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Main
Date: 19 Jun 2007 21:43:52
From: Nico
Subject: green coffee
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If you're a coffee drinker looking for a little added "feel good"
value in your cup, you shouldn't have to look too far. Today,
companies large and small are selling coffee with various eco-labels
claiming to address social and environmental challenges within the
industry. By choosing coffees with the most credible eco-labels,
you'll help to ensure your purchase will make a difference.
WHY IT MATTERS
Farm earnings are low. The majority of coffee is grown by small family
farmers in remote tropical regions. Because they lack market access,
they often sell their harvest to middlemen for a fraction of its
value, keeping them in a cycle of extreme poverty. The typical coffee
worker earns hardly enough to meet basic living needs.
Growing practices are damaging eco-systems. To increase yields, new
coffee varieties are being introduced that grow in full sun, which
require intensive use of pesticides and fertilizers. This arrangement
disrupts eco-systems and supports far less biodiversity than coffee's
native shaded habitat. For example, the Smithsonian Migratory Bird
Center reports that studies have shown there are 94 to 97 percent
fewer bird species on full-sun plantations compared to shade
plantations.
HOW YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Choose coffee with meaningful eco-labels. Doing so can help make a
real difference in the lives of the people who grow coffee and also
benefit the environment. The following is a list of the most
meaningful eco-labels you can find on coffee:
Bird Friendly
What it means:
=B7Coffee is grown under conditions that support healthy bird habitats.
=B7Coffee is grown under a tree canopy with a minimum of 40 percent
shade.
=B7Coffee is grown organically, according to USDA organic standards.
For a list of Bird Friendly coffee companies, visit the Smithsonian
Migratory Bird Center, a research and certification organization. To
learn more about what the Bird Friendly label means, visit Eco-labels,
our free labeling Web site.
A note on "Shade-Grown" claims. This has become an increasingly common
claim that may not be very meaningful. Any "shade-grown" claim should
be associated with clear, minimum shade-coverage requirements and
independent, third-party certification. Of the two certification
programs in the U.S. that currently require shade- Bird friendly and
Rainforest Alliance-Bird friendly has the most rigorous requirements.
Fair Trade Certified
What it means:
=B7Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pound
($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
rates, for their product.*
=B7Trade is conducted directly between farmer-owned cooperatives and
buyers.
=B7Crops are grown using soil and water conservation measures that
restrict the use of agrochemicals.
For a list of companies that carry Fair Trade coffee, visit TransFair
USA, the U.S. fair trade labeling organization. To learn more about
what the Fair Trade label means, visit Eco-labels, our free labeling
Web site.
*Since growers receive a minimum price regardless of what you pay for
a Fair Trade Certified product, you can shop around to find the lowest
retail price.
Rainforest Alliance
What it means:
=B7 Crops are grown using integrated pest management systems that limit
the use of agrochemicals.
=B7 Crops are grown using water-, soil-, and wildlife-habitat
conservation measures.
=B7 Farm laborers are paid salaries and benefits equal to or greater
than the legal minimum wage of their countries.
To locate Rainforest Alliance certified coffee, visit the Rainforest
Alliance, an environmental advocacy and certification organization. To
learn more about what the Rainforest Alliance label means, visit Eco-
labels, our free labeling Web site.
USDA Certified Organic
What it means:
=B7Farmers emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation
of soil and water to enhance environmental quality.
=B7Crops are grown without using synthetic fertilizer or the most
persistent pesticides.
=B7Crops are produced without genetic engineering or ionizing
radiation.
=B7Crops are processed and handled separately from conventional coffee.
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Date: 22 Jun 2007 21:34:05
From: nimbus
Subject: Re: green coffee
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On Jun 21, 10:59 pm, "Brent" <m...@privacy.net > wrote:
> >> ...snip...
>
> >> Fair Trade Certified
>
> >> What it means:
>
> >> =B7Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pou=
nd
> >> ($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
> >> rates, for their product.*
>
> >> ??? Please explain to me how the 'workers' get paid $1.26/lb. My
> >> understanding isw thet the co-op gets that amount and the farmers get
> >> what is left over after 'expenses' of the co-op (often much less). The
> >> 'workers' hired by the farmer to help out with harvest would presumably
> >> get less than the farmer recieves for the delivered product.
