Thanks, Dan, for raising this important issue once again. Only about 20 million pounds of shade-grown sold--out of 13 BILLION pounds per year around the globe really is a drop in the bucket (and over 4 billion in the U.S.)! I certainly hope we do start to flex our bird-friendly muscles. Also I didn't know that shade-coffee plantations were the most bird-friendly and biodiverse agricultural land type. --Dev Joslin Daniel Moss wrote: > In the latest Audubon magazine, there's an article by Paul Tolme on shade-g= > rown coffee and it's importance to conserving bird (and other wildlife) hab= > itat. Here's the link: > http://magazine.audubon.org/features0408/mexico.html > > I've pulled out a few paragraphs that I thought were interesting and drive = > the point home: > > "For Americans, who consume a third of the world's coffee=E2=80=94300 milli= > on cups a day=E2=80=94an important choice is brewing: Continue to drink cof= > fee without considering how it is grown, or deliberately seek out brands th= > at are grown in ways that protect migratory birds and other species. " > > "Shade-coffee farms shelter more birds than any other agricultural landscap= > e; only untamed tropical forests have greater diversity." > > "For now, shade-grown coffee is still a niche market. Roughly 19 million po= > unds of Rainforest Alliance=E2=80=93certified coffee, and an additional 3.7= > 5 million pounds that is certified Bird Friendly, were shipped this past ye= > ar. Those are collectively but a drip in the carafe of global production=E2= > =80=94roughly 13 billion pounds a year. One explanation is that conservatio= > n-minded coffee drinkers "haven't yet flexed their muscles," says Wille. "I= > f they do, their potential to change the coffee business is tremendous." To= > be sure, the 71 million Americans who consider themselves birdwatchers rep= > resent a huge, untapped market." > > I hope that all Tennessee coffee-loving bird watchers have flexed their buy= > ing power and switched over. The price is a little higher, but well worth i= > t! > =20 > Daniel Moss > Clarksville, TN > =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== > > The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with > first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. > ----------------------------------------------------- > ---------------------------------------------------- > To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: > tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx > ----------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, send email to: > tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > > TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society > Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) > endorse the views or opinions expressed > by the members of this discussion group. > > Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN > wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society > web site at http://www.tnbirds.org > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp > * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * > > ======================================================== =================NOTES TO SUBSCRIBER===================== The TN-Bird Net requires you to sign your messages with first and last name, city (town) and state abbreviation. ----------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------- To post to this mailing list, simply send email to: tn-bird@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send email to: tn-bird-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx with 'unsubscribe' in the Subject field. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * TN-Bird Net is owned by the Tennessee Ornithological Society Neither the society(TOS) nor its moderator(s) endorse the views or opinions expressed by the members of this discussion group. Moderator: Wallace Coffey, Bristol, TN wallace@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Visit the Tennessee Ornithological Society web site at http://www.tnbirds.org * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Topographical Maps located at http://topozone.com/find.asp * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ========================================================