Jo Wieneke wrote:
>
> Hi all
> I'm not going to join in the vegie v carnivore debate but instead comment on
> two essentials consumed by both, and which can affect birdlife - coffee and
> wine. In an American journal recently I read an article on the benefits to
> birdlife of 'shade coffee' where coffee trees are grown among retained
> native vegetation. This was in contrast with coffee grown in plantations
> with little or no surrounding vegetation. Shade grown coffee is being
> promoted to birders in the US as it especially benefits those birds that
> spend the summer there and pass through central American countries on
> migration. Does anyone know if there are any brands of coffee sold in
> Australia that are shade grown? How about coffee grown in PNG?
>
> And the wine? Apparently the trend towards plastic corks is afffecting the
> cork industry in Portugal. Groves of cork trees which for centuries have
> attracted birdlife are being cleared and sold up for real estate. I think
> that Australia imports most if not all its cork from Portugal - so we'll be
> enjoying a few bottles of red ( with proper corks) at the forthcoming Birds
> Australia North Qld Group meeting/camp/AGM at Tinaroo as mentioned by Hugo.
Don't worry, all is not lost. I saw recently that the Portuguese have
finally acknowledged that cork taint is a real problem and are taking
steps to deal with it.
On the coffee front, does anyone know anything about the ecological
suitability of Australian grown coffee?
Laurie.
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