Coffee With Pleasure

by Laure Waridel

Overview

Our morning coffee is the fruit of the labor of millions of workers and producers in the South. Unfortunately, many of them earn paltry wages for work done under very difficult conditions. Chances are, the coffee you are drinking was grown by farmers who labored long, back-breaking hours while exposed to harmful chemicals in order to pocket a few cents.

In an attempt to break the cycle of malnutrition, dependence, illiteracy and violence, an alternative trade system, known worldwide as "fair trade," has been created. The products of this type of exchange, encourage consumers and retailers to opt for coffee which is "fairly traded."

This book looks at the fair trade movement by examining the issues surrounding the production and trading of coffee. Using Mexico as an example, part one describes the conventional coffee trade, tracing the coffee bean's journey from the tree, through the hands of several intermediaries in both the North and South, to its final destination as a cup of coffee. Part two presents the fair trade concept through the example of the Mexican peasant organization which was one of the first to embrace the fair trade system, and which was also a pioneer in the production of organic coffee. The third part explores the situation of fair trade in North America, and provides comprehensive sources and references for anyone who wants to get involved, at any level.

"Incites change in consumer attitudes and thoughtful commitment to a more equitable system of international trade."—Louis Sabourin, Director of ENAP and Former President of the OECD Development Center, Paris

Laure Waridel, as a member of Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development, was instrumental in organizing the activist group, A Just Coffee, whose aim it is to raise our coffee consciousness and consciences, and opt for coffee which is "fairly traded." She lives in Montreal.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781551641904
Publisher:	Black Rose Books
Publication date:	11/26/2001
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	173
Product dimensions:	7.50(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

	Foreword	xi
	Acknowledgments	xiii
	Introduction: Making a Difference with Every Cup	1
Chapter 1	The Global Context	9
	Economic growth rules supreme	13
	Mental colonialism	15
Chapter 2	Rebuilding Democracy	21
	When buying becomes voting	23
	Bringing ethics into the equation	25
Chapter 3	Coffee and its Hidden Costs	31
	The history of coffee	32
	Coffee in Mexico	32
	The environmental cost of coffee	34
	Brew for the birds	37
Chapter 4	The Conventional Coffee Route	41
Link 1	Small coffee producers and workers	42
	From coffee tree to cup	43
	Isolation	44
	Food insecurity	45
	Coffee production	46
	The coffee tree	47
	Use of chemicals	47
Link 2	The local trader	48
	Pesticides	49
Link 3	The processor	50
Link 4	The exporter	50
	World coffee production	51
Link 5	The broker	51
	Price fluctuations	52
Link 6	The roaster	53
	Coffee roasting	54
Link 7	The retailer	54
	The wealth of nations? Or corporations?	55
Link 8	We, the consumers	56
	The effects of coffee on health	57
	Who owns the brands we buy?	58
Chapter 5	A Different Path for Coffee Growers	63
	The fair-trade route	64
	Principles of fair trade	65
	Union de Comunidades Indigenas de la Region del Istmo (UCIRI)	66
	UCIRI: An example of a cooperative	67
	The indigenous peoples	68
	UCIRI's Rules of Operation	74
	UCIRI's Projects	75
	UCIRI's Organizational structure	76
	Portrait of UCIRI	81
	What else is going on in Mexico	82
	More fair-trade and organic production organizations	83
	Making the alternatives known	86
Chapter 6	Consumer power	93
	Origins of the fair-trade movement	93
	Fair-trade labels	96
	The certification process for fair-trade coffee	98
	Fair-trade coffee in North America	99
	When the big boys move in	105
	Campaigning for fair trade	106
	Confused? Choices in "sustainable" coffee	109
	Transferring responsibility to the consumer	113
	Conclusion: Holding up the Stream of Inequity	119
	Appendixes	123
Appendix A	Fair-Trade Certification Criteria	125
Appendix B	Organic Coffee Certification	129
Appendix C	Shade-Grown Coffee	141
Appendix D	Moving into Action: Contact List	149
Appendix E	Where to Get Fair-Trade Coffee	156
	Bibliography	159
	Online References	166
	Photographs	167
	Index	169