There seem to be plenty of people who are unable to get started in the morning without their first cup of coffee. Any coffee lover will agree that it's not just that first cup that tastes best, it's the first sip of the first cup.

Many of us are addicted to coffee. I know that I am. Someone told me it was hard to kick this habit. Frankly, I do not want to kick it. Let this be my worst vice!

It used to be that this was a cheap addiction, at around 50 cents per cup, with a free refill. Today, coffee junkies pay $3.50 for what I really think is the same darn cup of coffee at upscale coffee bars. Maybe the stuff tastes a little better and a little fresher, but seven times better? Come on!

Now that coffee has become chic, it was only a matter of time before certain kinds of coffee would stand out as being politically correct. Enter Shade Grown Coffee. Shade grown coffee is politically correct coffee. The buzz is just starting about this breed of coffee. Starbucks and the Audubon Society are already talking about this benevolent bean.

As it turns out, shade grown coffee is the environmentally friendly alternative to open field coffee. But, while we are just now starting to talk about shade grown coffee as the "better" kind of coffee, there is nothing new about shade grown coffee. In fact, it used to be that much of the produced coffee was shade grown. Its evil cousin, sun grown coffee, is the newcomer to the block.

Traditionally, coffee has been grown in the shade. This method of production works well for coffee growers and it also works well for migratory birds. Migratory birds will stop and take cover within the coffee plants. These bird refuge areas have become increasingly important in light of the diminishing rain forests. While shade grown coffee is desirable for a variety of reasons, the reason that stands out is that this method preserves migratory bird habitats.

In recent years coffee producers have learned how to increase their yield. They have learned that by planting in full sun, and applying chemical fertilizers and pesticides, yields will increase. As yields increase, the bird habitats decrease. Of course, the chemicals employed in the process are not that helpful either.

The Rainforest Alliance, a New York-based organization, is now issuing its ECO-OK seal to various coffee products. To qualify, coffee must be grown in an environmentally friendly manner and in safe working conditions. In Seattle, the birth place of coffee bars, roasters, retailers and importers have formed the Northwest Shade Campaign in order to increase awareness of this issue.

In the United States, we drink a large percentage of the world's produced coffee. Consumers can always affect a change if they insist that merchants sell just what they want to buy. Coffee drinkers who are concerned about protecting migratory birds can insist that the national coffee bars and supermarkets that provide them with their weekly "fix" only sell shade grown coffee.

You will recall the stories several years ago which revealed that dolphins were being killed as a result of tuna fishing. This led to the "dolphin-free" tuna consumers movement, which would appear to have had an impact-- at least a social awareness impact. Shade tree coffee activists can insist on similar measures.

If it is true that we are what we eat, then it follows that we are what we drink. Let us, therefore, drink and insist upon shade grown coffee.

Published: November 26, 1999

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

Editor's Note: This article reflects the opinions of Stuart Lieberman only and not necessarily the views of this or any other publication, organization or Website owner.

Stuart Lieberman, Esq. writes about environmental issues. He was a New Jersey Deputy Attorney General assigned to the State Department of Environmental Protection from 1986 to 1990. Currently he is a shareholder in the environmental law firm of Lieberman & Blecher, P.C., located in Princeton, New Jersey. Stuart can be reached at slieberman@liebermanblecher.com.