Have you ever stopped to think about where your coffee comes from? Think beyond the store…way beyond it. When was the last time you actually thought about who grew the coffee beans you ground up this morning to make coffee?
In
his article “Justice at a Price: Regulation and Alienation in the Global
Economy,” Daniel Reichman discusses how the global coffee market is regulated
and brings up the topic of fair trade. He asks the following two questions in
his article:
(1)
“Who knows what nefarious forms of
exploitation are happening on the other side of the world?”(102).
(2)
“In a world where individuality is
valued, how does one simultaneously depend on mass-produced goods and assert individual creative autonomy?”
(109).
That
is the idea behind fair trade - eliminate middlemen so the coffee farmers can
get more money for their coffee. But as I watched the film, I couldn’t help but
think the following: Where is the money from the 60% reduction of middlemen
going? If the profit was going to the farmers, wouldn’t they be even a little
better off? Meskala has the money to travel around the world in a plane in
search of a better market. Shouldn’t the farmers have money to buy enough food
to eat? Why are the farmers getting next to nothing for their coffee and barely
getting by?
This
made me think of how I view fair trade as something that benefits the farmers. The
basis of my belief is rooted in the assumption that the officials in charge of selling
the coffee actually distribute the profit to the farmers. We believe fair trade helps farmers only because we place our trust in those in charge. If
those in charge aren’t letting the farmers see the profit, then what good is
fair trade?
That
brings me back to Reichman’s questions…. Do we really know “what nefarious
forms of exploitation are happening on the other side of the world?” (102). No, I
don’t believe we know everything that goes on. Just because “‘fair’ certification for coffee guarantees
that farmers (or grower cooperatives) have been paid a minimum price... per
pound of unroasted coffee…and that workers are treated fairly on farms” doesn’t
mean all that actually happens (103). We believe the guarantee because we trust
it is happening as they say it is, not because we know for sure that it is. For
all we know, the “nefarious forms of exploitation” are still occurring (102). We
really don’t know.
Reichman’s
other question is “how does one simultaneously depend on mass-produced goods and assert individual creative autonomy?”
(109). In answering this question, think of how many coffee drinkers and coffee
name brands there are out there. (A lot.) Yet not everyone drinks the same
brand. Reichman points out that “food and clothing are important elements of
the creation of one’s social identity, so consumer brands like McDonald’s, The
Gap, Nike, and Starbucks are the most targeted symbols of homogenization”
(109). We have various reasons why we choose one brand over another. The
reasons could be based on anything ranging from money, popularity, or
personal preference; and those choices create and shape our identity. While
there is one product (coffee), there are many brands and types of it to choose
from which enable us to “assert individual creative autonomy” (109).
Reflecting
on the rising popularity of fair trade, could fair trade be considered “a brand”?
A brand in the sense that choosing fair trade is perhaps becoming more of a popularity
based decision to keep up with the Joneses? Are fair trade products becoming more
of just a conscience-satisfying decision, so people don’t feel too bad about the
exploited farmers in the far reaches of the world, instead of a truly ethical
choice?
I
don’t think fair trade works in every farmer's case…. Because I find it hard to imagine
that all the officials in charge have dealt with the all the farmers ethically
and have remained uncorrupt. But, although we can’t be for sure whether or not
the farmers are getting their fair share, there remains a chance that some do, and wouldn't those farmers be worse off without fair trade? In the end, even if
only one coffee bean farmer has been helped, I’d say fair trade has done
some good.
As
a side note here before I close, my class is going on a fieldtrip to a local coffee roaster
next week. Where do they get their coffee beans? I wonder how the small
business owners are making it in this economy. It will be interesting to see
what the owners have to say about fair trade and coffee production from a small
business owner’s perspective.