Ethiopia Vs. Starbucks Debate Continues...

Starbucks had record revenue of $7.8 billion last year, yet continues to battle Ethiopia, one of the poorest developed countries in the world for trademark rights. According to calculations by Oxfam, which has taken up Ethiopia's cause, if trademarking pushed prices of specialty coffee up 80 cents a pound, Ethiopia would stand to gain $88 million a year...it seems to me $88 million could help this poor country quite dramatically. Hmmm...maybe $7.8 billion isn't quite enough to stuff the pockets of upper management.

An article in Fortune Magazine covers the latest on this debate.

Starbucks Dissapoints....AGAIN

At the United Students For Fair Trade convergence held last week in Boston, a Starbucks representative surprisingly attended and admitted that SBUX is not interested in drastically increasing their Fair Trade coffee saying that “we will never be 100%”. In fact, she said they would not even commit to 5% at this time. I think the average consumer is easily duped into thinking that SBUX is greatly involved in Fair Trade practices due to their manipulative marketing, but here you have it--straight from the source about their ideas regarding Fair Trade. She also revealed that SBUX does not publish their contracts and other data because consumers find them to be "very confusing." This is in my opinion is hogwash. Most of the sustainable coffee companies will gladly share with consumers the paper trails of exactly where each dollar and cent is allocated...in fact many companies publish it on their websites!

You can read more about the USFT convergence on the Just Coffee website.

Pour Me Another! The Health Benefits of Coffee

As a coffee advocate, I often find myself defending the benefits of this precious drink to coffee naysayers. My degree is in nutrition so I have a natural interest in perusing the latest articles and research concerning food and health--and although there is always conflicting ideas on almost every topic that can be written about, there is overwhelming evidence that in moderation, coffee offers numerous health benefits. According to findings in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, The American Medical Association and reports published from Harvard Medical School coffee is associated with the following benefits:

• Lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes


• Reduces the risk of developing gallstones


• Reduces the risk of developing Parkinson's Disease


• Reduces the risk of developing colon cancer


• Reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease


• Improves endurance and performance


• Helps people stay more alert


• Helps treat asthma and headaches

In another study, researchers found that a typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than typical servings of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges.

"Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful," says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own medical research and tracks coffee studies from around the world. "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good."

So there you have it folks, go ahead and pour yourself another! Cheers to good health!

Christianity and Ethical Consumerism

"Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless;

maintain the rights for the poor and oppressed. " -Psalm 82:3

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor,

he too will cry out and not be answered." -Prov. 21:13

"Do not exploit the poor because they are poor

and do not crush the needy in court,

for the Lord will take up their case

and will plunder those who plunder them. " -Prov. 22:22-23

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,

for the rights of all who are destitute.

Speak up and judge fairly;

defend the rights of the poor and needy." -Prov. 31:8-9

Education and awareness are the only ways to bring about justice to the social atrocities that plague our world. God calls Christians to not turn a blind eye to the injustices of the poor and needy--yet in many ways we unknowingly promote it by the choices we make in our daily lives.

Let me use coffee as an example--not because I'm insanely passionate about coffee, rather, coffee is the 2nd largest traded commodity in the world and by simply choosing a coffee product that is produced by a socially responsible company, we can have a significant effect on the economies and livelihoods of these poor farming countries.

The fact that many of us know this, yet still choose otherwise I believe is directly ignoring God's word. If people are uneducated/unaware, they have an excuse, but if we know that the $6.00 cup of coffee we are lackadaisically enjoying came from the hands of a poor, uneducated farmer who pulled his 8 year old son out of school or the chocolate candy bar we consume came from the hands of a 7 year old child slave, shouldn't we chose differently? What has to happen before we become advocates of ethical consumerism?

Learn more about how you can support the cause by shopping here.

Chocolate...Not So Sweet?