>
> >> Terry M
> > In the 3 hour documentary 'Black Coffee' they visited a plantation in
> > Costa Rica where "fast pickers could earn up to $18 per day". They didn=
't
> > mention what poundage this represented.
>
> > Bertie
>
> nor do they mention if the rate per pound is for cherry or bean which I
> understand weigh in quite differently...
>
> I assume it is for cherry weight.
>
> Brent- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -
Pretty sure it is bean price, and correct, neither the worker nor the
farmer get paid that amount.
This is a huge topic here - the whole fair trade and label issue. Yes,
it sounds good in principle, but the devil is in the details as usual.
Farmers must join coops in order to have their product labeled fair
trade. This can lead to problems, and adds another level of potential
problems and even corruption. Further, there is little incentive for
higher quality, as the pricing is set at a fixed rate as opposed to
higher or lower depending on crop quality. This flaw can seriously
hurt farmers long-term if they end up producing inferior crops which
don't match up to competition.
Concepts like "direct-trade," where larger specialty roasters (like
Intelligentsia in Chicago) work directly with growers, paying them
higher rates and helping them to increase quality, are truly a win-win
situation.
Also, in talking labels, keep in mind that a lot of coffee one buys
might not get labeled "organic" even though it really is. That is
because chemicals are expensive, and many growers don't have money for
them, nor do they have money for the organic certification.
Many good people are working hard on these issues, and I suspect that
we will see the labels and the organizations doing the labeling
continue to evolve over the next decade. A lot of us are pushing for
sustainability and quality, and a lot of us care about social justice
issues simultaneously.
Peace,
-Nimbus Couzin, Roaster
Ray's Monkey House and Kid Cafe
Louisville, Kentucky
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Date: 23 Jun 2007 06:53:58
From:
Subject: Re: green coffee
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On Fri, 22 Jun 2007 21:34:05 -0700, nimbus <couzin@gmail.com > wrote:
>On Jun 21, 10:59 pm, "Brent" <m...@privacy.net> wrote:
>> >> ...snip...
>>
>> >> Fair Trade Certified
>>
>> >> What it means:
>>
>> >> ·Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pound
>> >> ($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
>> >> rates, for their product.*
>>
>> >> ??? Please explain to me how the 'workers' get paid $1.26/lb. My
>> >> understanding isw thet the co-op gets that amount and the farmers get
>> >> what is left over after 'expenses' of the co-op (often much less). The
>> >> 'workers' hired by the farmer to help out with harvest would presumably
>> >> get less than the farmer recieves for the delivered product.
>>
>> >> Terry M
>> > In the 3 hour documentary 'Black Coffee' they visited a plantation in
>> > Costa Rica where "fast pickers could earn up to $18 per day". They didn't
>> > mention what poundage this represented.
>>
>> > Bertie
>>
>> nor do they mention if the rate per pound is for cherry or bean which I
>> understand weigh in quite differently...
>>
>> I assume it is for cherry weight.
>>
>> Brent- Hide quoted text -
>>
>> - Show quoted text -
>
>Pretty sure it is bean price, and correct, neither the worker nor the
>farmer get paid that amount.
>
>This is a huge topic here - the whole fair trade and label issue. Yes,
>it sounds good in principle, but the devil is in the details as usual.
>Farmers must join coops in order to have their product labeled fair
>trade. This can lead to problems, and adds another level of potential
>problems and even corruption. Further, there is little incentive for
>higher quality, as the pricing is set at a fixed rate as opposed to
>higher or lower depending on crop quality. This flaw can seriously
>hurt farmers long-term if they end up producing inferior crops which
>don't match up to competition.
>
>Concepts like "direct-trade," where larger specialty roasters (like
>Intelligentsia in Chicago) work directly with growers, paying them
>higher rates and helping them to increase quality, are truly a win-win
>situation.
>
>Also, in talking labels, keep in mind that a lot of coffee one buys
>might not get labeled "organic" even though it really is. That is
>because chemicals are expensive, and many growers don't have money for
>them, nor do they have money for the organic certification.
>
>Many good people are working hard on these issues, and I suspect that
>we will see the labels and the organizations doing the labeling
>continue to evolve over the next decade. A lot of us are pushing for
>sustainability and quality, and a lot of us care about social justice
>issues simultaneously.
