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Fair trade products are bought and sold while ensuring that the people who produce the products get paid a fair amount for the goods. Unethical purchasing practices have resulted in many farmers around the world getting grossly underpaid for products. When you buy a product labeled "fair trade" you know that the original producer or grower of your purchase was fairly compensated.
Many coffee farmers around the world are being paid less for their product than the cost of production, meaning they are forced into poverty by buyers. Fair Trade was set up to put a stop to this practice.
Cocoa beans are produced in pods on the cocoa tree. The pods range in color from red to yellow to green and are shaped like footballs. Cocoa pods take five to six months to ripen enough for harvest. The cocoa tree originated in South America and was also cultivated in Central America, where the Mayans used cocoa beans as currency. After European explorers arrived, they brought cocoa back with them to Europe, where it became a drink served only to royalty in locations such as Spain. No longer reserved for the wealthy, cocoa beans can be purchased in a variety…
The term "fair trade" means that manufacturers of a particular product are compensating growers with a fair price for the raw product they purchase. Common fair trade commodities include cocoa beans and coffee beans. Farms that are not part of fair trade agreements resemble sweatshops in other industries.
In recent years, sustainable foods have increased greatly in popularity. Along with an increased awareness of organically grown produce and naturally raised meat, there has also been an emphasis on economically just foods. Fair Trade coffee is perhaps the best known of the Fair Trade movement, and can be found in the aisles of many mainstream grocery stores, as well as both local coffee shops and national chains.
Walking through the coffee aisle or the health food section at the supermarket, you've probably run across Fair Trade coffee. What's the difference between Fair Trade and free trade coffee? Free trade allows for the flow of goods between countries--or within countries--without governmental restrictions. Fair Trade coffee cooperatives, on the other hand, constitute a political and economic effort to create better pay for poor coffee growers who farm their coffee beans in environmentally-beneficial conditions.
Fair Trade Coffee is an organization that respects the farmers who grow and collect coffee by paying a fair wage and providing support to the farming community. Buy Fair Trade Coffee to avoid exploitation of coffee farmers with insight from the owner of a coffee shop in this free video on coffee.
