A group of authors have an open-access paper in the journal People and Nature, a publication of the British Ecological Society: Tapping birdwatchers to promote bird-friendly coffee consumption and conserve […]
Revised on July 2, 2024Certifications
The Bird-Friendly website at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has made it easier to find local and online retailers of Bird-Friendly certified coffee. There is an interactive map to find […]
Revised on January 7, 2022Some time ago, I wrote a detailed post about “land sharing” versus “land sparing“, two agriculture strategies. In a nutshell, land sharing is the use of cover crops, interplantings, and […]
Revised on March 8, 2021In 2017, Rainforest Alliance announced they would merge with Utz (another certification), retain the Rainforest Alliance name, and develop a new standard — the set of rules and criteria required […]
Revised on January 7, 2022Do not use Rainforest Alliance certification as an indication that coffee was shade-grown or even particularly eco-friendly. And the new proposed rules will make it even less likely.
Revised on January 7, 2022Rainforest Alliance and UTZ (Certified), two major certifiers of coffee and other products, are merging.
Revised on January 7, 2022A new standard for Rainforest Alliance certification has been issued. Here, the changes to the “shade” criteria are explained.
Revised on December 7, 2020This article originally appeared in the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s member publication, the SCAA Chronicle.
Revised on November 14, 2019Studies in the Rainforest Alliance impacts reports hint at why some criteria in the proposed standard may be weaker.
Revised on January 7, 2022The Rainforest Alliance impacts report says 82% of coffee farms comply with current shade requirements. Yet they have said that most farms do not fully implement these requirements, and that’s why they proposed weakening this requirement. What’s going on?
Revised on January 7, 2022An update on the upcoming revision of the Rainforest Alliance standard.
Revised on January 7, 2022[Updates: Since this post, the standard revision, and the merger with UTZ, many of the links in this post have been eliminated; I’ve replaced them with archived links that will […]
Revised on March 14, 2021In return for financial support that represents a tiny fraction of profits, large corporations are receiving ”endorsements” in the form of product badges promoting health benefits or sustainability efforts — despite the fact that many of these corporations have rotten sustainability records.
Revised on July 2, 2024Keurig Green Mountain is buying more and more coffee, but less of it is eco-certified.
Revised on November 29, 2020Revised Code of Conduct weakens encouragement for shade coffee, emphasizing that this is not an “eco-certification.”
Revised on July 28, 2020