"Using our Purchasing Power for Justice and Hope" 9/10

Actual Text

1. "In conventional trade the producer generally receives only 1 to 5% of the retail price that the consumer pays, whereas in Fair Trade the producer usually gets 20-30%" (Hoffhine and Farrell, pg. 7).

2. The brief synopsis about Blue Mountain coffee being produced in Jamaica. The forest and soils in Jamaica are essentially ruined by deforestation and overproduction and the islanders that live nearby are being greatly effected. One of the points that Hoffhine and Farrell make is that the "the more you produce, the more profit you will make," which is typically true. However in this case the people of Jamaica that live nearby are doing the opposite. The harder they work and the more they produce, the worse their living condition is. They can hardly raise livestock on their land or plant gardens due to soil erosion.

Responses to text

1. I was interested to read this statistic because I did not realize that intermediaries take a large part of the profit each time a particular product passes through their hands. By cutting out the intermediaries, a justly produced product such as coffee or handmade jewelry can be delivered to the consumer at nearly the same cost as conventionally traded goods. It made me question why all goods are not fair trade? Logistically it makes perfect sense that the person who is taking the time to make the products should receive a higher percentage of the profit then that of an intermediary who did not actually have anything to do with the production. Also, the fact that the workers do not have any input on the price they receive and that at any moment they can lose their job is truly astonishing.

2. After reading this blurb on Blue Mountain coffee it made me think about how many times a day I drink coffee. When I thought about it I realized that not once have I ever drank coffee and questioned where it came from or who was involved in the process and are they suffering because of it. I am not going to be hypocritical and say I am never going to drink non-fair trade coffee ever again, but reading this story definitely made me think about it. What would happen if my life revolved around a cash crop and I could no longer use the land to survive? Sometimes we can be so ignorant to something as simple as coffee, but for others such as those in Jamaica, there lives depend on it.

More blog posts in this category Common

• The Wound & the Blessing/The Economy of Communion Project Post
• The Crest- Jewel of Wisdom & Work as a Spiritual Practice Post
• "What Money Can't Buy" Blog Post
• Blog Post Ni: FTRN Booklet & Arithmetic of Passion
• Work as a Spiritual Practice (The Transformation of Work)