Anna Beryozkina reports
Coffee is the fuel that propels Americans through the daily rituals of urban life. Americans drink their coffee, like their Cokes, in super size portions. Whether at home on the go or in a trendy café, Americans consume more than 330 million cups a day and account for one-fifth of the world's coffee consumption. Very few, however, wonder or care where that magic stimulant comes from or who grew it.
Growing demand has made coffee — the second largest commodity after oil — the staple crop for farmers all over the world. On the surface, then, the laws of supply and demand seem to be in check. The problem: large-scale corporations and companies hoard all the profits. Small-scale cooperatives and independent farmers continue to fight a constant struggle against hunger and poverty. Until recently, farmers had no choice but to sell their beans to "coyotes" or middlemen who set their own prices. In fact, the "coffee crisis" of the past four years has brought the world market price of coffee to a 30-year low: $0.42 in 2001. The crisis has affected 25 million coffee growers in more than 50 countries.
With initial prices low and additional fees to middlemen, farmers end up with a mere $0.20 profit with which they can not even hope to cover their production costs, let alone to feed and raise a family. Many farmers are thus forced to abandon their farms and turn to more profitable crops such as cocoa, which is often used for cocaine, or to migrate to the already impoverished city slums. Free trade agreements aiming to liberate farmers from export and import restrictions have only worked to further impoverish and isolate the small farmer by letting mega-corporations come in and take over production.
With roots going back to the 1940s, fair trade is a simple concept: paying people a decent price for what they produce. There is nothing really revolutionary in this common sense proposition. Workers in Europe and North America have been fighting for a minimum wage and better working conditions since the industrial revolution.
Fair trade certified coffee assures that the coffee beans were bought at a guaranteed price of $1.26 per pound (or 5 cents above the prevailing market price if it is above $1.26) and $1.41 per pound for certified organic coffee (or 15 cents above the market price). Fair trade certification means that direct trade, i.e. elimination of middlemen, takes place between farmer cooperatives and the wholesale buyer. In addition, a stable, long-term relationship is guaranteed which gives farmers assurance for the next harvest and provides incentives for quality improvement.
Farmers who sell to fair trade companies must belong to cooperatives or associations that are transparent and democratically-controlled by their members. Upon request, companies must provide pre-harvest financing or credit (up to 60 percent of each order) to the farmers — a common practice in the US but one that is seldom applied in relation to developing countries. With the fair trade contract, minimum environmental standards must be met and a plan established to work towards organic production. Most importantly, farmers are encouraged to invest in their communities and receive an annual premium which they are required to apply to educational, technological, or social developments.
Fair Trade, therefore, merely provides the respect and protection usually given to all farmers in developed nations. Neither a charity nor a missionary movement, fair trade is built on human trust. A living wage brings food to the table and allows children to go to school while still satisfying the cravings of millions of coffee drinkers. An obvious question comes to mind: Why doesn't everyone participate in fair trade? The simple answer: profit. With the market price of coffee unchecked and plummeting by the second, why should huge corporations like Starbucks spend $1.26 instead of $0.70/lb?
The strategy of fair trade organizations is to increase demand for Fair Trade coffee which will then force companies to switch their policies. Europe has long taken the lead in this sense with more than 100 fair trade companies in 18 different countries and has expanded their product line from coffee to include tea, bananas, honey, chocolate, sugar, and orange juice. In the US, Equal Exchange pioneered the Fair Trade coffee movement in 1986, and TransFair USA, the Fair Trade certified label, was created in 1999. Since then, Fair Trade certified coffee imports have almost doubled each year. Student organizations, protests, and press coverage have helped to spread the message of fair trade and to pressure corporations such as Starbucks and Proctor & Gamble to introduce Fair Trade Certified coffee in at least some of their product lines.
While a complete switch to fair trade seems a far-off ideal, consumers can easily help small farmers when shopping for their cup of joe by asking one question: Do you carry Fair Trade Certified coffee?
Reporter Seeks Fair Trade Cup of Coffee
For this report, I was asked to find five coffee shops that sell fair trade coffee in the major cities of Los Angeles, Miami, New York, and Chicago. This proved to be a much harder task than it would initially seem. My first approach was to systematically phone all the listed coffee shops in the city, which proved to be a disheartening job. Ninety-nine percent of the managers and sales-people I spoke with did not even acknowledge the existence of the words "fair trade coffee" in the English language. Organic seemed to be a more familiar word, but even then, I only received a more definite "No" in response. I quickly changed my tactics. I had better luck finding fair trade coffee in firmly established gourmet coffee shops in well-to-do, trendy neighborhoods. Even then, my search was only fruitful in New York City and Chicago.
Perhaps if I devoted extra time to a more comprehensive search I would be able to find some shops that are out of the loop. But the trend seems clear. The demand for fair trade coffee comes not from the average American, but rather from the middle and upper classes who wish to boast of their "ethical" consumerism.
Thus, the challenge is clear and hopefully the picture not so bleak. Education about the benefits and implications of fair trade products should be distributed through any means possible and to all layers of the population.
Coffee Shops that sell Fair Trade Certified coffee:
- Starbucks, 430 N Clark St,(312) 670-3920
- Atomix, 1957 W. Chicago Ave, (312) 666-2649
- Bean Caffe, 3139 N. Lincoln Ave #209, (773) 529-4548
- Caribou Coffee Co, 3300 N Broadway St, (773) 477-3695
- Picnic NYC Inc, 187 Chrystie St,(212) 420-0028
- Starbucks, 21 East 8th Street, (212) 982-7502
- Orens Daily Roast Coffees & Teas, 985 Lexington Avenue @ 71st street
- Dean & Deluca Espresso Inc, 560 Broadway, (212) 226-6800
- Empire Coffee & Tea Co Inc, 568 9th Ave, (212) 268-1220
Chicago
New York
Anna Beryozkina is an intern for the WHY Reporter.
