Above photo by Meditations, Pixaby
By Carie Moore
If anyone asked me what my favorite things are there would easily be 3: Tractors, coffee, and pigs. I talk a lot about tractors and pigs when talking food production, because I know them and love them. I always have a cup of coffee in my hand, but never talk much about it. I am currently trying to contact a coffee farmer from South America. I want to know who and what it takes to make my coffee and connect with them, like we encourage all of you to do if you have questions about your food. I support farmers because they put time, money, and hard work into planting and harvesting a crop.
What I have learned is that many coffee producers are just like me. Small farms, doing their best to care and conserve the land for sustainability, and like us, not nearly getting back financially what is being put into it.
I drink A LOT of coffee. And I’m not picky: Hot, iced, decaf, regular, lattes, whole beans, it’s all good! Coffee is my better half. When I go on trips, coffee is usually in the pictures with me. The thing I find amusing is that most of us question our food down to the kind of milk we put in our coffee – cow, almond, soy, coconut – but how many question the coffee or how it’s produced? (Check out CommonGround's Not a Latte video featuring Jamestown farmer Sarah Wilson.)
For the first time in my life, I am researching “a label.”
It took some work to research. You can’t just search a company or label, and you must search both sides with an open mind. Then using common sense and what you do know, question the validity of both sides and make your own personal decision.
What I do know, and practice, is this: As a farmer, conservationist, and rural resident I follow the same guidelines for my coffee as I do my food. I support both the small local business and the large ones. We need them both. I support a wide variety of farming operations because we need them all. Small coffee shops support small and more local roasters and farmers. Larger chains have money to give back on a global scale and the funds to get the mass amounts of coffee we need imported to the United States. Do they make money? Yes, but that’s where you have to dig in and do your research and read the reports and talk to people.
The best place to start is your chain coffee store managers. I have a friend who manages one and their company sends them to visit the farms who grow their coffee. She posted the pictures and first-hand experiences right in her stores for all their customers. That made a lasting impact on me. So, I support them. I learned most of them, although underpaid, are grateful, like us, for a job and to capably provide for their family. Coffee will remain a strong beverage choice for Americans past, present, and future. Sip with satisfaction and keep in mind, just like American farmers, there are coffee farmers working long and hard days to be the “best part of waking up!”