January 2007

Birds and other biodiversity

Saving the Cerulean Warbler campaign

I last wrote about the Cerulean Warbler and shade coffee in August 2006, when the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) announced they would be working with coffee growers to  preserve critical wintering habitat around the new 500-acre Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve in the Rio ChucurÁ­ basin of Santander department, Colombia.

ABC, along with their Bird Conservation Alliance network, has now announced a full-fledged to raise US$100,000 to purchase habitat, train and equip forest guards and local ecotourism guides, and improve reserve infrastructure. The conservation plan is looking to purchase over 1,500 acres currently owned by nearly 20 different owners; some of the land is shade coffee farms. All properties in the reserve will be owned and managed by ProAves Colombia, the major conservation organization there.

You can donate directly, purchase the posh Cerulean Warbler postage stamps, or buy Cerulean Warbler Conservation Coffee, offered by Thanksgiving Coffee Company, roaster of the Songbird Coffee line discussed here.

Although some of the promotional material indicates that the coffee comes from shade plantations that are part of or are adjacent to the Cerulean Warbler Bird Reserve in Santander, it is sourced from COOPERAN, a cooperative in southwestern Antioquia province (A on map, dot is co-op area). The aforementioned reserve is about 180 miles away within the Serrania de los Yariguies Important Bird Area (S on map, dot is Reserve).

Although it is a different location, this area is also important to Cerulean Warblers, as well as the endangered Yellow-eared Parrot (below), and other North American migrants. The very endangered Gorgeted Wood-Quail, another target species, is not found in the area where the coffee is sourced, but is found in the Reserve.

Santander has more extensive shade coffee farms versus Antioquia, which has only about 10% in typica varieties grown by traditional shade methods [1,2].  Thanksgiving Coffee sources its other Colombian coffees from the same co-op (although it is not labeled shade-grown), so they are apparently building on an existing relationship. A page (in Spanish) on the ProAves site notes that COOPERAN farmers are sharing their experience with farmers from the Reserve region.

There are 4,600 members in the COOPERAN cooperative.  One subgroup in the co-op mentioned as a Thanksgiving source was represented in the 2005 Cup of Excellence competition. I found information on one of the Los Sauces farm, El Clavel, which states the coffee there is 30% shade grown. ABC reassured that the Colombian conservation partner ProAves visits the farm(s) to make sure that the coffee is grown under shade.

Support of this campaign is highly worthwhile. Although the coffee does not come from the official Reserve, there is arguably more need for encouraging shade coffee farming in Antioquia, where less than 3% of the native forest remains. Just $1.50 of each bag of coffee goes to ABC, so don’t forget to donate directly to help purchase habitat.

Cerulean Warbler Technical Group el Grupo Cerleo page.

More on the partnership with COOPERAN (also in Spanish).

[1] Colorado, G., and T. Cuadros. 2006.  Geographic distribution and habitat use by Cerulean Warbler in natural vegetation and agro-ecosystems of northern Colombia. Final report to Nature Conservancy and USFWS. Medellin, Colombia.  56 pp.

[2] Armenteras, D., A. RincÁ³n, and N. Ortiz. 2005. Ecological Function Assessment in the Colombian Andean Coffee-growing Region. Sub-global Assessment Working Paper. Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, United Nations.

Certifications

Biodynamic farming: flim-flam alert

Every so often when I am researching a coffee farm to determine if their methods preserve biodiversity, I come across one that uses “biodynamic” farming methods; some are even certified by the Demeter Association.

What the hell is biodynamic farming?

Biodynamic farming includes many of the concepts of organic farming and is based on the anthroposophical teachings of Rudolf Steiner, a philosopher and “social tinkerer.”  In the biodynamic view, the farm as a whole is seen as an organism, with heavy emphasis on the spiritual/holistic aspect.

For instance, planting of crops is done according to cosmic rhythms to enhance, for example, pest control by blocking the fertility influences of particular planets on particular pests.  The life forces of a farm are said to be strengthened by creating various homeopathic-like preparations (e.g., derived from flower blossoms stuffed into deer urinary bladders which have been placed in the sun during summer, buried in earth during winter and retrieved in the spring).  These are then placed in compost piles or manure. According to the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association, “These preparations bear concentrated forces within them and are used to organize the chaotic elements within the compost piles.”  Using these preparations is required for Demeter certification, and the certification standards are built around the elaborate development of these concoctions.

