People currently drink about 1.6 billion cups of coffee per day. To meet this incredible demand, the coffee agribusiness over the past 35 years has increasingly been encouraging the cultivation of coffee in monoculture, sun-grown coffee plantations. This is accomplished by clear-cutting vast tracts of rainforest and by applying pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers to boost short-term production. Throughout the development of this huge industry, ornithologists and conservationists led by Russ Greenberg (former director of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center and founder of International Migratory Bird Day) have been pointing out how this emphasis on high-production, sun-grown coffee has horrendous consequences for migratory songbirds.
As an alternative, Greenberg advocated that the approach taken by traditional coffee farmers in the neotropics, which is to cultivate coffee bushes in the protective shade of the rainforest canopy, helps to nurture a whole host of bird species. Additionally, the coffee bushes draw nutrients from organically renewed rainforest soil and gain pest and weed protection from surrounding flora and fauna. Dozens of species of migratory songbirds, some of which have recently experienced precipitous population declines, rely on these traditional, densely shaded coffee farms for food and shelter during the time spent on their winter ranges.
Species surveys conducted by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) and other researchers indicate that birds are found in significantly greater abundance and diversity within shaded coffee farms than in full-sun coffee plantations. Additionally, traditional growing methods that provide diverse mixes of natural and planted flora foster the greatest diversity of birds.
In 1999 the SMBC determined that even though some coffees may be labeled as “organic,” “free trade”, or even “shade-grown,” these designations do not necessarily signify that the coffee is really being grown in a way that provides for birds. Unfortunately, Shade Grown has become a marketing buzzword that says little about the actual growing conditions which may include fertilizers, pesticides, and a sparse cover of banana trees. At that time the SMBC originated the Bird Friendly® Coffee Certification, which is now the gold standard for coffee farm habitat conservation. It has the strictest requirements of any coffee certification for measures such as shade-tree height, shade density, and plant biodiversity.
Aside from the SMBC certification, consumers have no guarantees that coffee labeled with other certifications, such as organic or shade grown, is bird-friendly. Yet consumers can improve the chances that critical habitat has not been destroyed or diminished by avoiding store-bought and fast-food coffees and choosing Arabica over Robusta varieties. Informed decision-making about coffee is one important way in which our everyday actions can support healthy bird populations in critically important ways.
Learn More
- About Bird Friendly Coffee – Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
- Where to Buy Bird Friendly Coffee – Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
- Bird Friendly Farm Criteria – Smithsonian’s National Zoo & Conservation Biology Institute
- Coffee and Conservation – Quick Guide to Coffee Certifications