Quit Coffee, Save the Planet?

Published January 15, 2009 @ 11:10AM PT

How fitting that after I write about Fair Trade's environmental benefits, I find this TreeHugger article: Quitting Coffee is One of the Easiest Ways to Help the Planet and Yourself. Author, Trevor Reichman writes:

Coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity after oil. Some claim that coffee has health benefits while others claim that it is an addictive substance that taxes the body’s adrenal glands, depositing adrenaline daily into our bodies, and taking tolls on our bodies in other ways. Whatever you believe, coffee is not essential to our lives and thus it is one commodity worth considering giving up entirely in order to benefit the planet and our pocketbooks in a time of economic and ecologic peril.

The Coffee bean is a comfort commodity which requires the removal of established natural areas, as well as intensive energy requirements to plant, harvest, and transport it to seasonally addicted consumers, like myself.

I know it's his opinion, but there are so many holes in his argument, it's hard to begin. (I'm not the only one who disagrees with him, read the long string of comments) First of all, Trevor's claims of coffee's environmental degradation only refers to the full-sun plantations. He does not mention how Fair Trade coffee, which is shade-grown and nurtures biodiversity, actually solves that problem -- basically what I wrote in this post.

Times are tough and the economic crisis that we are all dealing with is hurting people's pocket books, but for small farmers everywhere, crisis, whether it be economic, ecological or the coffee crisis [go od s ynthesis at GreenLAGirl blog] they faced in years past or the food crisis the world is currently facing, the concept of Fair Trade has been there to offer a solution. Not a quick fix to end it all, but the opening up of dialogue toward the solution. By quitting coffee, as Trevor suggests we do, these crises won't end but will mostly likely offer more problems.

This brings the Fair Trade movement to a discussion of how Fair Trade can fare in the face of this 'economic meltdown'. Many within the movement, notably Equal Exchange have been vocal in advocating for the work that cooperatives can do to fair up the economy and transform the system. Working with the people and for the people should be a new step toward changing the global economy because the way business has been done is not working. So, by cutting ties with these small farmers who provide coffee will just continue to exacerbate the problem and surely will not make the problem go away.

[image: fairtradenorfolk.org.uk / photo: coopcoffees.com]

Share this Post

Comments (5)

Love the image of the world in a cup of coffee. When I practice eating meditation, I always try to imagine that the entire universe is in every bite I take - all its resources, its living beings, its hard work, its joy, and its suffering.

I think it's more effective to think of giving up animal products and byproducts than widespread plant products, which are less inherently problematic.

Posted by Luella - on 01/15/2009 @ 12:23PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
Reply to thread
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Luella
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
There are arguments for and against Fair Trade.
The simple fact of the matter is that top quality coffee earns the grower a much higher price than the Fair Trade floor price.
I know that the comapny I work for pays much more on average than the Fair Trade price.

Posted by Robert Franz on 01/16/2009 @ 06:57AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Robert
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
It's telling how so often, the One Great Solution for Saving the Planet involves giving up something that's perceived as a moral vice -- at least here in America, where there's a strong streak of Puritanism running through the environmental and social justice movements. No one ever suggests we give up brown rice to save the planet!

In the 1980s, women were told that coffee contributed to breast cancer. (Forget all the human-made chemicals in the environment that we can't avoid, and what they might be doing to our health.) In the 1990s, we were supposed to give it up because it was killing birds. (So do air travel, and letting our pet cats roam outdoors.) Now it's causing economic oppression.
The simple answer is that there are no simple answers!

Posted by Emily Gertz on 01/16/2009 @ 08:20AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Emily
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
@Luella: It really is a great image that represents the deep connection to be had with the food that we consume and the producers that made it. This issue really dawned on me this summer when I was staying at a Fair Trade cooperative in Nicaragua. I stayed with a coffee community there and they showed me their land and expressed the importance of the coffee bean to their life. In terms of culture, history and livelihood. While working side by side with the farmers on the field trying my hand at some organic farming, I looked at the coffee beans on the plant and thought about the end product -- someones morning cup of coffee. All the hard work put into it for your morning enjoyment. So, with every sip I take, there is that deep connection to a world away from me.

@Robert: There are many Fair Trade coffee companies out there that pay a lot more than the Fair Trade floor minimum price. They are part of the Fair Trade system as being part of the movement and not just to say they pay x-amount more than others. Plus, a lot of Fair Trade coffee out there is of premium quality!
What coffee company do you work for?

@Emily: Agreed. There are no simple answers to these difficult questions. At least the Fair Trade movement is looking at ways to make coffee less taxing on the environment (and the birds!) and looking at ways to rectify the economic oppression that is caused by the conventional ways of trade.

Posted by Zarah Patriana on 01/16/2009 @ 11:31AM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Zarah
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply
Sorry - I can't disclose my employer.
Great folks - but if I posted as an employee it could be mistaken as a reflection on the company.
If I wanted to go down that road, I'd have to get approval to blog for the company, and frankly, I'm far too much of a loose canon for that.

Posted by Robert Franz on 01/16/2009 @ 09:02PM PT
- Report close
  You must be signed in to report content.
- Reply
- Like
For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment. In the process we will also create a Change.org account for you so you can track this and future conversations. Don't worry - we won't spam you. We just want to promote constructive dialogue and find that people are more respectful when they are not anonymous.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

reply to thread started by by Robert
Check Spelling
- Email me when there are new posts to this thread
- Comment Policy
Cancel Reply

Add a Comment

For your comment to be published, you will need to confirm your email address after submitting your comment.

If you already have an account, click here to log in.

First Name:

Last Name:

Email:

Create Password:

Comment

Check Spelling

Email me when there are new posts to this thread
Comment Policy

Comments on Change.org are meant for further exploration and evaluation of the ideas covered in the posts. To that end, we welcome constructive comments. However, we reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, abusive, or off-topic; that contain ad hominem attacks; or that are designed to subvert or hijack comment threads rather than contribute to them. Repeat offenders may be permanently removed from the site at our discretion.

Author

Zarah is the Operations Manager for the Global Exchange Fair Trade Online Store, a project of the international human rights organization, Global Exchange. Alongside her work with marginalized communities from all over the world to get their products into the international market, Zarah serves to educate and inform the public about a more just and sustainable trading system.