEE.ORG/1538/WHY-SHADE-GROWN-COFFEE

/Years ago we published an article about shade grown organic coffee. As more and more coffee varieties are developed for full sun there are risks. Why shade grown coffee?

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/384/shade-grown-organic-coffee/


/Shade grown organic coffee has historically been grown in a mixed species forest that includes fruit and hardwood trees as well as other bushes and plants. Researchers have found up to forty different species of trees on traditional, organic coffee plantations.


/This mixture of trees helps maintain soil quality and provides habitat for numerous smaller plants as well as animals and birds. A mature plantation producing shade grown organic coffee is a mature ecosystem that is virtually self-sustaining.


/It does not require insecticides as birds and other animals living in the coffee forest consume the pests. It does not require large amount of synthetic fertilizers as the natural products of plant decomposition slowly leach into the soil to fertilize new plants and do not poison downstream water or the water table.


/Small traditional farms produce shade grown organic coffee by planting coffee plants in existing forest. Likewise small growers will selectively clear forest in order to retain the canopy while providing room for coffee.


/Shade grown coffee protects the environment. Shade grown coffee is bird friendly. Organic shade grown coffee is good for small coffee farmers.


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Sustainable Coffee Growing


/Coffee grows naturally under a forest canopy. Growing coffee in this setting avoid the use of excessive amount of synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, insecticides and fungicides.


/This is sustainable coffee growing in the true sense, what is more recently referred to as regenerative agriculture.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1522/what-does-sustainable-mean/


/Alternet writes about how we should stop using the term sustainable and instead use regenerative or degenerative. They suggest a regeneration revolution.


/Their argument is that at best sustainable practices maintain the status quo and at worst the term is used as an outright lie. Their proposal is that people should be able to choose food that is produced using organic regenerative practices based on sound ecological principles that rejuvenate the soil, grasslands and forests;


/replenish water; promote food sovereignty; and restore public health and prosperity - all while cooling the planet by drawing down billions of tons of excess carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in the soil where it belongs.


/This is why shade grown coffee.


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Coffee for the Birds


/The other reason why shade grown coffee is good thing is that preserving forest preserves habitat for birds as we note in our article, Coffee for the Birds.

http://buyorganiccoffee.org/1507/coffee-for-the-birds/


/The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has a Bird Friendly Coffee page on their web site. They have developed the only 100% organic and shade-grown coffee certification available: Bird Friendly.


/The point is that USDA certified and other certifications do not guarantee that the forest habitat was preserved while the Bird Friend Coffee certification does. An alternative certification is with the Rainforest Alliance.


/The Rainforest Alliance works with coffee farmers to improve their livelihoods and the health and well-being of their communities. Coffee farms or groups of smallholder farmers that earn the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal are audited annually against a rigorous standard with detailed environmental, social and economic criteria.


/These criteria are designed to protect biodiversity, deliver financial benefits to farmers, and foster a culture of respect for workers and local communities. Rainforest Alliance certification also promotes decent living and working conditions for workers, gender equity and access to education for children in farm communities.


/That’s why shade grown coffee is a good thing.

why shade grown coffee

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