Rant: My morning coffee habit might be harming rainforests more than I knew.

I found out that many coffee farms clear forests to grow coffee that needs full sun (this hurts wildlife a lot). This causes soil to wash away and leaves the coffee plants exposed, so they don't last as long. We can choose coffee with shade-grown or bird-friendly certifications. Making this switch is easy and really helps, you know?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessicawilliams1d ago

It's wild how many products have hidden costs like that. You mentioned those certifications, which is a great start. How do you usually check if a coffee's "bird-friendly" label is the real deal, versus just marketing? In my experience, some brands use terms like "shade-grown" pretty loosely without the full certification.

the_lisa21h ago

@jessicawilliams, coffee certifications help but real change needs bigger actions like holding companies accountable, lol.

william_king9h ago

Bird Friendly coffee makes up less than 1% of global sales. That tiny share means most 'shade-grown' labels are just marketing fluff. So the_lisa, is holding companies accountable really going to change much?