>
>Peace,
>
>-Nimbus Couzin, Roaster
>Ray's Monkey House and Kid Cafe
>Louisville, Kentucky
Hmm. I agree with much of what you say and yet, I do not want some of
it to become fact without this information which I have said many
times in the past but I think it is worth repeating.
About a decade ago, at the SCAA, I spoke to a farmer from Zimbabwe who
told us he had thousands of acres and it was just the 2 of them except
at picking season. I asked him, as a small coffee farmer myself, how
he managed to do all the farming with just 2 of them. He told us the
chemicals he used. My husband was there and was familiar with
pesticides etc. and Bob said to me, later out of the earshot of the
farmer, that those chemicals the Zimbabwe farmer listed were banned in
the US!
I think it is a mistake to believe that poor origins use no chemicals.
How do you think that their coffee can be sold so cheaply? It takes
Bob many many hours to weed whack the grass under the coffee which
could quickly be sprayed etc. And in many 3rd world coffee lands,
there are enormous amounts of pests which attack coffee so they have
to do something.They'd have no crop if they didn't use chemicals.
Here in Hawaii, we are relatively pest free because we are the most
isolated land mass on earth:). How do we protect ourselves from the
incoming green that is often used to make a Kona "blend"? Every green
coming into Hawaii is fumigated with methyl bromide! Hmm, tha's our
dubious solution.
I do agree with your statement that buying directly from a farmer you
can talk to, is the very best idea. In Hawaii the USDA prohibits
spraying of any pesticide on coffee, knowing you will ingest it. We
adhere to the USDA rules of course so you can assume coffee from
Hawaii has no pesticides.
I do think believe things will improve as people become more aware, so
I hope people continue to work on the idea as you said.
BTW the people who help pick our coffee can pick up to 200 pounds per
day when the "round of picking" is heavy. We also pay them about
$.50/lb or more.
Sorry for the rant.
aloha,
Cea
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona
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Date: 25 Jun 2007 12:23:24
From: Brent
Subject: Re: green coffee
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Hi Cea,
What weight of beans does a pound of cherry produce?
as I type this I am sure you have answered this before :)
Brent
> BTW the people who help pick our coffee can pick up to 200 pounds per
> day when the "round of picking" is heavy. We also pay them about
> $.50/lb or more.
>
> Sorry for the rant.
>
> aloha,
> Cea
> roast beans to kona to email
> farmers of Pure Kona
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Date: 24 Jun 2007 21:21:13
From: Craig Andrews
Subject: Re: green coffee
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"Brent" <me@privacy.net > wrote in message
news:5e8g7sF37irluU1@mid.individual.net...
> Hi Cea,
>
> What weight of beans does a pound of cherry produce?
>
> as I type this I am sure you have answered this before :)
>
> Brent
>
Hi Brent, I'm not Cea., but Cea has said that it takes 6 lbs of their
gorgeous Kona cheery to produce 1 lb of green. {;-)
Craig.
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Date: 24 Jun 2007 21:22:59
From: Craig Andrews
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
"Craig Andrews" <alt.coffee@deletethis.rogers.com > wrote in message
news:5e8jk7F36orunU1@mid.individual.net...
>
> "Brent" <me@privacy.net> wrote in message
> news:5e8g7sF37irluU1@mid.individual.net...
>> Hi Cea,
>>
>> What weight of beans does a pound of cherry produce?
>>
>> as I type this I am sure you have answered this before :)
>>
>> Brent
>>
>
> Hi Brent, I'm not Cea., but Cea has said that it takes 6 lbs of their
> gorgeous Kona cheery to produce 1 lb of green. {;-)
> Craig.
>
That's cherry, but I'm sure they're cheery cherries! {;-D
Craig.
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Date: 26 Jun 2007 15:06:33
From: Brent
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
Yeah,
I am sure that is what Cea told me last time :)
Brent
>>> Hi Cea,
>>>
>>> What weight of beans does a pound of cherry produce?
>>>
>>> as I type this I am sure you have answered this before :)
>>>
>>> Brent
>>>
>>
>> Hi Brent, I'm not Cea., but Cea has said that it takes 6 lbs of their
>> gorgeous Kona cheery to produce 1 lb of green. {;-)
>> Craig.
