WHY IS FAIR TRADE IMPORTANT?
A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away. – Proverbs 13:23
Lutherans love their coffee and drink a lot of it. So much that it is sometimes jokingly referred to as “the third sacrament.” We enjoy fellowship with each other after services, at social gatherings and during events, but we aren’t always aware of lives of our brothers and sisters who grew that coffee.
Coffee: a bitter cup?
Coffee is big business. It’s one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world. But for the majority of small-scale coffee farmers, the benefits are few.
Conventionally traded coffee involves a lengthy, and expensive, cast of middlemen between the coffee farmer and the consumer, each taking their share—or more—of the coffee price. What’s left for the farmers may not even cover their production costs or basic living expenses.
Coffee prices are notoriously unstable. Unpredictable market fluctuations deny many farmers the ability to pay for daily necessities such as medicines, clothing or school fees. Overwhelmed with debt and unable to earn a consistent income, farmers are moving to the cities or migrating to other countries in search of work.
A simple solution: Fair Trade
One answer for small-scale farmers is Fair Trade. Fair Trade shares the bounty of the coffee trade with those who grow the crop, helping them build a better future for themselves and their communities.
By working together and pooling their resources, farmers can sell their coffee directly to international buyers without relying on middlemen. Through Fair Trade, farmers receive a fair price that covers their cost of production and guarantees them a living wage for their labors.
Fair Trade far surpasses the temporary assistance provided to farmers through charity. Instead, the ongoing business of Fair Trade consistently contributes to improving the living conditions of farmers, their families and their communities. Cooperatives use profits from Fair Trade coffee sales for community improvement programs such as training in organic farming, leadership development, schools and health clinics.
Stories from the LWR Coffee Project:
Questions? Email fairtrade@lwr.org to learn more.
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