good coffee - Coffee Politics - Fair Trade Coffee

"Before you've finished your breakfast this morning, you'll have relied on half the world"
- Martin Luther King

Coffee and global change

After oil, coffee is the world’s second largest traded commodity. In 50 countries, 20 million farming families (60 to 80 million people) depend on coffee for their income. Every day, they tend the bushes, pick the berries, then depulp, dry and pack them, so that you can enjoy your daily hit of java. It takes 100 beans to make a cup, and a tree yields 4,000 beans a year, so if you drink two cups of coffee a day you will need 18 coffee trees devoted solely to you – and it’s five years before a tree is fully productive.
Behind the glitz of the trendy coffee houses, however, a terrible tragedy is unfolding. Since 1998, the world price of coffee has fallen by 50% to the lowest for 30 years, because of surplus production, and the collapse of the coffee marketing agreement that was in place until 1989. Growers who were getting $1.20 a pound in 1998 are now getting less than 50 cents (prices in US$); some earn as little as 10 cents. While the coffee-growers are struggling with terrible poverty, often earning less than $3 a day, Nestlé’s profits rose to $1 billion in 2001 ($2.7 million a day), which they attribute to "favourable commodity prices". Starbucks posted a 41% rise in profits in the first quarter of 2001, and Starbucks chairman, Howard Schultz, who earned $2.1 million in 2000, bought himself a $200 million stake in the Seattle SuperSonics basketball team.

The world’s coffee business is dominated by four large corporations – Proctor and Gamble (Fulgors), Philip Morris, Sara Lee and Nestlé, who control 60% of US coffee sales and 40% of the world market. 90% of the world’s coffee – the canned stuff that fills the supermarket shelves - is ‘technified’: it is grown under the full sun, requiring the destruction of the forest cover, and because the sun-baked soil quickly loses its fertility, it requires the constant use of pesticides and fertilizers. It gets worse: researchers at the University of Hawaii have developed a genetically engineered coffee tree, and started a business (Integrated Coffee Technologies Inc - www.integratedcoffee.com) to develop it. They have made the berries stop ripening just short of maturity. Once the whole field is ripe, the berries can be artificially ripened at the same time by a chemical spray, allowing them to be harvested mechanically – requiring less labour. The remaining 10% is grown for specialty consumers who care about the taste, and it is here that change is happening. Socially and environmentally conscious coffee drinkers who want their coffee grown without chemicals, and who want their growers to receive a decent price, can now buy Fair Trade certified coffee. (TransFair canada: www.transfair.ca TransFair USA: www.transfairusa.org)

This guarantees that the coffee is grown by small family farms and co-operatives in a way that is shade-grown and organic, and that the co-op receives a minimum $1.26 a pound ($1.41 for certified organic), plus access to financial and technical support to help them to avoid the middle-men and loan-sharks (known as ‘coyotes’) who prey on them. The Fair Trade logo gives you the assurance that a farm has been certified as fair trade. On Vancouver Island, the Salt Spring Roasting Company (www.saltspringroasting.com) imports certified Fair Trade coffee, and there are two importers (selling San Miguel and Ometepe coffee) who have trustworthy but not certified fair trade relationships with their growers. (www.levelground.com)

Fair Trade Coffee

What is fair trade coffee?

Fair trade coffee enables the producer to make higher profits by bypassing the coffee trader, or the middlemen.

Many coffee farmers receive prices for their harvest that can be less than the costs of production, forcing them into a cycle of poverty and debt. They are often forced to sell to middlemen who pay them half the market price, generally between 30-50 per pound.
Fair trade coffee sells for a minimum of $1.26 per pound.
This money goes directly to coffee farmers, not to predatory middlemen.
Fair Trade farmers are also insured access to credit at the beginning of the harvest season so they can support themselves during the "lean months" between harvests.
A typical Fair Trade farmer cultivates less than 3 hectares (7 acres) of coffee and harvests 1,000-3,000 pounds of unroasted coffee a year
More than 500,000 farmers around the world produce and sell more than 170 million pounds of coffee each year through the Fair Trade network. Over 100 fair trade coffee brands are sold worldwide in approximately 35,000 retail outlets (7,000 in the US).
About 85% of Fair Trade Certified coffee is shade grown and organic as small farmers have never had the money to purchase chemicals.
The first fair trade coffee label was started in 1998 in Holland under the name Max Havelaar and has since been followed by many others. In 1997, Fair Trade labelers formed an international umbrella group called Fair Trade Labeling Organizations (FLO) International, which defines the criteria for each product certified under the Fair Trade system, including coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar, honey, bananas and orange juice.

