Don Pierce
Farmers in Las Pilas, Mexico, take a break from the harvest.
Editor's note: Stephanie Catlett is editor of "Catalyst," the newsletter of New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City and Coralville. Catlett recently traveled to Chiapas, Mexico, to experience the origins of coffee firsthand. Here, she reports about that visit.
Mexico produces more than 60 percent of the world's coffee, with most being grown in Chiapas and Oaxaca. Yet despite this abundance, these states are two of the poorest in the country. Farmers have no access to subsidies or tax incentives to help them stay in business.
In March, I traveled to Chiapas with three representatives from Equal Exchange -- a worker-owned, fair-trade cooperative business -- and seven other food co-op employees from around the country. We set out on a bean-to-cup adventure to observe the growing, harvesting, milling and roasting of coffee in Chiapas -- and to witness how fair trade practices and the cooperative business model have helped indigenous farming communities there.
Beyond learning about coffee production, I was educated on global trade policies, the plight of small farmers in Mexico, and the inadequacies of a food system that serves to obtain the cheapest food at the cheapest prices, no matter what the human cost.
Without fair-trade organizations like Equal Exchange, I learned, even more small farmers would fall prey to mercenary corporations whose only care is the bottom line. Fair trade -- in case you haven't heard -- means paying farmers more accurately for the true cost of production.
But fair-trade, for cooperatives, isn't just about paying farmers a better wage. It's also about educating the people who buy fair-trade products. In this case, the people who buy coffee.
According to our Equal Exchange guide, Phyllis Robinson, "We want to deepen the message of fair trade in the consumer world by educating consumers about the realities facing small farmers, their hopes and aspirations, and the challenges they face."
After several educational meetings, our group traveled south to Jaltenango to the offices of CESMACH (Ecological Farmers of the Sierra Madres of Chiapas). CESMACH connects Equal Exchange with the farmer cooperatives they represent, guaranteeing pre-harvest financing to farmers who might otherwise look to coyotes -- predatory coffee brokers who pay the lowest prices to growers -- to attain immediate payment for their crop. CESMACH also creates projects focusing on food security, dietary diversification, and protection of endangered indigenous plants.
Our trip continued as we traveled deeper into the Sierra Madres, to the isolated village of Las Pilas. As we entered the village, I was struck with how alike farmers are even when separated by thousands of miles and borders. The men of Las Pilas wore reserved expressions on their weathered faces. Their passion for the land reminded me of so many of our own small farmers in Iowa, each earnestly caring for the soil that sustains their families and communities.
The more I learned in Chiapas, the more I questioned: How can my awakening understanding of the way the fair-trade movement transforms the lives of small farmers be translated to busy, economically-burdened US consumers? According to the Family Farm Alliance, Americans spend less than 10 percent of their annual income on food. (In 1933, the figure was more than 25 percent.) As we spend less on food, farmers are paid less for their labors. Rarely do consumers look beyond the price tag to the real cost of producing an item -- especially in these time-strapped times.
But doesn't being a socially responsible member of a community, be it local or global, indicate a responsibility to all of the members of that community, including the farmers, producers and consumers? By making purchases that are mindful of a product's origins, we make a statement that says, "I care about my community and the welfare of the farmers who grow my food."
I doubt I ever will be able to fully articulate the lush beauty of Las Pilas, perched on the side of a mountain and accessible only by fearless drivers on treacherous roads. How can I communicate the hope that is generated when a small group of farmers is paid fairly for its back-breaking labor and has access to funds for education and community projects?
Perhaps Eric Schlosser, author of the well-known book "Fast Food Nation," puts it best. He writes, "Meaningful change ... isn't going to come from the top. It's going to come from people who realize that there's a direct link between the food they eat and the society they inhabit."
Stephanie Catlett is a writer and editor. She lives in Iowa City.
