Sustainable Farming Practices — Large Corporate Takes The Lead
Starbucks is on the path to achieving almost 100 percent ethical and sustainable coffee.
The article was originally published in WeNaturalists, as a part of the curated section by the editorial team. For more similar stories head to our Explore section.
Coffee, arguably is the most favored beverage in the world, and sadly one of the most unethically grown crops in the world too. Plagued with slavery, child labor, environmental impact, animal exploitation, and unfair trade prices, there are too many issues facing the coffee industry even today.
If that wasn’t enough already, there are major sustainability issues that have led many farmers opting out for other crops instead of coffee. Why? Because profitability has steadily gone down over the years. There is no protection and guarantee that, come harvest, the farmers will be able to get back even the amount they invested in.
This is the very reason the International Coffee Agreement was put in place in 1962. To safeguard the interests of the coffee planters and to ensure sustainable coffee farming. Even then, the farmers faced a global collapse in the prices of coffee in 1988. The community was once again devastated. Fair Trade came into the picture and put together processes and standards to ensure it never happened again. Which to this day, helps communities of farmers all over the world grow coffee.
But that in itself wasn’t enough. Consumer brands had to adapt it and ensure their suppliers adopted it too. The demand for cheaply grown coffee was still way too high. This was a problem for the coffee growing community but it was also placing undue pressure on natural resources like water while farming. Not to mention the aggressive farming practices which came as a consequence leading to deforestation and significant impact on soil due to the use of pesticides.
Many coffee brands did realize the importance of supporting and protecting their farming communities. It was important for the environment, for the community and essential for the long term sustainability of the industry.
A brand synonymous to a good life and great moments, Starbucks was one of them. And one of the few coffee companies which have committed to 100 percent ethical and sustainable sourcing of its coffee. They realized the implications of not taking this action were far reaching.
15 years ago, Starbucks along with Conservation International — a non-profit environmental organization — set on a journey to eradicate these pressing issues from their coffee supply chain. Calling it an ethical requirement, Starbucks worked with plantations, the farmer community, and authorities regulating coffee production to build an ecosystem for everyone to thrive. And they called it C.A.F.E.
C.A.F.E. (Coffee And Farmer Equity Practices) by Starbucks
The initiative focuses on sustainable coffee farming involving everyone from farmers to the end consumer. The aim of the initiative in many ways was to create a sense of community within farming, processing and ultimately delivering coffee.
With sustainable agricultural practices involving water conservation, bio-fertilizers, co-investment in farmer communities via technical assistance, and grants, C.A.F.E. ensured that Starbucks is sourcing ethically. And was helping the farmers get out of the many tragedies it faced in the past.
The efforts also consistently evaluate the economic, social, and environmental aspects of coffee production. Ensuring education to farmers with respect to best practices and technologies to grow better coffee. And in doing so, ensuring they protect the environment and the farmlands as well. Standardized processes were put into place to help efficient usage of time and natural resources. Biodegradable fertilizers and organic farming was promoted to ensure sustainability.
Today, C.A.F.E. Practices include over 400,000 coffee farmers in 28 countries that are committed to improve working conditions and nature friendly farming practices. Spanning more than a million hectares of land across the globe, the initiative is also aiming to provide 100 million coffee trees to farmers by 2025, which will see more people joining the farming community in multiple parts of the world. For these efforts the initiative is investing 50 million dollars in funding to farmer communities and training 200,000 coffee farmers.
“Starbucks has always committed itself to instilling and strengthening environmental responsibility as a corporate value, right from the farms from where the company sources its coffee, to the end where customers experience the coffee at Starbucks stores.” — Starbucks
Working with groups like the Eastern Congo Initiative, which is helping thousands of farmers in the Democratic Republic of Congo in increasing production and subsequently creating greater opportunities for the people and societies. The initiative also has over 200 indicators that track financial reporting and protect workers’ rights and nature.
Farmers who are taken care of, have the time and investment to focus on environmental issues.
A Long Road Ahead
Even though Starbucks has been working for decades towards improvements, there is a long way to go for the industry as a whole. The consumption has grown steadily year-on-year, yet the average wholesale costs of coffee have seen dramatic lows. Last year the prices hit record lows of below $1 per pound making coffee production non-viable and seeing millions of farmers lose money while producing coffee.
On the contrary, the coffee retail industry saw record highs in sales with over 2 billion cups of coffee being consumed everyday. The industry is estimated to be worth well over $200 billion. Efforts like C.A.F.E. ensures that the farmers enjoy a minimum guaranteed rate of $ 1.4 per pound for conventional coffee and $ 1.7 for organic coffee. It ensures that our production processes keep nature in mind and it ensures that the communities of farmers thrive.
More brands need to follow suit. There is a growing conversation among organizations working towards a future of sustainable and ethical coffee production. It gives a ray of hope and optimism for the future.
“In the end, it is not about coffee. It is about possibilities and commitment. Whether you’re a global company like Starbucks or a single human being, you can make a difference. All those differences add up to a world that’s changed for the better.” — Conservation International
It is important that these efforts are encouraged. And as the end consumers, we have the opportunity and the power to ensure brands follow in the footsteps of companies like Starbucks. All we have to do is to opt for coffee brands that follow these basic principles. Coffee brands like Wandering Bear Coffee Company, Equal Exchange, Pure Vida Coffee, Higher Ground Roasters, Café Mam, Larry’s Coffee, etc. are some brands maintaining these guidelines.
Let’s all of us make sure our cups of coffee are ethical and sustainable.
