Comments on: Demand For Gourmet Coffee Pushing Growers Into National Parks

By: Mission Grounds

Mission Grounds — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 23:51:07 +0000

Very informative post and of concern to all of us

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We offer gourmet coffee in simple bags that will make a difference. You have the opportunity to purchase an exceptional bag of coffee at a great price and help a child at the same time. We currently have no overhead to speak of and 100% of our profits go to support children missions. Since we are a Non-Profit Corporation all of our proceeds will go to children and to other non-profit mission organizations who directly support children.

By: patrickwoolford

patrickwoolford — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:29:33 +0000

Thank you very much for pointing this out. I did not mean to insinuate that the Rainforest Alliance’s certification program is in any way ‘bad,’ it just follows a different set of standards than the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center’s shade coffee certification program. For instance, the Rainforest Alliance program does not require that the coffee be grown organically, and allows for farms to be certified as ‘shade grown’ in areas where the original ecosystem was not necessarily a forest (which can result in coffee plantations ‘shaded’ by a monoculture of trees), tactics the organization uses to gain a broader support from farmers that may be less likely to accept these standards. The SMBC certification process on the other hand requires farmers first to cultivate coffee organically, as well as levies fees on the roasters and retailers (not just the farmers) to provide research funds to the institute’s Migratory Bird Center.

From a bird conservation standpoint, the SMBC program is a better program, as it promotes rustic shade coffee plantations (which have much higher levels of biodiversity than other types of shade plantations) more so than the Rainforest Alliance’s program.

For more information, visit http://shadecoffee.org/shadecoffee/BuyCoffee/CoffeeCertification.aspx or http://nationalzoo.si.edu/ConservationAndScience/MigratoryBirds/Coffee/certification_evaluation.cfm (I do realize that the last link comes directly from the SMBC website, yet the article itself is citing research from a peer reviewed journal).

Thanks for your concern!

By: Diane

Diane — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 14:33:18 +0000

Thanks for bringing attention to the issue of Volcan Baru National Park. But your comment about the Rainforest Alliance Certified standards is bothersome. Why would you say that? FYI: the Rainforest Alliance is a member of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance; many certification organizations are not.