A Little Bit of a Head Scratcher

This is a "good news... but" story.

It was announced today that all the coffee served in McDonalds restaurants in the UK and Ireland will be 100% Rainforest Alliance certified by the US based not for profit organization: Rainforest Alliance

Only farms that meet specific, independent and verifiable standards balancing all aspects of production, including protecting the environment, the rights and welfare of workers and the interest of coffee-growing communities are awarded Rainforest Alliance certification.

This means that the beans used to brew more then 143,000 cups of coffee per day, or the equivilant of 1.8 million pounds of coffee beans per year, will directly support farmers and growers that are practicing sustainable farming!

While I applaud this decision, it raises the question - what about the North American market? I took a look on the McDonald's site and saw no mention of a similar action in either the US or Canada. Hmm...