The Fair Trade myth

For years rich countries have bullied poor ones to open their doors to floods of cheap imports. Now they are using the World Trade Organisation to kick down the door altogether. In the past, most of today's most developed economies have used policies to protect their industries from foreign competition until they were big enough to survive without support. But now they are using the WTO to deny poor countries the same route to economic development.They hide behind the free trade argument that says if all trade restrictions like import tariffs and quotas were dropped each country would do what it does best and all would prosper.But this level playing field is a myth. Pitting fledgling industries in poor countries against big business overseas is like putting a rabbit in a cage with a tiger. There can only be one winner.The fair trade argument puts people at the centre of world trade. It says that trade rules should allow people to work themselves out of poverty by selling their products to rich countries and other developing countries at a decent price. They should also be able to protect their economies until such time as they are established enough to compete with the more developed countries.

In theory, WTO rules should remove trade barriers in rich countries while allowing poor countries to protect their markets until they are strong enough to compete. However, in practice rich countries use their power and influence to rig the rules in their favour – kicking down the doors to developing country markets and driving the poor deeper and deeper into poverty.

The fair trade movement

The Fair Trade movement has been one of the most powerful responses to the problems facing commodity producers. It gives consumers an opportunity to use their purchasing power to tilt th ease sales.e balance, however slightly, in favour of the poor. But Fair Trade alone can't address the crisis faced by the millions of small-scale farmers and producers whose livelihoods are threatened by low commodity prices and unfair competion from rich countries.

This can only be achieved by changing the unfair rules of world trade so that they work for small-scale producers as well as rich multinationals.

In the meantime, for hundreds of thousands of people, Fair Trade means the difference between a hand-to-mouth existence, and being able to plan for the future.

In the past decade, the Fair Trade movement has really taken off, as consumer awareness of - and indignation at - the treatment of producers in poor countries has increased. More retailers than ever are stocking Fair Trade goods, the number of products on offer continues to grow as demand increases, and more poor communities are feeling the benefits.

2006 will be a key year for trade

The World Trade Organization failed to finalize a “pro-development” deal on new trade rules at its Hong Kong meeting in December 2005. Rich countries betrayed their promises. They tried instead to keep their own harmful agricultural policies intact while stopping poor countries from deciding their own policies that would help build up their fledgling industries. Developing countries managed to fend off some of this assault – but it means that most of the big decisions on new rules will now be re-negotiated over the first half of 2006. There is still a chance to pressure rich countries to offer a fair deal that would help millions of the world’s poorest farmers earn a decent living.

Sustainability

Sustainable coffee is coffee grown in a manner that is kind to the environment and its people.

Here are some ways this might be done:

A sustainable farm gives back as much to the land and people as it receives. It seeks independence from non-renewable resources, it minimizes pollution, takes steps to care for the environment, and cares for its employees..

A sustainable farm will reuse coffee husks as heating fuel rather than cutting down trees. They will plant new trees for those used during heating, or implement pollution free coffee dryers such as the solar coffee dryer developed by Coffee Kids.

The farm will implement practices to minimize water consumption and to clean the water used. Water from the fermentation tanks should never be returned to rivers or lakes, but rather filtered naturally through the earth and then used for irrigation. Some excellent farms such as Agribahia in Bahia, Brazil ferment pulped coffees without water for a short time before sending the coffee to demucilating machines. This cuts down on water waste while allowing them to consistently provide some of Brazil's best coffees.

A sustainable farm will replace the natural nutrients of the land by spreading fertilizers and organic matter (composted coffee pulp) under the coffee trees and between the coffee trees. This type of fertilization has been found to increase yields over time and produce a more uniform and natural mineral content in the ground.

