CONSUMING HABITAT
            Where we live, “green” is all around us. The soil and climate of our own Midwest United States is one of the breadbaskets of the world. Other plants can grow only in the climate of the tropics and must be imported for our use.
One of these tropical plants gives us our morning cup of coffee. It takes all the fruit harvested in one year from one coffee bush to equal a pound of coffee as purchased by consumers. Coffee is second only to oil as the most widely traded commodity in the world.
Coffee was originally grown in the high elevations of Ethiopia.  Prior to the 1970s, all coffee was cultivated in the shade of forest trees. Coffee has become a major export of Latin America. With a goal to increasing production, varieties were developed that would thrive in direct sunlight. Some coffee farmers, realizing they can increase production and profit, clear forests and grow new high-yielding coffee plants under direct sun on plantations. Providing conditions for coffee grown in the sun has had devastating effects on the environment.
More farmers are now returning to traditional forested coffee farms that are managed ecosystems that provide habitat for thousands of migratory songbirds that we enjoy each summer season in the United States. Coffee can be grown in the shade of tropical rain forests that protect biodiversity – mammals and other living creatures. Forested watersheds supply fresh water for agriculture and coastal fisheries. Marketing through fair trade organizations increases farmer profit.
Another product, the prized palm oil, appears in detergent, soap, cooking oil, bakery products, margarine, candy bars, cosmetics, and, increasingly, in biofuels. To meet world demand for palm oil, farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia are clearing and burning rain forests. Carbon is being added to the atmosphere and the habitat of many endangered species, including the orangutan, is being destroyed.
“Now, a Malaysian-based network of 278 banks, nongovernmental organizations, and companies is pushing to end the destruction by adopting more ecofriendly standards … Since forming in 2004, the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has signed up high-profile multinational corporations … The maker of Girl Scout Cookies, ABC Bakers, has joined, too. The RSPO certified its first “green” [palm oil] batches a year ago, and now accounts for 1.4 million tons, or 3 percent of the world supply of crude palm oil.” The Christian Science Monitor, August 23, 2009.
As consumers, we can make a statement on behalf of conservation by looking for coffee whose packaging indicates it is “organic” or “shade-grown” or “fair-traded” or otherwise environmentally friendly. The extra cost is an investment in conservation. Knowledge of the source of the palm oil in the products we buy is not readily available. Whenever we know, we can be sure to buy from responsible companies.

Della Moen, Earth Team Volunteer, NRCS/Stephenson Soil and Water Conservation District, an equal opportunity provider and employer, 08/19/09 (for publication on 08/29/09 in the Journal Standard, Freeport, Illinois) Della can be reached at info@stephensonswcd.org