In 1972, new hybrid varieties of coffee were developed to help increase production of the valuable crop. These new varieties produced significantly more coffee beans, were smaller and easier to harvest, and produced best in direct sunlight.

Many growers cut their shade trees and switched to the new varieties. Of the 6 million acres of coffee lands, 60% have been stripped of shade trees since 1972. Only the small, low-tech farms, often too poor to afford chemicals, preserved their shade trees.

Unfortunately, the new varieties of “sun” coffee came with an additional cost: the hybrids were dependent on high doses of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. Soil erosion, water runoff, and soil depletion caused producers to clear vast tracts of rainforest for new soil to plant, and it became apparent that this new method of growing coffee was unsustainable.