I’m sure once you examine the effects of the pesticides that are commonly used on coffee, you will agree that the workers, the environment, and the folks downstream are all better off if coffee is grown without pesticides. Careful cultivation…
Revised on January 7, 2022Certifications
Information on the common pesticides used on coffee.
Revised on May 20, 2021Coffee is an agricultural crop and like any other crop, when it is grown for commercial production at any large scale, farmers seek a way to maximize output. Often this means via the use of chemicals. These can be categorized…
Revised on October 22, 2016Yuban coffee may carry the Rainforest Alliance seal, but only 30% of its beans are certified. Do you know where the other 70% come from? Or what kind of company you are supporting when you purchase this coffee?
Revised on July 19, 2022Rainforest Alliance (RA) received a seven-year, $12 million grant to increase the number of certified farms in six Latin American countries: El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia, Peru, and Brazil. By the project’s end, RA will have certified 10% of the…
Revised on November 28, 2020Rainforest Alliance has announced its first certification for coffee outside Latin America, certifying a group of 678 farms in the Djimmah region of Ethiopia, according to a report in Tea & Coffee Trade Journal. RA’s certification requirements are not focused…
Revised on November 28, 2020In March 2006, I posted about the Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign, a Seattle Audubon Society project whose mission is “to protect habitat for wintering neo-tropical migratory birds in Latin America and the Caribbean by increasing consumer demand for shade-grown coffee,”…
Revised on November 28, 2020Geoff Watts of Intelligentsia Coffee wrote a long e-mail lucidly explaining the shortcomings of Fair Trade and Intelli’s strong commitment to farmer relationships, posted at green LA girl. It’s excellent and insightful. First, he defines sustainable coffee as being profitable…
Revised on November 25, 2020Green LA girl has posts on coffee and social issues. Coffee and immigration talks about the connection between the coffee crisis and people abandoning their farms and heading for the U.S. border…another example of how helping to improve living conditions…
Revised on June 17, 2018According to this article in Financial Express, by 2007, ten percent (about 1 million 60 kg bags) of Colombia’s coffee will be certified by social and environmental programs. One of these programs is the Rainforest Alliance sustainable agriculture program (my…
Revised on November 14, 2019Caribou Coffee, based in Minneapolis with stores in 15 states, announced last July that it was partnering with Rainforest Alliance (RA) to provide certification for much of their coffee. They expected 20% of their coffee to be certified by the…
Revised on November 14, 2019Can people without a biology background — coffee roasters, importers, or retailers — make sound assessments of coffee plantations?
Revised on October 26, 2010There are pros and cons to the shade certification process, including costs to farmers, and problems with applying one-size-fits-all biodiversity criteria to different regions. Therefore, some farms may meet or exceed certification criteria — and be excellent sanctuaries for biodiversity…
Revised on November 24, 2020A number of roasters or retailers advertising shade coffee display the seal of the Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign (NSCC), an educational program formed by Seattle Audubon Society
Revised on November 19, 2019Smithsonian “Bird Friendly” Coffee Main web page Bird Friendly coffee standards, quick look Criteria for certification of Bird Friendly coffee (PDF) Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Network Main web page for Sustainable Agriculture General standards for sustainable agriculture certification (April 2009,…
Revised on January 7, 2022