>>
>
> That's cherry, but I'm sure they're cheery cherries! {;-D
> Craig.
>
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Date: 25 Jun 2007 18:16:14
From:
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:06:33 +1200, "Brent" <me@privacy.net > wrote:
>Yeah,
>
>I am sure that is what Cea told me last time :)
>
>Brent
>
snippped..
Yes that is true. Approximately 6 pounds of cherry : one pound of
green.
Okay Brent, your memory is better than mine:)! I just asked Bob.
(Congratulations from rainy Kona Coffee land.)
aloha,
Cea
>
roast beans to kona to email
farmers of Pure Kona
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Date: 26 Jun 2007 02:10:07
From: Craig Andrews
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
<beans@smithfarms.com > wrote in message
news:3j41831asen0pr9gs371jbmjj9jbi9ub35@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 26 Jun 2007 15:06:33 +1200, "Brent" <me@privacy.net> wrote:
>
>>Yeah,
>>
>>I am sure that is what Cea told me last time :)
>>
>>Brent
>>
> snippped..
>
> Yes that is true. Approximately 6 pounds of cherry : one pound of
> green.
>
> Okay Brent, your memory is better than mine:)! I just asked Bob.
That'd be my memory, as Bob didn't know & asked the question., I gave the
answer. {;-)
>
> (Congratulations from rainy Kona Coffee land.)
>
> aloha,
> Cea
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Date: 23 Jun 2007 21:47:22
From: Donn Cave
Subject: Re: green coffee
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Quoth beans@smithfarms.com:
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Date: 20 Jun 2007 09:50:47
From: Coffee Contact
Subject: Re: green coffee
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"Nico" <themoormans@gmail.com > wrote in message
news:1182289432.348264.28910@n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
...snip...
Fair Trade Certified
What it means:
·Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pound
($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
rates, for their product.*
??? Please explain to me how the 'workers' get paid $1.26/lb. My
understanding isw thet the co-op gets that amount and the farmers get what
is left over after 'expenses' of the co-op (often much less). The 'workers'
hired by the farmer to help out with harvest would presumably get less than
the farmer recieves for the delivered product.
Terry M
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Date: 20 Jun 2007 22:19:18
From: Bertie Doe
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
"Coffee Contact" <coffee@nb.aibn.com > wrote in message
news:467922af$0$4336$9a566e8b@news.aliant.net...
>
> "Nico" <themoormans@gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1182289432.348264.28910@n60g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
>
> ...snip...
>
> Fair Trade Certified
>
> What it means:
>
> ·Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pound
> ($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
> rates, for their product.*
>
> ??? Please explain to me how the 'workers' get paid $1.26/lb. My
> understanding isw thet the co-op gets that amount and the farmers get what
> is left over after 'expenses' of the co-op (often much less). The
> 'workers' hired by the farmer to help out with harvest would presumably
> get less than the farmer recieves for the delivered product.
>
> Terry M
In the 3 hour documentary 'Black Coffee' they visited a plantation in Costa
Rica where "fast pickers could earn up to $18 per day". They didn't mention
what poundage this represented.
Bertie
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Date: 22 Jun 2007 14:59:10
From: Brent
Subject: Re: green coffee
|
>> ...snip...
>>
>> Fair Trade Certified
>>
>> What it means:
>>
>> ·Farmers and workers are guaranteed a minimum price of $1.26 per pound
>> ($1.41 per pound if organic), which is higher than average market
>> rates, for their product.*
>>
>> ??? Please explain to me how the 'workers' get paid $1.26/lb. My
>> understanding isw thet the co-op gets that amount and the farmers get
>> what is left over after 'expenses' of the co-op (often much less). The
>> 'workers' hired by the farmer to help out with harvest would presumably
>> get less than the farmer recieves for the delivered product.
>>
>> Terry M
> In the 3 hour documentary 'Black Coffee' they visited a plantation in
> Costa Rica where "fast pickers could earn up to $18 per day". They didn't
> mention what poundage this represented.
>
> Bertie
>
nor do they mention if the rate per pound is for cherry or bean which I
understand weigh in quite differently...
I assume it is for cherry weight.
Brent
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