My Morning Coffee

If you're like millions of Americans you drink a cup of coffee in the morning. It has become a ritual for so many of us, me included. Coffee has replaced apple pie as the center piece of conversation. Check out your local coffee shop and you will see people sitting down, sharing stories, enjoying a smile with each other over their favorite joe.

I love coffee. A really good cup of joe has a truly great flavor and stimulates my palette like no other. I love Peet's Coffee the best. Its like mud, rich with flavor, and reminds me of the what is good in life. If you haven't tried Peet's, you're really missing something special. As a cautionary note, the first time I tried it I didn't like it so give it time.

But this isn't about coffee that way. Not after last night. I was checking out VolunteerMatch a week ago and found a really great opportunity to work for Oxfam at the Coldplay concert. Chris Martin, the lead singer, for those who live outside of the pop culture planet, is passionate about Oxfam and supports them at the concerts. I have to admit I went for the desire to serve but was swayed by the idea of a free concert. It just seemed like a great pairing of ideas. I like Coldplay but I don't own any of their CDs.

But this isn't about Coldplay either. Its about coffee. But its not about coffee the way you think its about coffee. Its about the people who grow coffee. You see Oxfam has identified one of the key components to world poverty. Coffee. Don't get me wrong. Coffee is not the cause. Its just part of the problem. You see 90% of the world makes a living growing agriculture. Most people around work a little piece of land to grow something and sell it at the local marketplace. They've done this for millenniums. Its just the way it is.

So where's the coffee come in? Well, people grow coffee. Local farmers in countries like Belize, Honduras, and Uganda grow coffee and sell it in the international marketplace. They must compete on price just like the rest of the world. Sounds simple, right? If you're like me, this just seems like simple economics and capitalism. It should encourage growth and competitiveness. With this information it becomes easy to just walk by the booth and worry about where the nearest bathroom is. Right?

But its still about the coffee. You see the 10 largest countries produce 80 percent of the world's exports. They create consortiums that can produce coffee very effectively. This is still good economics and capitalism.

Next word. Dumping.

Dumping is the real problem. Large consortiums dump large quantities of EXCESS coffee onto the marketplaces, driving the prices down to extreme lows and the little guy completely out of business. These families have never done anything else. They end up bankrupt and in extreme poverty, which means they live on less than one dollar a day. That's less than my venti drip with room for cream.

But there is no way this can be happening in America. Unfortunately it is. America subsidizes 24 billion a year to overproduce crops which flood international marketplaces. And they don't just hurt the other guys half way across the world. The rural American farmer, which the subsidies were originally meant for, are going out of business too.

Its really easy, right about now, to just throw up your hands, walk by the booth and say, "there's nothing I can do". And you'd be wrong. There are lots of opportunities to volunteer, write your senator, or just get educated. You can even sign up for the Big Noise Campaign or buy a really cool Make Trade Fair t-shirt.

But that's not the real action you can make. To really get practical, to really help the poor begins with your $1.79. Your cup of coffee. Simply ask your local coffee establishment for "fair trade certified coffee". Its that simple. By doing so, you'd be saving the little guy and feeling that much better about a great cup of joe.