Conscious Choice: Eco Café Opens at Brookfield Zoo

June 2001

Eco Café Opens at Brookfield Zoo

by Jennifer Grant

Despite a rainy start to the day, the opening of Brookfield Zoo’s Eco Café on Earth Day resembled a small street fair, abundant with good cheer.

Daffodils stood on forest green tablecloths. Outstretched hands accepted ice cream bars, popcorn, and organic hot dogs. Under canopies, merchants stood behind tables laden with information and samples of their products. They were eager teachers, informing passers-by about the merits of shade-grown coffee, the dangers of antibiotics and pesticides in the food supply, and the pleasure of jam made from ripe, organic fruits.

"It makes so much sense that the zoo would do this, given their commitment to the Earth and to promoting a healthy relationship between people and nature," Mary Lou Torrison said.

Torrison is Midwest regional marketing director for Whole Foods Market; Whole Foods partnered with the zoo to create Eco Café.

At the ribbon cutting ceremony, Torrison was given the scissors and did the honors, cutting a yellow ribbon interwoven with white paper plates.

She and Brookfield Zoo director Dr. George Rabb gave brief statements prior to opening the café.

"We hope that the Eco Cafe will appeal to the growing number of our guests who are bringing organic and natural foods into their homes," Rabb said. Rabb hopes that zoo guests who are not yet "into" natural foods will be introduced to them at the Eco Café. He noted that holding the grand opening of the Eco Café on Earth Day was a fitting celebration. One of the zoo’s goals, he said, is to act as a model citizen for its guests.

Brookfield’s other Earth-friendly efforts include the zoo’s widespread use of recycled paper products, as well as the use of flooring and benches made of recycled plastic and rubber. The zoo’s water efficiency team has helped the zoo save more than 40 million gallons of water annually. Its compost facility converts animal and plant waste for use in landscaping and has reduced the zoo’s landfill waste by more than 50 percent. And its Motor Safari trams use cleaner-burning natural gas.

The Eco Café inhabits an aesthetically pleasing space. The refreshment stand itself is an appealing wooden structure decorated with the simple line drawings and clean typeface characteristic of Whole Foods Market. Staff wear t-shirts made of organically grown cotton, benches are made of recycled plastic, and paper goods are unbleached.

Even the cleaning products at the cafe are eco-friendly. John Vlahakis, president and founder of Earth Friendly Products, was on hand to educate customers about his wares. Earth Friendly Products, he said, are derived from plentiful natural resources and do not contain chlorine. They are not tested on animals and do not use animal ingredients. The company actively supports animal rights and vegetarian groups including Eating with Consciousness and the Chicago Vegetarian Society. "We do small things that we hope will grow larger in scale and contribute to a healthier planet," Vlahakis said, as he distributed free samples of his Dishmate dishwashing liquid, stain and odor remover, and Orange Plus, a concentrated all-purpose cleaner.

The decor has a noble purpose, as well. Scattered on the outside walls are oversized postcard-like plaques, each bearing information about the café. One "Eco Café Fact" explains the value of biodegradable cleaning products. Another reports that the café is constructed with double-panel windows for energy efficiency. On long summer afternoons, as zoo guests wait in line for a Cascadian Farms ice cream bar, their eyes may rest on one of these postcards, perhaps learning about an important way that they can protect the environment.

The food at Eco Café is, of course, mostly natural and/or organic and includes chili by Amy’s Kitchen and chocolate bars from Newman’s Own Organics. It sells Organic Valley’s hot dogs, produced without pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, nitrates, nitrites, or preservatives. The café also offers nachos replete with sour cream and cheese made by Organic Valley.

"You are what you eat," Wayne Shaker said with a shrug, after digressing to list the damaging health effects of antibiotics and pesticides in the food supply. Shaker, the Midwest Sales Manager for Organic Valley, noted that it is fitting that an internationally renowned zoo like Brookfield offers guests the option of buying meats and dairy products that are humanely produced.

