In rec.food.cooking, Miche > wrote:

> > But the wanky coffee yields a better price to the farmer than Fairtrade.

> But it's priced so that I can't afford to buy it.

If you buy Fairtrade coffee, you pay at least as much, and likely more,
than non- Fairtrade coffees which yield more for the farmers. I am not
opposed to Fairtrade. Some other people are, because it does not pay the
farmers as much as they would get by improving quality. Generally, it is
used as a marketing thing. Dunkin Donuts, for example, is selling
Fairtrade coffee. By doing so, they pay less per pound than they would if
they were to buy true specialty coffee, and give the impression that they
are helping farmers. Indeed, they are helping farmers, and the coffee
they get is better than average. but alternatives exist which help the
farmers more, and provide better coffee (and a better value) to consumers.

If helping coffee farmers is something you feel strongly about, another
excellent organization is CoffeeKids.

But anytime you buy specialty coffee, Fairtrade or not, you help farmers,
and anytime you buy supermarket-type canned coffee, you hurt farmers.

--
....I'm an air-conditioned gypsy...

- The Who