Bird Friendly Coffee

One of my New Year's resolutions was to give up my nasty Diet Soda habit (just 1 per day) in favor of a cup of coffee. It's weird to resolve to start drinking coffee when most often people attempt to quit drinking coffee, but that's what I did. Why? Mostly because the health benefits of coffee are being extolled across the Internet...and I've yet to hear one good thing about Diet Soda.

Anyways, I will be posting about coffee this week, as I explore local options. I'm starting off with some info on "Bird Friendly Coffee" since I just heard of it for the first time today, and I haven't posted any bird news in a while!

From the Smithsonian National Zoological Park:

On a global scale, more than five billion pounds of conventional pesticides are used annually for agricultural purposes, forest and rangeland management, and disease control, as well as in homes, and on lawns, gardens, golf courses, and other private properties. Twenty percent of this total volume, or 1.2 billion pounds, is used in the United States alone. What does this massive chemical dousing of the Earth mean for the health of the environment?

Shade-grown organic coffee plantations stamped with the "Bird Friendly®" seal of approval play a key role in the conservation of our global environment and of migratory birds that find sanctuary in their forest-like environments.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) encourages the production of shade-grown coffee, and the conservation of migratory birds, through its "Bird Friendly®" seal of approval.

The Smithsonian site goes on to list some benefits of bird friendly coffee (which is usually also organic and/or fair trade). There is also tool to help you locate a bird friendly coffee retailer in your area. I wasn't able to find any in Tennessee, Mississippi, or Arkansas! It says all National Zoo Stores sell bird-friendly coffee, but the Memphis Zoo gift shop does not.

Check out Bird on a Wire's handy local coffee shop guide to see who sells bird friendly coffee in town.