rainforest tea
World of Tea: Global Tea Plantations
The legendary origins of tea are attributed to Shennong, a Chinese Emperor who ruled about 5,000 years ago. In Chinese mythology, Shennong was said to have brought the skill of agriculture to man, and is also often heralded as a great scientist who was skilled in alchemy as well as the rendering of medicine. It stands to reason that Shennong would be honoured as the father of tea, as it is commonly held that the drink has properties that are beneficial to the body as well as the soul.
A lot has changed in the last 5,000 years. Over 250 years ago, in 1836, the British founded the first tea plantations in India. Now tea plantations exist around the world, with the highest concentration of plantations present in China and India. Because tea production has become an economically viable industry, organisations such as the Rainforest Alliance have taken note. The goal of the Rainforest Alliance is to reduce the environmental impact of companies that rely on land to produce their goods. For the last 20 years, the Rainforest Alliance has put into place regulations that aid companies and individuals in sustainable farming. In 2007, the Rainforest Alliance began a tea certification programme, with its first certified tea farm being the Unilever owned Lipton Tea Gardens in Kericho, Kenya.
Because tea production is advantageous to so many, not only to the consumers who benefit from the drink itself but also to the millions of labourers employed by tea plantations worldwide, the Rainforest Alliance has put a great deal into ensuring that the tea industry is able to continue providing employment opportunities while minimising the impact on society and the environment.
The Rainforest Alliance certifies tea growers based on a series of audits that determine whether or not the plantations are adhering to the rigorous guidelines required. The Sustainable Agriculture Network standards are applied to tea plantations, and any farm that wishes to be certified must meet 80 percent of the standards listed, excepting in the cases of ‘critical criteria,’ which must be met in full. In part, each plantation must put in place a social and environmental management system, must not mix certified and non-certified products, must identify existing natural ecosystems and take steps to protect or restore them, must keep and maintain an inventory of natural wildlife, must have a water conservation programme, and must have in place a fair treatment programme for all workers.
Lipton has made a commitment to sustainable agriculture, and in 2009 will be placing the Rainforest Alliance seal on two of its tea brands. Currently the company has received certification on about half of its tea plantations, those in Kenya and Tanzania, and plans to achieve certification on all tea plantations by 2015. By leading the way with sustainable agriculture, the largest tea brand in the world may well be setting a trend in tea production that will lead to more environmentally friendly tea plantations, enabling the world to enjoy tea for another 5,000 years.
About the Author
This article is written by Hugh McInnes on the topic of the World of Tea, specifically the various tea plantations around the world and the positive impact that the Rainforest Alliance project has had on the sustainability development of the environment.
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