Brewing Justice Fair Trade Coffee, Sustainability, and Survival

About this book

Fair trade is a fast-growing alternative market intended to bring better prices and greater social justice to small farmers around the world. But is it working? This vivid and detailed study of coffee farmers in Mexico offers the first thorough investigation of the social, economic, and environmental benefits of fair trade. Based on extensive research in Zapotec indigenous communities in the state of Oaxaca, Brewing Justice follows the members of the cooperative Michiza, whose organic coffee is sold on the international fair trade market. It compares these families to conventional farming families in the same region, who depend on local middlemen and are vulnerable to the fluctuations of the world coffee market.

Written in a clear and accessible style, the book carries readers into the lives of these coffee producer households and their communities, offering a nuanced analysis of both the effects of fair trade on everyday life and the limits of its impact. Brewing Justice paints a clear picture of the complex dynamics of the fair trade market and its relationship to the global economy. Drawing on interviews with dozens of fair trade leaders, the book also explores the changing politics of this international movement, including the challenges posed by the entry of transnational corporations into the fair trade system. It concludes by offering recommendations for strengthening and protecting the integrity of fair trade.

Contents

List of Figures List of Tables Preface Introduction 1. A Movement or a Market? 2. Coffee, Commodities, Crisis 3. One Region, Two Markets 4. The Difference a Market Makes: Livelihoods and Labor 5. A Sustainable Cup? Fair Trade, Shade-Grown Coffee, and Organic Production 6. Eating and Staying on the Land: Food Security and Migration 7. Dancing with the Devil? 8. "Mejor, Pero No Muy Bien Que Digamos": The Limits of Fair Trade 9. Strengthening Fair Trade Conclusion Acknowledgments Appendix: Research Methods Notes Bibliography Index

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Biography

Daniel Jaffee is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Washington State University.