When you go shopping at the grocery store, you might notice the black and white Fair Trade label on some coffees, but Fair Trade is a lot more than just a label on a bag, it's a social movement and market based approach to help farmers and coffee producers in third world countries. Fair Trade creates a mutually beneficial partnership between us, the people who drink the coffee and the people who make it.
It works by cutting out the middlemen and paying the small farmers and independent producers a fair price for their coffee beans. It promotes sustainability and helps the poorer producers and workers become more self-sufficient economically.
It ensures that the producers receive a living minimum wage of $1.26 per pound, no mater what the current market price. Gourmet coffee, which costs more is becoming more and more popular, but farmers in many countries are still making as little as fifty cents per pound.
Fair Trade organizations give credit to the producers to keep them out of debt and away from middlemen who would take advantage of them. In many places where farmers often aren't well educated or aren't allowed to sell as individuals, they're forced to sell to the middlemen at huge losses.
Around the world, more than two million coffee farmers rely on it to support their families.
It isn't just about the fair pay, to be certified Fair Trade Coffee, it has to meet certain social and environmental standards. As part of the certification, the farmers are taught environment and coffee friendly methods of fertilization and pest control. They're also taught about growing practices that benefit native vegetation and wildlife.
The higher wages also trickles down to local infrastructure investments that improve health care, education and other aspects of life.
Mike Crimmins is a coffee fanatic. He's not your traditional coffee expert or barista. He's just your average joe, looking for that perfect cup of coffee. You can learn more about coffee at his blog http://dailyshotofcoffee.com/
More information about Fair Trade Coffee.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mike_Crimmins
ไม่มีความคิดเห็น:
แสดงความคิดเห็น