A study published in the journal of the Soil Science Society of America (64:1651-1659) comparing soils fertilized with biodynamic versus nonbiodynamic compost found no differences in the various soil biotic parameters measured.  Another paper, in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, concluded that “Steiner’s instructions are occult and dogmatic and cannot contribute to the development of alternative or sustainable agriculture.”

While many of the organic aspects of biodynamic farming are positive, biodynamic certification is mostly meaningless and basically a marketing ploy. Considering that farms pay a $470 fee ($310 a year for renewals) plus annual inspection fees and a 0.5% royalty on gross sales, the most notable thing biodynamic certification adds to coffee is cost.

Coffee regions

Coffee growing in Costa Rica

Costa Rica, more than any other Central American country, has embraced technified sun coffee. The National Costa Rican Institute of Coffee (ICAFE) notes that 30% of coffee grown in the country is sun coffee. Not only is a 30% rate high, but it is misleading.  Coffee grown under only a single tree species, widely distributed across a farm, qualifies as “shade coffee” in Costa Rica.  In fact, all 70% of coffee not classified sun coffee can be marketed as shade coffee, but this is clearly not the kind of shade that preserves biodiversity.

Throughout the country, and especially in the Central Valley, coffee is grown in full sun, or under a single tree species. Most often this is Poro (Erythrina poeppigiana which is not native to Costa Rica) pruned to under 4 meters with only one or two branches. Bird surveys found that these Poro and coffee farms are poor avian habitat, with low species richness and few Neotropical migrants. Other farms use bananas or other fruit trees, non-native Eucalyptus, or timber trees such as Amarillon (Terminalia amazonia). Bird surveys in the Central Valley found that the highest number of species found at any farm (all were considered “shade”) was similar to the paltry number found in full sun farms in Mexico and Guatemala.

According to ICAFE, 90% of Costa Rica’s crop has gone over to the short, high-yielding, sun tolerant varieties caturra and cataui, as well as some catimor, all considered by experts to be lower quality than typica and bourbon varieties.

It can be difficult to identify farms that use sustainable methods, because coffees in Costa Rica are most often identified by broad region, or by a brand used by a mill (beneficio), and not the name of a farm. Over 90% of Costa Rican coffee farms are under 5 hectares, and small producers are required to sell to a beneficio.  For example, the intensively marketed Café Britt company roasts 2-3 million pounds of coffee a year, and buys from farms in Tarrazu, Tres Rios, and the Central Valley.  Their main facility near Heredia, where they hold their famous tours, is on a former coffee farm, but this is primarily for show (the “campesinos” who guide the tourists around Café Britt’s operations are played by professional actors).  Here’s a photo of Cafe Britt’s “shade” coffee.

Research from Costa Rica also found that pesticides used on coffee (and banana) farms are being transported in the atmosphere into cloud forests, including montane areas far away from plantations. They accumulate there, and may be contributing to the drastic declines of amphibians in these areas.  One of the most common pesticides found was endosulfan, commonly used on coffee.  This is relevant because the high-yield varieties of coffee that are grown in low shade systems, which are common in Costa Rica, nearly always use high levels of chemical inputs, and the paper [1] notes that “The use of plant protection products per hectare is higher in Costa Rican agriculture than in most industrialized countries.”

Because of their pooled coffee system and dedication to high-yield technified production, it is very difficult to be assured your Costa Rican coffee is truly sustainable.  There are no Smithsonian Bird-Friendly certified farms or co-ops in Costa Rica, that should tell you something.  I know a number of University of Michigan graduate students who have done thesis work on coffee farms in Costa Rica, and they have all told me there is very little true shade in the farms.  You are better off buying coffee from other Central American countries, especially El Salvador and Nicaragua.

If you buy Costa Rican coffee, look for a high percentage of older varieties such as bourbon and typica, and certified organic beans — these will all be less likely to be highly technified, as they are more difficult to grow in the sun. Some co-ops/beneficios or companies might indicate that they preserve native forest near production areas.  This is a positive sign.  This year, Costa Rica will also be joining the Cup of Excellence competition.  This means individual farms will be competing, and consumers will be able to read detailed farm profiles and learn about growing methods.  That will be helpful as well.

