Their habitat is shrinking every day. The rainforests where they reproduce are chopped to make coffee fields. The wetlands where they eat are converted for rice farming. By our food and trade choices, these songbirds are losing their homes. Not only are songbirds affected, but so are the people who live in these ecosystems.
People also lose sources of clean water when wetlands, or nature's filters, are destroyed.
In the long run, the demand for inexpensive food through international trade may result in major environmental loss. These ecological costs may hurt rather than help the long-term economic development of poorer countries. There are alternatives to food produced in this way. Coffee can be grown without destroying rainforests. Rice can be grown without destroying wetlands.