A sustainable farm will also engage in practices such as shade growing, biodiversification, and organic farming. They promote education programs, provide medical care for workers, and provide decent wages and working conditions for their employees.

Shade Grown Coffee

Many songbirds spend the spring and summer months in North America. But these birds winter in the tropical forests of Latin America. As these forests are being increasingly cleared away, for use in agriculture and for human settlements, many songbirds have been finding refuge in traditional "shade coffee" farms -- where coffee shrubs are planted as part of the understory of fruit trees, banana trees, and hardwood trees. By the early 1900s, many shade coffee plantations were thriving. Today these plantations host a wide variety of wildlife.

But starting in the 1970s, farmers came under increasing pressure to plant coffee in the open sun. Their coffee yields increased with the use of chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides. In open sun coffee plantations, there's little place for wildlife. Meanwhile, many traditional shade coffee farms are still holding on. They often practice "eco-friendly" coffee cultivation -- and they provide a home for wildlife, especially songbirds.

Sun Grown Coffee

Starbucks on shade grown coffee

"Much of the world's coffee has traditionally been grown in shaded environments. Shade trees help protect tropical ecosystems by increasing the retention of soil nutrients and moisture, reducing erosion and offering protection from frost and wind. Shaded farms, particularly ones with a variety of tree sizes and species, provide an environment that can support a diverse population of birds and other wildlife.

Over the last several decades, some farmers have planted species of coffee that thrive in full sun. Planting " sun coffee" may produce higher yields than shade grown coffee, but usually requires larger amounts of chemical fertilizers and often contributes to deforestation in sensitive ecosystems.

Because coffee grows in many different environments around the world, there is no one best way to grow coffee. But there is general agreement that utilizing shade trees for growing coffee can help sustain a healthier ecosystem and promote biodiversity. Starbucks on-going support for farmers who produce Shade Grown Mexico is a great example of helping farmers while preserving our natural environment". (from starbucks website)

Starbucks working with Concervation International

Colombia harbors the most intact forests in northern Latin America. It's part of the Choco-Darien/Western Ecuador Hotspot and home to 275 endemic species including the Multi-Colored Tanager and Black Inca Hummingbird as well as many vulnerable species such as the Spectacled Bear and the Yellow-eared Parrot. In addition to Colombia's coffee farms providing important habitat for these species, they provide a major economic activity for the people of Colombia. Now, however, the ongoing global coffee crisis is beginning to threaten these unique areas. Current low global coffee prices are forcing some farmers to convert their coffee fields and forests into cattle pasture, posing a significant threat to the natural habitat and biodiversity of this region. With the idea that coffee can be a force for conservation, CI and Starbucks Coffee Company are working with the Colombian Coffee Federation to promote coffee production methods that protect biodiversity and, at the same time, allow coffee farmers to improve their livelihood. Conservation Colombia™, described by Starbucks as a coffee with "medium acidity that is surrounded by a round, soft body with subtle character and nutty nuances" was launched on March 19th, 2003 in Starbucks stores throughout North America. Conservation Colombia™ is a CI program that originates from farming communities adjacent to the proposed the Serranìa de los Paraguas nature reserve and Tatama National Park in Colombia, who use production methods that provide conservation opportunities, economic and social benefits for coffee farmers, and high coffee quality. In return, farmers receive a price premium for their coffee that is well above the local market price. These efforts are part of a long-standing partnership between CI and Starbucks. This effort is part of CI's wider focus on this critical commodity, given that 19 of the major coffee growing regions are in Biodiversity Hotspots. CI believes that the world's major coffee roasters can become a positive force for biodiversity conservation by integrating environmental and social considerations into their purchasing decisions. The development of the coffee industry's first global green coffee purchasing guidelines with CI's Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, and Conservation Coffees™ such as Starbucks Shade Grown Mexico and Conservation Colombia™ are results of Starbucks and CI's efforts to help sustain the people and places where coffee is grown. Conservation Colombia™ is available in Starbucks retail stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. (from conservation international website)

Fair Trade and the Politics of Coffee

Fair Trade