As you enjoy your next take away coffee spare a thought for the growers whose livelihood depends on it and how your choice of café or coffee brand impacts on them.
Coffee is the most popular beverage worldwide, with over 400 billion cups consumed each year.
Over 90% of coffee production takes place in developing countries and it is estimated that 25 million small producers around the world rely on coffee for a living.
However, the long term sustainability of coffee production could be under threat unless we in the western world start recognising that we need to be looking after these growers by ensuring they are paid a fair and decent price for their toils.
Whilst I was grumbling about the cost off my local cappuccino going up from $3.50 to $4 the other day, Wells informed me that I should in fact be paying over $7 if the growers were receiving a fair price for their coffee in the current economic market.
In Ethiopia, growers receive just 59 cents a day, whilst in Latin America growers are paid around $5000 for the year, but this all comes in within a two month period, which makes it very unsustainable for them to manage throughout the year.
Whilst we may not be ready to see our coffee prices go up to $7 just yet, It is important then that when purchasing our coffee for home or on the run, that we choose Fairtrade coffee.
If you’re local café doesn’t use Fairtrade coffee, ask them to, or show your support for those less fortunate and help ensure that the coffee industry can be managed more sustainably, by choosing a new café that does source Fairtrade coffee.
To hear more about this, check out Episode 24 of Eco TV at www.ecotv.com.au