Here is the scoop on a few popular brands of Costa Rican coffee …

  • La Minita (Tarrazu). Family-owned farm (and mill) with nearly 700 acres in production, mostly caturra. Uses Poro in “varying density” for shade. The best thing that can be said is that it is a family owned estate that has 200 acres in natural forest that will never be converted.  Does not use herbicides or pesticides. (More on La Minita in my post on coffee at Panera Bread.)
  • Thanksgiving Coffee’s Costa Rican Songbird is obtained through Sustainable Harvest coffee importers.  Probably a decent bet that this is technically “shade grown” (as the Costa Ricans describe it), or perhaps even more substantial, given the commitment of the importer and roaster.
  • Hacienda La Amistad, adjacent to the La Amistad Biosphere Reserve and Park.  The family has kept much of it (10,000 hectares) as natural forest. Certified organic, caturra and catuai varieties, grown under Poro.
  • Café Britt.  See above. See also this post by a U.S. roaster who visited Costa Rica and was not impressed with the coffee.
  • Doka Estate. I’ve occasionally seen this advertised as shade coffee, and perhaps the organic section of the property has a little more shade, but in general another sunny location.  You can see the near total lack of shade trees in this travel account,
  • Cafe Cristina is a (truly) small shade coffee farm with direct ordering. The owners, whom I met at a conference, have worked with bird researchers and birders.

An excellent resource on Central Valley coffee growing and biodiversity is Sandra Znajda’s York University Master’s thesis, “Habitat conservation, avian diversity, and coffee agrosystems in southern Costa Rica.” Try searching online.

[1] Daly, G. et al. 2007. Accumulation of current-use pesticides in Neotropical montane forests. Environ. Sci. Technol.41:1118—1123.

Corporate coffee / Nestlé/Nespresso / Retail and specialty roasters / Starbucks

Nestlé and Starbucks respond to illegal coffee report

In an article in an Indonesian newspaper, Nestlé and Starbucks both responded to the report that they had been purchasing robusta coffee beans illegally grown in a Sumatran national park in Lampung province.

Nestlé
A spokesman for Nestlé Indonesia made this statement:

“Nestlé never willingly purchases coffee from dubious sources. However, the company admits the difficulty of determining the precise origin of a coffee bag which has passed through different hands before it reaches the Nestlé buyer.”

The emphasis is mine, which precisely sums up why I continuously recommend not buying supermarket coffees.  If the companies themselves don’t know where their coffee comes from or how it is farmed, how can we know it is farmed sustainably?  Or believe them?

Nestlé also said that the coffee they purchase from Lampung (around 12,000 tons a year) goes to make instant coffee. So brands to avoid = Nescafé and Taster’s Choice.

 


Starbucks
A spokesperson for Starbucks’ Indonesian partner denied that the company purchased coffee from Lampung (the southern province in question), or any robusta beans from Sumatra at all.

Starbucks is listed in the report on page 50, in an appendix on recipients of tainted coffee.  The list was compiled from records of the Cooperative Industry and Trade Service of Lampung province. It’s possible these records could be forged or falsified, I suppose. There is nothing as yet on the Starbucks web site concerning this issue.

By the way, buyers of Lampung beans should know better.  It was in 2003 that published reports [1,2] revealed that 70% of Lampung’s beans came from inside or adjacent to Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park and that endangered animals were threatened from the illegal cultivation.

[1] O’Brien, T. G. and M. F. Kinnaird.  2003.  Caffeine and conservation.  Science 300:587.

[2] Kinnaird, M.F., E.W. Sanderson, T. G. O’Brien, H.T. Wibisono, and G. Woolmer. 2003. Deforestation trends in a tropical landscape and implications for endangered large mammals. Conservation Biology 17:245-257.

Hat tip to bccy.

Background information

Answers to BirdChatter questions

(updated June 2009) Recently, the topic of shade coffee came up on the popular Internet bird list, BirdChat.  I hope BirdChatters will have a look around Coffee & Conservation, beginning with some of the posts listed under "Overview" at left. But I thought I would take this opportunity to directly answer some specific questions which were asked on the list.

First up was the issue of "dueling" eco-labels.  Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has a trademarked certification called "Bird-Friendly."  It is the strongest assurance you can have that the coffee was grown under sustainable conditions: it must be certified organic, grown under a certain level of shade, and meet other strict ecological criteria.  This certification is mostly limited to Latin American coffee, but has recently been expanded into Africa.

Rainforest Alliance also certifies coffee and other products.  Their criteria are not as strict (for example, coffee does not have to be certified organic) and they include social criteria as well.  They allow use of their seal for products containing just 30% Rainforest Alliance certified beans. Large companies such as Kraft have used this to their advantage, for example on their Yuban brand, where the rest of the beans may be from totally awful sources. In fact, I am waiting response from Rainforest Alliance regarding some of the criticisms leveled at them. You can read more about certification at this post, and clicking on the category "Corporate coffee" will show you posts about specific problems with many of the big brands.

