What Your Coffee Can Do For Birds

If you’re like many of us, you start your day with a cup (or two...) of coffee. When you take that first sip, do you ever think about where and how your coffee grew, and the impact it had on the environment? What about how it connects you to the birds outside your window? Many of those birds are migratory and spend half or more of their lives in South and Central America. Species like Baltimore orioles, ruby-throated hummingbirds, and wood thrushes (all important for pollination, insect control, and seed dispersal) are declining at alarming rates, and one primary reason is habitat loss. That’s where coffee comes in.

Coffee cultivation takes up about 27 million acres of land where over 240
migratory species winter, and the way it’s produced matters for their survival. Once, it was grown under the shade of tropical forests and didn’t impact the landscapes used by birds and other wildlife. That changed when sun-tolerant coffee crops were engineered in the 1970s to produce more yield, and millions of acres of tropical forest were cleared for sungrown (and often chemical-heavy) coffee farms. As with most things, productivity was valued above all, including the preservation of millions of acres of significant bird habitat. There are coffee
farmers who still maintain biodiverse, native forest canopy, however, and while
there are several seals that tell you about the quality of your coffee (Fair Trade,
USDA Organic, etc.) the farms with the highest standards are certified as Bird
Friendly® by The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center, signifying shade-grown, fair
trade, organic, and sustainably produced coffee. This kind of coffee production
is also best for the human communities nearby, who would otherwise be subject
to pesticide and fertilizer run-off from conventional farming practices.

Recently, Wissahickon Trails joined theWillistown Conservation Trust’s Bird Friendly Coffee Coalition, focused on encouraging local roasters to source theirbeans from certified farms and to bring more bird-friendly coffee to local cafés and grocers (like Weaver’s Way!). We’re excited to be a part of the coalition, and to help spread the word. You can be, too, by asking for and choosing Bird Friendly® coffee, whether you buy it in person or online.

Like so many seemingly small choices in life, the coffee we choose to drink can have a major impact on our environment. Shade-grown coffee is better than conventionally farmed, and shade-grown and organic is even better – but if you can, buying certified Bird Friendly® coffee is the best way to support the farmers doing their best to protect the environment, their local communities, and the birds that connect us to those far-off places.