22 years ago I discovered a very rare coffee that had an uniquely smooth texture and musky flavour which came from its quirky provenance. Civet Coffee, or 'Kopi Luwak' as it is widely known, is a predominantly Indonesian coffee made from coffee cherries that have been partially digested, the beans then excreted by a wild mongoose-like animal, the luwak.

Back when I discovered it, the droppings would be collected from the wild in limited quantities, which resulted in a highly prized, but entirely natural and traditional product. However, a rise in the demand for the coffee along with the huge price it commands – it sells for up to $100 per cup – means that wild civets are now being illegally poached in the jungle, cruelly constrained in cages or cramped enclosures, force-fed coffee cherries,leading to the hyper-caffeination, suffering and death of the defenceless wild luwaks to mass produce a 'luxury' coffee.

The Rainforest Alliance (RA) is one of the world's leading international coffee certification bodies. Their Code is determined by the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) of which RA is the by far the dominant member. RA certification assures the consumer that their product uphold high ethical and environmental standards. Up until now the SAN Code has included clear animal welfare clauses that have ensured that RA certified coffee estates cannot have enclosed or caged luwaks for kopi luwak production. However the current SAN code revision process proposes to soften the animal welfare provisions in such a way that caged kopi luwak production would no longer be outlawed.

 

This would be an extremely serious backward step for such an important international certification body. Coming at a time when there is an unprecedented level of international public opposition to caged kopi luwak production, when retailers such as Harrods and Selfridges have banned coffee from such sources and when UTZ Certification are actively working to include new animal welfare provisions in their code, it seems astonishing that SAN are proposing to modify their code in this way, and that RA have not apparently brought this problem to their attention until very recently.

 

It may be that this revision is an unintended consequence of SAN's desire to simplify their code. Fortunately, it's not too late: the second round of public consultation is underway until March 11th, so please sign this petition AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. You can also register your concern directly with SAN on: http://publicconsultation.sanstandards.org/

 

I know there is wide support for this to happen. I've conducted two successful campaigns on change.org, one to get Harrods to change their policy concerning kopi luwak – so successful that in fact I'm now working with Harrods to establish an independent certification for wild kopi luwak – and another to persuade UTZ to consider including animal welfare provisions in their code. To keep up this welcome momentum, it is essential that no certification organisation lets their guard down regarding this cruel practice. Animal welfare clauses should be strenthened, not weakened.

 Tony Wild

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Follow me on Twitter: @TonyVWild

 This petition is allied to my Facebook campaign 'Kopi Luwak: Cut the Crap"

https://www.facebook.com/kopiluwakcutthecrap