How you can make a difference as a consumer.
There is no doubt about it, coffee is a cash crop, and it isn’t going anywhere. And like with any financially lucrative resource found in the developing world (Honduras, Ethiopia, and Indonesia are a few of the top producers), there is a lot of room for exploitation to go unnoticed in the coffee industry.
But think about what a positive impact it would have if all of us made a few simple tweaks to ensure that the money we spent on our morning brews went directly back to the farmers and communities who grew it. Here are a few ways you can make a positive impact on the global coffee industry, both for your health and the livelihood of farmers and communities around the world:
1. Choose organic.
Since coffee has historically been a heavily sprayed crop, it’s important both for your health and the health of farmers to choose organically grown beans. Look for a coffee brand that has been certified organic by the USDA, or reach out to smaller roasters in your area and ask where they source their coffee from and how it was grown.
2. Go with fair trade.
The global coffee industry employs more than 25 million peopleworldwide—many of them live in countries where workers don’t have the same rights and protections as you and me. At its core, the fair trade certification exists to make sure that coffee farmers are paid and treated fairly for their work. Look out for the Rainforest Alliance’s little green frog or the empowered person on the Fairtrade label the next time you’re shopping for coffee beans in stores