‘It is scary enough to hear about the working condi- Peasants (who pick the coffee beans them- the chance to wear gloves or even masks when dealing

tions.

selves) never have

with pesticides.”

Story by Stephanie Johnston and Frederic Cullum Photography by Marlon Francescini and Becky Booth

It is early morning. You were up late studying for that bloody Political Science midterm and groaning from it as well. If you only had a cup of coffee then maybe you would be at least up and ready to go for:your morning class. You head over to the first café you see while driving. For most of us, it is the local Tim Hortons. It is funny to think that in Canada, we annually consume more than four kilograms of coffee per capita. This figure averages about two cups per person per day! Ick - and we aren’t coffee drinkers. Is it just us or is that a lot of coffee? Then, you get thinking, as you sip the brown, frothy warm, darkened substance, how did it get here? How many people did it take to get the coffee beans just so? Many could tell you about the history of cof- fee but we’re sure that would send you back to your bed instead of enjoying your cup of fair trade coffee. Fair trade? What's that? I only asked for coffee. Just a cup of coffee.

Fair trade.is coffee where the labour is correctly enforced and the employers are-properly paid for. It is also political- ly-correct. This means that the workers (usually peasants) are paid respectable sums of cash rather than unsatisfactory wages in unsatisfactory working conditions. In 1996, the American magazine Forbes reported that the president and chief executive officer of Phillip Morris, Geoffrey C. Bible, received the annual salary of a coffee plantation worker is less than $2000. That’s pretty pathetic, if you ask us.

However, thanks to groups like, Transfair Canada, one of the many affiliates of the Fairtrade Labelling Organization, coffee is starting to be produced by small plantations that are able to make a decent profit from producing coffee, which is one of the top ten valued products today. Typical localized coffee plantations have only two to five acres of land and make up one third of the twenty-five million cof- fee producers in seventy countries around the world. You

‘heard us, twenty-five million. Why so many? One bush makes only around a pound a coffee per year, so farmers only acquire ten percent of the coffee’s retail price. Families who work on the smaller plantations make less than five dollars a day. With Transfair Canada, the company ensures that smaller plantations are paid a minimum of US$1.26 per pound, which covers the plantation and any basic living costs. Once these plantations can sell the coffee price, they ensure a healthy survival for their families.

It is scary enough to hear about the working conditions. Imagine going to a dentist who doesn’t wear gloves or a mask even. You can’t imagine thinking whether the dentist

has clean hands, especially when they are going in your mouth. Peasants (who pick the coffee beans themselves) never have the chance to wear gloves or even masks when dealing with pesticides. These pesticides are prepared with water before application. This often occurs next to a river where water is also used for drinking, bathing, washing clothes and cleaning animals. Gross. We can’t imagine what germs must be crawling on your coffee beans. These are everyday situations that face workers in Ethiopia, Brazil, Colombia, and India (to name just a few) who work in plantations. Sometimes these conditions combined with tropical temperatures increase the risk of accidents. In homes, it is not uncommon to find pesticides in unprotect- ed latrines and kitchens.

This isn’t all. Fairtrade coffee works on the level of the coffee consumer as well. By spending a little more on fair trade, you are guaranteed good ethics; good living condi- tions, and a safe environment. Fair trade has been described as a “more realistic cost”, which acknowledges growth of ethical conduct with a “boycott”. Transfair does not boycott corporations within the coffee industry; it just directs trade and pre-financing. It also provides long-term contracting for its worker while growing their beans effec- tively under shade. Under shade? Growing the beans under shade creates coffee that is better quality while veg- etables and fruit can also be grown (either for personal use

- or selling) at the very same time.

So that is fair trade coffee. A lot more than you thought went into that cup o’ Joe that you finished by the time you read this article. Remember going to the dentist who does- n't wear gloves or a mask? These are the realities of the plantation workers. You think you have it bad. You fin- ished the coffee. We didn’t.

We're not trying to leave you grossed out of your mind. We're leaving you with a simple challenge: just try fair trade coffee. You may like it more than normal coffee. That’s what good ethics and good business should be all about. Check it out right here in Prince George at Central Perc, on 7912 Melbourne Place. Start petitions on campus. That will get something brewing. Or stop buying coffee: That's all.

Information taken from Coffee with a Cause, available at the PGPIRG library. .

& ?