|
Volume CXXXII, Number 19 |
 |
Between you and your coffee
JONATHAN PEREZ
STAFF WRITER
 |
| What kind of coffee will be in your cup? (Hans Law, Bowdoin Orient) |
Coffee or arabica, a legume plant more commonly found in the understory of the tropics has recently been the center of much environmental concern and awareness. Over the past decade, the public at large has taken an invested interest in seeking alternatives to this everyday crutch of the working world. Many have discovered behind the commercial coffee-making process both tremendous social inequalities in exploitation of worker's rights as well as a multitude of hazardous farming practices that have wreaked havoc on local ecosystems.
Under previous practices a general indifference to environmental stability has left much land wholly unable to support animal biodiversity through soil erosion and chemical runoff. Rivers, streams, and lakes have incurred the greatest impact as fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides have contaminated these major water supplies. In an article written for the Orient, about four months ago Ryan Davis '04 writes on the exploitation of local farmers that "Big Coffee corporations have allowed their producers to live in conditions of extreme debt and starvation, earning less than a dollar a day despite working 14 hour days, so they can turn larger profit." Inequalities such as these have also been found to occur in countries such as Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Ecuador and Columbia. Fortunately in large part due to American interest over the past decade, a growing demand has risen for coffee products that promise to be both "Fair Trade" and "Shade Grown."
Particularly influential on tropical bird populations and species survival, shade grown coffee leaves the major canopy layer of older trees still intact. In addition to migratory and tropical bird species, shade grown coffee benefits a range of animal life from reptiles, ants and butterflies to a variety of other organisms that depend on the preservation of these trees for their existence. In addition, unlike previous farming practices, the purchasing of shade grown coffee prevents future soil erosions and other environmental disasters to occur.
Equally as beneficial, fair trade coffee ensures fair wages, cooperative workplaces, consumer education, financial and technical support and public accountability. The practice is dedicated to creating an equal system of trade between employers and workers. The process has been heralded as one of the major components responsible for the improved lifestyles of many farming families in coffee-growing countries. For more information on the seven principles of fair trade, please consult their website at www.fairtradefederation.com.
In an effort to meet social and environmental concern, the Bowdoin dining service continues to support Downeast Coffee, an organization that provides both fair trade and shade grown practices. Sometimes called their "Eco-Preserve" coffee, the product is now offered in Moulton and Thorne Dining Halls and the Café. In honor of the upcoming Earthweek (April 21st through 26th), the Dining Service has agreed to offer its "eco-preserve" coffee on a more frequent basis. Be on the look out for an Evergreens sponsored coffee house offered Thursday, April 24 for more information or visit www.globalexchange.org.
|
FastCounter by bCentral |