What's in your cup of coffee? You may be surprised to find that much more goes into your dependable morning brew than simply sugar and cream. Across the globe, many coffee farmers and their families are sacrificing their livelihoods to produce coffee beans for a highly saturated world market. Read on to learn more about the coffee crisis, the Fair Trade movement and what you can do to help shift the coffee industry in a more equitable and just direction.
With over 130 million coffee consumers in the United States alone, and more than 10,000 caf?©s and 2,500 specialty stores dotting our streets, the United States has become the number one importer of coffee worldwide - accounting for 26 percent of all world imports, according to Global Exchange. More than 25 million farmers are involved in the industry, according to the International Coffee Association, but the numbers reach closer to 100 million people when you consider those who depend solely on the industry for their livelihood.
Such high figures suggest the industry is thriving, when in fact just the opposite is occurring as the coffee industry reaches a state of crisis proportions. Part of the problem is that 8 percent more coffee is produced each year than is needed, according to Oxfam International. Vietnam has recently entered the world market, contributing to this saturation, while the number one producing country in the world, Brazil, has upped its already large-scale production.
As a result, coffee prices have dropped almost 70 percent since 1997 to reach an all-time low of 50 cents per pound, according to Oxfam International. In contrast, American consumers pay $4 to upwards of $11 a pound for coffee. Just one or two cents of this actually ends up in the hands of the producers. In fact, many producers are forced to sell their product for much less than it costs to produce. Sixty percent of production costs, for example, are received in Vietnam's Dak Lak province, according to Oxfam International.
The crash in prices is affecting the farmers and their families directly, forcing them to cut back on food, do without needed medical care, and remove their children from schools. The basic necessities of subsistence are being sacrificed. A very significant migration of coffee producers is resulting, as indicated by a recent World Bank figure that cites more than 600,000 farmers who have lost their jobs in Central America alone as a direct result of the state of the coffee market.
The Fair Trade movement has emerged in recent years as a viable solution. To be certified as Fair Trade, a company must provide a living wage for coffee producers, paying $1.26 per pound for conventionally grown coffee and $1.41 per pound for organic.
Fair Trade farmers are provided with financial and technical assistance, equal employment opportunities and protection from forced labor and exploitative child labor. Furthermore, they are required to be organized in a democratically run cooperative that ensures proper health care and schooling for their children.
Fair Trade empowers farmers to rise above poverty, to invest in their communities and to protect their land from environmental degradation.
Tufts University has taken strides in addressing the coffee crisis by offering Fair Trade coffee at a number of venues on campus. Both the Tower Caf?© and the student-run Oxfam Caf?© serve Fair Trade coffee exclusively, and the newly revamped Hotung Caf?© plans to do the same upon opening.
In addition, Tufts Dining offers at least one Fair Trade option daily in each dining hall, in Brown & Brew, the Campus Center Commons and Hodgdon Good to Go.
Buying Fair Trade over conventional varieties is one step that students and faculty can take to battle the suffering so intricately tied to our daily dose of caffeine. The more Fair Trade coffee you drink, the more Tufts Dining will provide.
So feel good about your cup of coffee! Take time to thank Tufts Dining for having Fair Trade, and encourage them to expand their offerings. As coffee consumers, we have the right to demand economic justice and the power to help end this tragic cycle of poverty, one mug at a time.
