- Drinking coffee is a vice that is
ubiquitous in almost every culture. Like many crops though,
companies that buy and sell in huge quantities look at the bottom
line, despite what environmental degradation occurs to the lands
owned by the coffee grower. Rainforests are typically
cleared to grow coffee crops, which over a few years drain the
land of nutrients. Without the normal tree cover, the land
erodes. Biodiversity is no longer existent with a single
crop growing.
-
- Protecting the rights of the individual
landowners, many of them in poorer, tropical countries, and the
land they live on is imperative. By encouraging more
sustainable ways to grow the world's largest crop, we will prevent
further rainforest clearing, terrain erosion, and further
reduction in the small farmer's income. According to the
World Bank, there are over 17 million family-owned farms in the
world growing coffee.
-
- Groups such as the Rainforest Alliance have
established certifications for sustainable agriculture.
Farmers can adopt required ways, such as shade-grown coffee (where
the plants are grown under the rainforest canopy - thus maintaining
the best of both worlds) and erosion-prevention practices.
The best thing to do as a consumer, is to look for shade-grown
coffee. Coffee giants such as Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts
are on the band wagon. They see a sustainable market and are
doing their best to switch their sources to those the will support
the small farmers in the world. Bananas, cocoa, other foods
and forest products are also being certified to help poorer
countries move towards more sustainable economies.
-
