About
About Coffee & Conservation
Coffee is probably one of the most poorly understood food products in the world, especially considering how ubiquitous it is in our lives — Geoff Watts, coffee buyer, Intelligentsia.
The purpose of Coffee & Conservation is to provide information about the connection between coffee and the environment — especially bird habitat.
The huge worldwide surge in demand for coffee has resulted in a shift from traditional, sustainable coffee growing methods (with coffee plants grown in the shade of a diverse understory) to intense monocultures that require large inputs of fertilizer and pesticides which bring about a loss in biodiversity and quickly deplete the land. In the Western Hemisphere, traditional coffee plantations harbor a wide variety of birds, and they are crucial as wintering habitat to dozens of species of birds that breed in North America but winter in the tropics.
Worldwide, habitat destruction is the leading cause of bird population declines. The link between poverty and environmental degradation is inescapable. Making sure that coffee farmers receive a living wage is one way to help preserve habitat — both by encouraging sustainable coffee farming methods that produce the highest quality coffee, and by empowering farmers economically and reducing their need to exploit the environment for survival.
The U.S. is the largest consumer of coffee in the world. Coffee drinkers have the potential to make a huge impact on the environment and economies of coffee growing nations. If we understand the stakes, we can make a significant difference, and enjoy our favorite beverage at the same time!
About the Author
C&C is written by Julie Craves, a University of Michigan bird ecologist and coffee lover. My research focuses on migratory birds in North America, and I have traveled to several coffee-producing countries and visited a number of coffee farms. I’m also a contributing editor to Birder’s World Magazine.
You can read more about me and the motivation behind Coffee & Conservation in this interview at the Nature Blog Network.
If you have an item or coffee you’d like the Coffee & Conservation tasting panel to review, or if you’d like to ask a question or make suggestion, leave a comment on a post or send a message to:
coffeehabitat AT gmail DOT com
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