There was a news article I read today that caught my attention; it was about a man who asked the court to convict him for eating chocolate--he is seeking a jail sentence to raise consumer awareness about child slavery and to force the chocolate/cocoa industry to take tougher measures to get rid of child labor.

Apparently there are hundreds of thousands of child laborers who work in hazardous conditions and pick the cocoa on these farms mostly on the Ivory Coast--many arrived in their situation as a result of child trafficking.

The US chocolate industry agreed to take voluntary steps to end child slavery on cocoa farms by July of 2005--that deadline has long since passed and the chocolate industry has failed to fulfill this promise.

So how can you help? Buy fairly traded chocolate here. Or, if you're still looking for your Valentine chocolates, check out your local Henry's Market or Whole Foods-- just look for the Fair Trade Label.

Fair what? The un-education of coffee baristas

So I've been sitting here for hours calling local coffee shops to find out where they get their beans from and I've discovered that the people working in many of these shops need some serious education. This of course (on behalf of a former barista who didn't know the difference between a latte and a cappuccino) is not completely the fault of the barista. The owner should make it a priority to educate the people serving their coffee...this is just simple business protocol--especially if your business is strictly a coffee shop. I don't expect the same knowledge from a server at a cafe that is known more for its breakfast and lunch selections as I do from a barista who strictly prepares and serves coffee and espresso drinks. Here is a snippet of just one of my conversations,

Me: "I was calling to find out where you get your coffee beans from."

Barista: "Um...what do you mean?"

Me: "Who roasts your coffee?"

Barista: "Um, I'm not sure. Let me check on the bag."

Me: "OK...I've never heard of that company. Is the coffee organic or fair trade?"

Barista: "I think it's organic."

Me: "You think?"

Barista: "Well, it says on the bag it organic, so yeah, I think it is."

Me: "OK, how about fair trade?"

Barista: "Um...far trade?"

Me: "No, no...Fair Trade."

Barista: "I'm not sure, but I think it probably is."

Me: "Does it say Fair Trade on the bag?"

Barista: "I don't think so, but it probably is."

The sad part of this whole conversation, was that this was a variation of most of my conversations with the coffee shops that I phoned today.

SO....my revelation after all of these unbelievable phone calls was that if people who are currently working in the coffee industry don't know if the coffee they serve is from a sustainable source, how is the average consumer going to know? I am putting together a list of Sustainable Coffee Shops In San Diego; this is obviously a work in progress and as I learn more I'll add more to the list. Please let me know if there is a coffee shop you want me to do some research on or that should be added to the list. I'm also working on a list of coffee shops that have some organic and/or fair trade options, but these wouldn't be my top choices to purchase from...and if you frequent these places keep requesting that all their coffee be sustainable.

Coffee Crisis...what can I do?

The more I research the topic of coffee and sustainability the more inflamed I get that more companies aren't doing something about the injustices inflicted on the farmers from whom we get this daily obsession. As we wake up each morning stumbling to the coffee maker for that sweet satisfaction of the first sip that enables us to fully open our eyes and speak coherent sentences, or on our way to work as we nonchalantly drop $5.00+ down for some sweet concoction that somehow manages to drip on our new white blouse, our when we need a pick-me up after our sleepy lunch hour, or when we meet up with someone new at our local coffee shop, this indulgent drink that has become such a habit in our daily lives, comes from the sweat on the brow of a poor farmer who contemplates pulling his children out of school to help increase production; from a community that has no health care or education. It is a crisis that we have to help bring awareness to.

So you ask, well what can I do? Anytime you purchase a cup of coffee ask the person you're buying it from if it comes from a sustainable roaster, or a roaster that supports fair trade. If it doesn't, request it and don't keep spending your money there until they change. If it does sell sustainable coffee, give the owner a high five. :)

Support business that support sustainability and fair trade...wouldn't you rather know that while you enjoy that cup of coffee, more of your money is going back to the farmers hands that created it? I'm working on a list of where you can purchase sustainable coffee locally...stay tuned.