Organic Valley has a stellar reputation regarding the ethical and humane treatment of farm animals. Their farmers often go beyond the standards outlined by the National Organic Program, which include giving farm animals adequate feed, nutritional supplements, sanitary housing, and freedom of movement. Many Organic Valley farmers choose, for example, to accept less than fifty pounds of milk per cow per day, in contrast to conventional farmers, who usually expect seventy. This practice reduces stress on the cows and lengthens their lives. The Eco Café hopes to publicize the message that the foods we choose not only affect our health, but the health of other creatures.

Those other creatures include the birds who thrive where shade-grown coffee is cultivated. Three Brookfield Zoo volunteers invited zoo guests to stop at their tent and compare the aromas of coffee beans in two identical glass jars. One was shade-grown, and one was grown in the sun. The two seemed indistinguishable, but, as the volunteers noted, the sun-grown coffee beans represent a coffee-growing practice that is detrimental for the environment, obliterating the canopy of tropical forests, a crucial habitat for birds.

As world coffee consumption expands, some coffee growers have converted their plantations from forested farms to sun farms. Sun farms not only destroy a natural habitat for birds, but also necessitate the increased use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. "People around here put out seed for birds. They’re thrilled to have birds at their bird feeders. But, when the birds leave the backyard for the winter, you might forget about them," zoo volunteer Dawn Brushammar said.

It is during the winter months that many North American migratory birds attempt to return to tropical forests. These include hummingbirds, swallows, and orioles. The birds require the forest canopy as well as nectar, insects, and other food sources to survive. As more coffee growers increase productivity by cutting down the forests, migratory bird populations decline.

The Eco Café serves Allegro Handcrafted Coffee’s gourmet, shade-grown coffee. Shade-grown coffees also are sold at Whole Foods Market — and at Starbucks, "if you ask for it," one volunteer clarified.

Like the zoo’s other eateries, Eco Café offers snack foods including hot dogs, nachos, ice cream, and cookies. In contrast to the others, however, Eco Café’s products are made primarily by companies with strong commitments to the environment. Perhaps the most exceptional snack options at the Eco Café include chocolate-covered bananas from Diana’s Bananas and several varieties of pretzels by Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels. Diana’s Bananas are available at Whole Foods Market as well as several other local grocery stores; they are splendid. The chocolate-dipped bananas have been in residence at Brookfield Zoo for a few years. "We’ve had a cart by the ape house!" Bob Carmody said with a laugh.

The other distinctive offering from Eco Café is Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels. Quite unlike their somewhat rubbery counterparts at other zoo venues (complete with chunks of salt the approximate size of dice), Kim and Scott’s are truly delicious. With varieties including mozzarella pizza, cheddar herb, and cheddar jalapeño, Kim and Scott’s Pretzels are more like focaccia in a pretzel shape than the soft pretzels to which Americans are accustomed. They and Diana’s Bananas deliver the all-natural and "good for you junk food" promise to which supporters of the Eco Café aspire.

That the café serves as a role model for earth-friendly items and practices is significant. It is a bright, well-designed place and the eco-friendliness of the offerings and structure itself is not to be contested. The café does, however, offer a few items that aren’t natural or organic, including soft drinks (required by a zoo-wide contract with the vendor) and ICEEs (a cup of crushed ice mixed with a syrup containing corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, and, depending on the flavor, vegetable oil).

It’s also unfortunate that the menu selection isn’t broader. Perhaps, in the future, the eco café could offer a majority of foods not found anywhere else at the zoo. A cup of organic yogurt, perhaps. Or a fresh salad made of organic, baby greens. A pocket sandwich from Amy’s Kitchen, maybe spinach and feta. What about a selection of fresh, pesticide-free fruit? Meatless hot dogs and burgers? Juice boxes containing organic fruit juice or soy milk?

Ah, well. I suppose they are taking it one bite at a time. Still, the overall quality of most products at the Eco Café cannot be contested. The café is a welcome advance over most tourist-attraction fare, and the zoo should be lauded, even rewarded, for its efforts to establish services that are eco-friendly.

Resources

Brookfield Zoo

Organic Jams

Whole Foods Market

Organic Valley

Earth Friendly Products (cleaning products)

Allegro Handcrafted Coffee

Kim and Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels

Ben and Jerry’s

Other related Web sites:

Amy’s Kitchen

Poppie’s Dough

Cascadian Farm

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