Organic Coffee And Environmental Implications
Coffee farmers producing organic, shade-grown, fair trade coffee assist in reducing water contamination and deforestation, but are only a small piece of the industry.
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HOW DO YOU TAKE YOUR ORGANIC COFFEE?The coffee industry, from the farm to the mug, is percolating with change.
While prices remain high, helping farmers, according to Judith Ganes-Chase, President of J. Ganes Consulting, a commodities advising company, demand is actually slowing. But not so for organic and fair trade coffee. Interest in that is growing, which holds implications for the environment.
Why The Switch To Coffee Beans?
Yungas Valley’s steep mountain sides were planted with coca. See why the farmers have changed to planting coffee.
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Bolivian Buzz: Coca Farmers Switch to Coffee Beans
But a new outlet is brewing. In the Yungas, coffee is suddenly supplanting coca, thanks in part to a U.S.-funded drug-war program — and economic luck. The valley, whose altitude ranges from 760 m (2,500 ft.) to 1,100 m (3,600 ft.) above sea level, is ideal for growing coffee beans.
Misleading Consumers With Fair Trade Products
Some well-known coffee houses are still misleading customers about both organic and fair trade coffee products.
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Local businesses mislead consumers about fair trade practicesIn Geneseo, Starbucks and Muddy Waters both lead consumers to believe they are purchasing fair trade when in actuality they aren’t. Although Muddy Waters claims on their website to only serve fair trade organic, in fact on two separate visits I found that the majority of blends they were serving were neither fair trade nor organic. Their supplier, Finger Lakes Coffee Roasters, confirmed this.
