| Organic Fair Trade Coffee Beans 2 |
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Organic Fair Trade Coffee 2 Organic fair trade coffee is coffee beans that are grown organically, and also by a farmer who receives a fair price for the time and effort required to produce quality coffee beans. Organic coffee beans is coffee grown without the use of pesticides, herbicides or artificial fertilizers. Choosing organic coffee beans frees farmers from working with harmful chemicals, and protects fragile mountain ecosystems and water supplies. The issue of fair trade coffee is a little more complex. Fair Trade Coffee and Social Conscience Fair trade is about paying farmers a fair price for their labor. There are two reasons to consider organic coffee in the context of fair trade. 1. Coffee is the most traded commodity on the planet, second only to oil. This means that its price is determined in significant part by traders on Wall Street and other large trading centers. The farmers themselves have no control over the price they need, or can ask for. Even though you and I have been paying about the same price for coffee over the last few years, the actual amount the farmers recieve has been falling most of that period. 2. Coffee plants have to be grown in sub-tropical or tropical environments. Hence, certain areas of the world dominate coffee production and output. Currently, Columbia, Brazil, Indonesia, India, Vietnam, Puerto Rico and Mexico top in coffee production. Yes, it is grown in developing countries. In fact approximately 60% of the world's coffee is grown by small farmers, many of whom are paid less that it costs them to grow the beans. As discomforting as it may feel, the coffee we enjoy in our homes is grown and harvested by farmers in the South who are often caught in a cycle of poverty, debt and desperation. This is where Fair Trade comes in... To become Fair Trade certified, an importer must meet a number of strict international standards. They must pay a minimum price per pound of $1.26 and provide credit to farmers. And if the fair trade coffee is grown organically, the amount paid increases to $1.41. In addition, they are obliged to provide helpful assistance, such as helping farmers switch to sustainable farming practices. It’s worth contemplating. When you buy organic fair trade coffee you are actively suporting and contributing to the betterment of someone’s life, and to thier family and the community they live in. At SonoCoffeeBeans.com we strongly support buying organic fair trade coffee beans, and believe it’s worth paying a little more to ensure that each cup of coffee we drink is doing some good for our bodies and the farmers who grow it. If you are looking for some organic and fair trade coffees, try FTO Sumatra Coffee beans or one of our other fair trade coffee bean selections found at www.sonocoffeebeans.com. |