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What is shade-grown coffee and why should I care about it?
In nature, coffee is a shade-growing shrub that flourishes under forested
canopies. Countless generations have grown coffee shrubs under trees,
a process that does not have a particularly high impact on the environment.
In recent decades, these traditional coffee-growing methods have been
abandoned by many of the larger plantations in favor of treeless,
sun-grown coffee fields. 
Farmers have found that sun-grown coffee often produces greater yields in less time than the traditional growing methods. Of course, the obvious prerequisite for these sunny fields is large-scale deforestation. This has led to significant habitat destruction in some of the world's most biodiverse areas.
Deforestation has had noticeably negative consequences on many species of migratory birds-something that has captured the attention of many North American environmentalists. Sun-grown coffee plantations have impacted the migratory habits of hummingbirds, swallows, warblers, orioles, tanagers and other species that American nature lovers have come to appreciate. For this reason, groups like the Audubon Society have campaigned in favor of shade-grown coffee.
The effects of sun-grown coffee farming do not just impact birds, however. Sun-grown coffee plantations typically require the use of harmful pesticides in order to produce high yields. In countries where environmental and labor laws are lax, this can have particularly devastating health effects on the people who work the fields.
The deforestation that sun-grown coffee requires also has an impact on soil runoff, with the potential of degrading the quality of local drinking water supplies. And beyond a doubt, the traditional practices of indigenous peoples are next to impossible on huge, factory farms.
If your love for people and birds isn't enough to move you to favor traditional growing techniques, perhaps your love of coffee is. Many coffee enthusiasts also claim that sun-grown coffee is much more bitter and acidic than the natural taste of its shade-grown counterpart.
What do you want to know about? Send your environmental questions
to "Tell Me"
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