We are in an age of one of the great extinctions on Earth, this time caused by us, Homo Sapiens, the most dangerous creatures the planet has ever known. I don't know if species that are already endangered can be saved, but I do believe there is still time to save the birds and other creatures that depend on the forests of Latin America. By growing coffee under a canopy of diverse trees, the soil and water benefit, the birds and other creatures dependent on the shade habitat benefit, and, ultimately, people benefit from not having their resources destroyed and poisoned through over use of chemicals. By educating the coffee consumers about the long-term benefits of sustainably grown coffee, they come to realize the importance of coffee in protecting the environment. This empowers them and awakens in them an understanding that environmental issues are essentially issues of consumption.
Coffee is the commodity of dialogue.
We must begin a universal dialogue about our consumption patterns because all of the great environmental problems eventually come back to consumption issues. The Songbird Foundation was created to make the public aware of how great a loss we will suffer if we cannot begin to practice sustainable agriculture. Over the last 50 years we have become increasingly dependent on the use of highly toxic chemicals to increase agricultural yields. All of us carry residue of those toxic chemicals within us. We are not only poisoning the Earth, but we are poisoning ourselves.