I read this article yesterday about how a farmer who was attending the Specialty Coffee Assoc. of America(SCAA) convention last weekend, wandered into a Starbucks and got an education in money. He related to members of a panel discussion that the $4 latte is the price of labor for one day at this farm.
http://dailycoffeenews.com/2014/04/30/farmworkers-the-coffee-industrys-ethical-blight-and-a-pr-disaster-in-waiting/
Think about that for a moment. $4 for one day's worth of labor. Then think how coffee is trading around $2.15 a lb on the commodity exchanges(which is high these days). That $2.15 is not necessarily what farmers are getting. They most likely are getting less.
I have to imagine that as more and more farmers come to understand how much their coffees are selling for, they would want better prices for their coffees. Of course this would mean you and I would have to pay more for our coffee.
For the record, coffee is trading higher these days due to drought situations in Brazil, and other ecological issues like leaf rust outbreaks around the world.
The reality is coffee farmers are not being paid nearly what their product is worth. This is why I like fair trade and direct trade practices. Typically coffee companies which trade with these methods are encouraging better coffee production, and providing better dollars for the coffee. Some companies invest in the communities if farmers can produce consistently high quality coffee.
In the meantime, I feel a good many of these workers are being exploited for our coffee enjoyment. We as coffee lovers can keep encouraging better trade practices, and patronizing the companies who do right by the coffee farmers.
Charlie
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