Want a Good Cup of Joe? How About a Sustainable One?
Friday, June 20th, 2008
There is coffee and then the is good for the earth coffee. To make sure your coffee meets the standards for environmentally sound coffee be sure and consider these labels for your next cup of joe.
1. Certified Bird Friendly: Coffee must also be certified organic and shade grown without persistent, synthetic chemicals. There is also evidence of alarming rates of the decline of migratory birds, due in part to sun plantations.
2. Fair Trade Certified: Ensures that farmers earn a living wage by marketing their beans in a co-op fashion, which in turn cuts out the middleman. Fair Trade does require environmental stewardship but is not grown organically. But, most are that are sold in the United Sates.
3. Certified Organic: This is process which maintains and replenishes the soil, for the grower and the consumer, as well as the eco system. Synthetic pesticides are not used for well over three years of production. Farmers must have a sustainable crop rotations plant to prevent soil erosion and deplete the nutrient make-up in the soil.
4. Shade Grown: Shade grown coffee promotes biodiversification. Same as with the Certified Bird Friendly, the decline of migratory birds is due in part to the sun plantations. Organic conscious consumers are picky about the people that grow and pick their food as they are about the way the food is farmed.
Be sure and choose certified organic, bird friendly, fair trade and shade grown coffee. And if you regular coffee isn’t all of these or at least one, change your cup of joe to be more planet-friendly.
*Natural and Sustainable Living Tip: Save energy, whenever you leave a room shut the light off. If you must need a light use a night light that is Energy-Star approved.
