Seattle Press on Line - Have Another Cup of Coffee, Save Another Songbird

Sandy Bradley's Potluck

Have Another Cup of Coffee, Save Another Songbird

By Sandy Bradley

Apr 18, 2001 -- As I weed out environmentally unsound practices from my daily life, I mourn the loss of the relaxing soak in the hot tub. What next! Don't I have any vices that are deliciously bad for me, yet good for the earth? Even coffee is under fire because rainforests are cut down to plant coffee trees in full sun.

Songbird Foundation to the rescue! Some (especially delicious) coffee is grown in the protective shade of the rainforests. Shade grown coffee is not a monoculture crop, and pesticides are not needed so most shade grown coffee is organic. Indeed, nearly all the rainforest left in Mexico owes its existence to shade-grown coffee farmers.

The Songbird Foundation, founded by songwriter Danny O'Keefe, is working to get the word out so we, the public, will increase the demand for shade-grown coffee. Coffee is the second most valuable internationally traded commodity in the world, and its production has a huge environmental and social impact. Even if it means drinking another cup of java, I'll just do it, if only for the sake of saving the forests. Heck, it's worth the sacrifice, but it's a perfect place to put pressure on the world market to do the right thing.

Drinking shade grown coffee isn't the only thing you can do to help! You can also listen to great music! Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne and Keb' Mo', Danny O'Keefe and host Tom Robbins are joining forces for a concert extravaganza Friday, June 1, at 8 p.m. at Seattle's Paramount Theatre as a benefit for the Songbird Foundation. The concert serves as the grand finale for the Foundation's Sustainable Coffee Campaign, in partnership with the Northwest Shade Coffee Campaign, TransFair USA and other organizations. Expect shade-grown coffee in the lobby.

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