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Fair-Trade Coffee Facts
To be “dedicated to the pursuit of peace…” means that we must be alert to the ways we affect peace and justice through the things that we do. Sometimes something as simple as a cup of coffee has a powerful effect on justice.
The Bottom-Price Coffee That One Buys
- Forces most individual coffee growers into cycles of poverty;
- Market prices fluctuate wildly often below the cost to produce the coffee;
- Middle-men (coyotes) take a large share;
- Farmers are often forced into cycles of debt, paying extreme interest rates;
- Children are often taken out of school, as unaffordable;
- Some lose their farms, forcing then into city slums;
About one-half of coffee is produced on large plantations, unnecessarily damaging the environment and reducing workers’ ability to organize and establish decent working conditions.
The Alternative: Fair-Trade Coffee
- Guarantees a fair minimum price;
- Guarantees long-term commitments, and provides suitable up-front credit;
- Guarantees that it comes from a democratically run co-operatives;
- Often grown organically
- It is independently certified
- Results in families staying together on their farms, with children in schools and health clinics for the community;;
Our choices do make a difference! Thanks for choosing Fair-Trade.