There is no law regulating the use of the term "shade grown." I wrote two posts (one, two) on who determines if a coffee is shade grown if it is not certified. The certification process is expensive, and many farms use completely organic methods (as they cannot afford chemicals) and grow coffee under shade in a traditional manner. With careful research, it's possible to determine if the coffee you drink is grown sustainably.  It's easiest if you buy coffee sourced from a single farm or coop, and it is useful to know how coffee is grown in certain regions, and the type of bean grown.  This is the kind of research I try to do for readers, and the list of sustainable coffee retailers in the left sidebar are good bets, and all coffees that are reviewed undergo similar scrutiny.

Regarding Trader Joe's and Whole Foods in general, Whole Foods subsidiary Allegro Coffee has many sustainable coffees in its line, and depending on the region Whole Foods carries other reliable brands: in much of the southeast, they carry Counter Culture's Sanctuary line, which I've reviewed. You can find other reviews of Allegro coffees in the coffee review section. Trader Joe's is very secretive about where they source their coffee and none of it is certified shade coffee. Read all about Trader Joe's coffee here.

Is Thanksgiving Coffee Company legit? Yes, although the fact that they imply that their Songbird Coffees are certified shade grown is misleading, which bothers me.  I wrote about Songbird Coffees here and here.  Who determines whether their coffees are shade grown?  The founder of the company.  Great guy and dedicated social activist, but not an ecologist. Nonetheless, from what I've determined, most of Thanksgiving's shade are grown quite sustainably.  My personal choice for a "conservation" coffee is Green Mountain Coffee Roaster's National Wildlife blend, reviewed here. 

I hope BirdChat readers find these answers helpful, and I welcome feedback in the comments.  What other questions do you have after looking over C&C?  What coffees, brands, companies, regions, or birds would you like to see researched and reviewed?  I want this blog to be as useful to you as possible, so feel free ask away.  Just remember, I have a day job!  I'll get to your burning issues as quickly as I can!

Coffee and the environment / Coffee regions / Corporate coffee / Jacobs Douwe Egberts/KraftHeinz

Illegal coffee growing threatens wildlife, Kraft major buyer

In a well-investigated and detailed report (pdf) released yesterday, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) revealed that robusta coffee is being illegally grown in southern Sumatra, with most being purchased by large coffee producers such as Kraft and Nestlé.

“Illegally grown coffee is mixed with legally grown coffee beans and sold to such companies as Kraft Foods and Nestlé among other major companies in the U.S. and abroad.” — WWF

The coffee is being grown inside Indonesia’s Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, which has over 300 bird species and is one of the few places where the endangered Sumatran subspecies of tigers, elephants, and rhinos coexist. This park has already lost 30% of its land to illegal agriculture, mainly coffee. WWF found 173 square miles being used for illegal coffee growing, with a yield of nearly 20,000 tons of coffee annually.  Wildlife has abandoned these cultivated areas.  WWF tracked the illegal coffee from the park through export routes to multinational coffee companies using satellite imaging, interviews with coffee farmers and traders, and trade route monitoring.

The U.S. received 17% of the coffee tainted with illegally grown beans.  Illegal beans are sold to local traders, who mix them with legally grown beans which then make their way to exporters. Major international companies purchase beans from exporters, and if they are not conscientious about their supply chain, they may not know they are buying illegal beans. The main buyers are shown in this graph from the report (click to enlarge), with Kraft being the number one buyer.

Exports of robusta beans from Lampung province, where most the park lies, have been steadily increasing, and the top six companies on the graph buy 55% of all Lampung beans. The profits spurring the encroachment into the park are financed by the purchases of these global roasters, and all Lampung beans have a very high probability of being contaminated with illegally grown beans, according to WWF. Talcoa (part of Kraft Foods), Kraft, and Nestlé were the top recipients in 2003-2005; Folgers (Procter & Gamble) and Starbucks received smaller amounts in 2004.

After being contacted by WWF, Kraft and Nestle were among five companies in the early stages of “engaging with WWF” on the problem. Four companies, including ED&F Man, parent company of VOLCAFE (which supplies beans to Nestlé and Maxwell House), denied involvement. Eight other companies did not reply (full list in report).

Remember this is robusta coffee, so you don’t have to worry about the Sumatran arabica beans from your favorite specialty roaster. The illegal beans are those used in most supermarket blends.  Another reason to not buy these coffees!

See update #1 here and a late 2007 update here.

Hat tip to Ned Potter’s ABC News Science and Technology blog.  Map adapted from GoVacation Indonesia.