Shade Grown Coffee: Saving the Songbirds
Making good food choices also helps the environment and wildlife habitats.
I first heard the term “shade grown coffee” at a coffee shop in downtown Calgary. A less commercialized version of Starbucks, it was where all the coffee snobs picked up their morning java on their way to work, or on their way home from their morning run. I'd heard of “fair trade” coffee, I'd heard of the small movement of “roast your own” aficionados, but “shade grown” was a new term, and I was curious. Looking further, I was surprised at how little I knew about coffee and it's origins.
Coffee is believed to have originated in Africa, although there has been no clear evidence as to exactly where. Early Ethiopians, however, were the first to recognize the effects of caffeine. From there, it was introduced into the Arab world, and as early as the middle of the 16th century, coffee houses were operating in Istanbul. The plant spread from Turkey to Italy and Europe and then on to Asia and the Americas. The first European coffee house was operating in Venice by the middle of the 17th century, followed by the Dutch who were the first to import coffee on a commercial scale.
By the mid-1800s, the coffee industry had gained serious momentum in South America, and instead of a few small family farms growing the beans as a commercial side industry, large coffee plantations began to sprout up. New varieties were bred for higher yields, and more land was cleared of the canopy trees and incumbent foliage in order to make room for more plants. The new breed of bushes were better able to withstand the heat and brightness of the sun, and were bred for three times higher yields than the traditional plant.
Coffee grows on a shrub-like plant which does well in rich, volcanic mountain soil. The higher the elevation the coffee is grown at, the slower the bean grows, resulting in a richer, more intensely flavoured drink. Coffee grown in the shade also ripens more slowly, so those bushes which are grown in the shade also provide a better quality brew. It takes up to five years for a coffee plant to begin producing, and they are very fussy when it comes to climate.
Although this hasn't always been the case, industrialized methods of coffee cultivation dictate that coffee be grown in full sun, in wide rows on open ground. Berries ripen more quickly by this method, allowing the bushes to produce higher yields. Unfortunately, this method, while providing larger harvests, goes directly against the very thing that gives coffee beans higher quality aroma and flavour: a long growing and ripening period. Speed allows for more volume, and therefore higher profits, but it does little for good quality coffee.
It also damages other things. Clearing of the jungle canopy allows for higher yields and ease of mechanized cultivation, but it also clears away the habitat of the wildlife, including over 150 species of migratory birds. Many of the birds we have here in Canada throughout the spring and summer months are migratory, and make the long trip to spend the winter months in warmer climates; places where coffee plantations have, in many cases, decimated the winter habitats, and therefore the rate of survival, of the bird population.
We have seen a negative impact on migratory bird populations for many years now, and making choices to minimize the effect of human population growth and development on these populations can only benefit us.
Traditionally, coffee farming was done in forests, in the shade of the canopy of the tropical trees. It provided a habitat for animals, insects, and birds. Northern songbirds which wintered in the tropical regions sheltered in these forests before returning to more northern latitudes in spring. With the decimation of these forests in favour of the larger yields to be had through the open plantation method, these habitats have been destroyed. With no shelter from the tropical sun, wildlife numbers decrease, and songbirds have been one casualty.
The issue has become so important, actually, that steps have been taken to go beyond the “shade grown” distinction, and there is now, also, the “bird friendly” designation given by the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre. This distinction allows for factors beyond simply being grown in the 35% - 65% shade which is required for the “shade grown” label, it also has requirements regarding active support of biodiversity.
Checking the label of your coffee, looking for that “shade grown” insignia may seem like an unnecessary thing to do. After all, it's often more expensive, and certainly less available here in southern Manitoba than the well-known brands we are familiar with. However, choosing “shade grown” isn't just a meaningless pretension. It is a very important choice when it comes to the survival of our migratory bird species. As many as 150 different bird species have been identified on shade-grown coffee farms, and all are in danger of losing their winter habitats to industrialized coffee production.
Choosing a shade grown brand is not just a benefit for the birds, however. Coffee wasn't meant to be grown quickly in the sunshine, it was meant to be grown slowly in the dappled shade of the jungle floor. When it matures quickly in large volume, flavour and aroma in the bean is lost; in short, when grown in the traditional manner, you get better tasting coffee.
Additionally, those higher yields come at a price. Coffee is second only to tobacco in the number of harmful chemicals which are used in it's cultivation in order to get a standardized, saleable product. Changing a plant so drastically in order to increase yields and to ease cultivation has had an effect on the plant itself; coffee shrubs are now susceptible to things they never were before. This has necessitated the use of a vast number of chemicals in order to control pests and disease, things that, before, they were naturally resistant to. Constant spraying with the chemicals used for the purpose of keeping the plants healthy and producing doesn't do much for the flavour of your morning brew, or the health of it.
