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What is Bird Friendly Coffee?

No other certification guarantees that every bean is produced organically and under high-quality shade. This seal of approval ensures tropical “agroforests” are preserved and migratory birds find a safe haven when they travel from your backyard to those far-away farms producing the beans you so enjoy every morning.

Migratory Birds and Shade Grown Coffee - What’s the Connection?

  • Deforestation of tropical forests is rapidly destroying migratory bird habitats.
  • Shaded coffee plantations support more migratory birds than any other agricultural practice.
  • Shaded coffee plantations are often the last refuge for forest-adapted animals.
  • Shade grown coffee presents a tremendous opportunity for both cconservation and economic gain.

What Makes Smithsonian Bird Friendly Coffee Different?

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center has developed the only 100% organic and shade-grown coffee certification available. Bird Friendly coffee is unique among coffees in that it insists on:

  • A history of, and ongoing commitment to, standards based on science.
  • Organic certification as a prerequisite for growers seeking Bird Friendly certification.
Bird Friendly logo
Bird Friendly logo

Bird Friendly Certified

Consider this: In the time it takes you to drink one cup of coffee, acres of tropical forests are destroyed! Cup after cup, acres upon acres - gone! And as the forests are destroyed, so too are the birds and wildlife that depend upon them!

In addition to deforestation, over 5 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually in agricultural, forest and land management, as well as in lawn, garden, park and sports maintenance. In the United States alone, over 1.2 billion pounds of pesticides are used annually. The impact from these chemicals on birds, fish and wildlife is unimaginable.

Native and migratory birds are Increasingly dependent upon shade grown coffee farms for food and shelter. The bird friendly coffee farms only harvest coffee from trees planted under the canopy of existing forests. Buying shade grown, organic coffee stamped with the “Bird Friendly” seal off approval not only helps protect wildlife habitats, it also discourages the clearing of forests for development of new coffee farms.

The Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center (SMBC) encourages the production of shade-grown coffee, and the conservation of migratory birds, through its “Bird Friendly®” seal of approval for coffee growers and roasters.

> Learn More: Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center