Do you ever wonder just what is involved in bringing those rich-smelling coffee beans from a distant tropical land to your local gourmet coffee shop?
If you're visiting a tropical coffee-growing county, you may have the opportunity to tour agricultural projects such as coffee plantations that use organic and sustainable techniques. It's worth a visit to see how coffee is grown and to learn about some of the issues that go into making your daily cup of joe.
Coffee is hard on the soil, especially if pesticides and herbicides are used. And it can be hard on workers, too, who often do back-breaking labor for pennies a day.
If you want to contribute to the solution, you have some choices. Next time you buy a pound of coffee beans, whether at home, or during your travels, consider the issues of how the coffee is grown and how much the people who grew it are paid.
Shade Grown and Organic Coffee
As a cash crop for many developing nations, coffee contributes an important percentage of foreign exchange income. Historically, cash-crop coffee produced for export has been grown in mono-cultures, often in conjunction with slash and burn clearing of tropical forests. The results have long-term implications, because tropical soils, while rich, are also thin and vulnerable to erosion. And erosion is exacerbated by the cultivation of monocultural crops.
Monocultures require the use of more herbicides and pesticides, because the factors that keep pests and weeds in check can no longer function when the natural balance is disturbed. In the 30 years since the idea of sustainable development has taken hold, environmental organizations, development-oriented NGOs, and government agencies in many developing nations have introduced programs to offer alternatives to monoculture cash crops.
Shade-grown coffee is coffee that is grown in concert with other local plants, rather than as a monoculture of only coffee plants. Some of these plants shade the coffee plants, some of them emit chemicals that repel pests, and some of them provide cover for birds, which eat pests that would otherwise eat the coffee plants. In a shade grown plantation, biological diversity and soil nutrients are preserved. Because predators such as birds stay around, insect pests don't over-run the plants. Fewer, or no, chemicals are used for fertilizing because the soil is not depleted. (Indeed, some coffee plantations are certified as being organic, or as being bird-friendly.)
The terms shade-grown coffee and organic coffee are almost synonymous in that both are grown with an eye toward sustainability. However, sustainably-grown coffee may not always be labeled "organic." The word "organic" has become laden with layers of bureaucracy and regulations. Many proponents of sustainability reject the "organic" label because the regulations governing the use of the word may put undue burdens on small growers, yet have regulations on issues that benefit large corporations seeking to capitalize on the marketing cachet of the word "organic." The term "shade-grown" is broader, and is consistent with the ideal of organic farming.
Fair Trade Coffees
According to Water.org, approximately one billion of the world's six billion people live on less than two dollars a day. And most of them live in rural areas of tropical countries – just the kind of environment where coffee is grown. Think about that the next time you drink a $5.00 latte!
When coffee is grown as a large scale cash-crop, not only is the natural environment affected, but the human environment is as well. Profits go not only to growers, but to middlemen (brokers, wholesalers, and transporters, and wholesalers). Not much is left for the people who work in the fields. In many cases, day laborers earn an agricultural wage that keeps them in dire poverty.
The fluctuations of coffee prices contribute to the problem, (as they do with other agricultural products subject to seasonal variance and market ups and downs). Sometimes the price of coffee dips below its production, cost, so in order to be certified, TransFair USA (which establishes policies for the American Fair Trade program), requires coffee purchasers to pledge to pay a minimum price per pound. They also agree to provide loans to farmers and contribute to programs that provide technical assistance with such issues as making the transition to organic farming. This helps support the farmers, and the added economic stability allows them to send their children to school,. rather than having them work in the fields.
There is a strong correlation between organic or shade-grown coffee farming and Fair Trade. According to the Organic Trade Association, more than three-quarters of Fair Trade coffee sold in the U.S is certified organic.
Most of us never think about where our morning java comes from, but visitors to tropical lands have a chance to see for themselves, and then to come back and support production methods that are good for both the land and its people.
Karen Berger - Karen Berger is the author of 15 books. Please click on her name to read her full bio.
