It is getting chilly outside now that we have entered October, and a warm cup of coffee sounds just like what we need to get through the day.
Speaking of coffee, did you know it was International Coffee Day on October 1st? It is more than just a day to recognize the deliciousness of coffee – it is a day to appreciate the people behind the creation of coffee beans and to think about how we can improve the world through the coffee industry. Keep reading to find out what this day means, why it is celebrated, and how recognizing it connects to realizing a future with a sustainable and ethical coffee economy.
- What is International Coffee Day?
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According to the International Coffee Organization, International Coffee Day celebrated on October 1st, is “a celebration of the coffee sector’s diversity, quality, and passion. It is an opportunity for coffee lovers to share their love of the beverage and support the millions of farmers whose livelihoods depend on the aromatic crop” (International Coffee Organization – 1 October Is International Coffee Day, 2014).
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) is the “main intergovernmental organization for coffee, bringing together exporting and importing Governments to tackle the challenges facing the world coffee sector through international cooperation”. Its mission is to empower the global coffee sector and to advance its sustainable development in a market-based environment to better the lives of all participants. The ICO was established in London in 1963 under the sponsorship of the United Nations because coffee was recognized as an important good in the global economy.
- Coffee, Sustainability, and Ethics
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Coffee is important to the economies of many countries that produce coffee, such as Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Pacific region. These countries are largely dependent on this commodity for their export earnings and, thus for achieving their goals for social and economic development. So, stakeholders in the coffee industry must participate in improving the livelihoods of the farmers and the people who live in these countries, which are mostly developing countries.
Developing a sustainable coffee economy has been a goal at the forefront of the ICO since 2007, first recognized by the “International Coffee Agreement”. This agreement encourages member countries involved in the ICO to strive to create a sustainable coffee sector in economic, social and environmental terms (ICO).
Recognizing International Coffee Day means recognizing all that coffee stands for. This helps to bring awareness to the stakeholders in the coffee sector about the threat to sustainability posed by negative economic conditions for coffee producers.
- Environmental Impacts of Coffee
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Firstly, how does coffee production beneficially impact the environment? Coffee is an evergreen shrub, which contributes to eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helps to stabilize soils, and it also enables the preservation of the original bio-diversity in the areas where it is planted.
However, there are some negative impacts of coffee production. There are several ways to process coffee beans, one of them being wet processing which has been an issue of concern due to its effects on water pollution. During this process, mucilage and coffee pulp are extracted from the ripe coffee beans, producing a high volume of wastewater. The wastewater is often not managed properly, and so it clogs waterways, contaminating the river (Gebremariam Woldesenbet et al., 2014). The wastewater from wet coffee processing is “acidic and rich in total suspended and dissolved solids which are biodegradable”. Without treatment of this wastewater, natural water bodies will be polluted. The high acidity can lead to eutrophication of water systems, thus endangering aquatic plants and wildlife (Moore, 2021).
- Societal Impacts of Coffee: Fairtrade and Coffee
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According to the Fairtrade organization, “Coffee is one of the world’s most popular beverages and 80% of it is produced by 25 million smallholders” (Coffee Farmers – Fairtrade Foundation, 2022). Smallholders are people (mainly living in the aforementioned developing countries) who own and/or manage an agricultural smallholding smaller than a farm. These smallholders labor every day to produce coffee for us coffee lovers, and yet many of them struggle to earn a reliable living from the coffee they produce. The second important reason to celebrate International Coffee Day is to recognize these smallholders and take action to help improve their standard and quality of living. Maintaining rural employment and stable communities is a national and international priority.
What was a solution that came out of this? Fairtrade was established after the collapse of world coffee prices in the late 1980s, in hopes of helping Mexican coffee farmers. Fairtrade enables certified coffee producer organizations to receive at least the Fairtrade Minimum Price for their coffee. In addition, coffee farmers also receive the additional Fairtrade Premium to invest in improving their business and community. In a video interview, Ketra Kyosiimire shares how Fairtrade has helped to improve her community and the lives of the smallholders.
Kyosiimire works with the Ankole Coffee Producers’ Co-operative Union LTD Uganda as an accountant and fairtrade coffee farmer. She states that, through the Fairtrade Premium, the community was able to build schools, which has “enabled farmers’ children to access school with ease”. There is also a scholarship scheme using Fairtrade funds at the Union level, providing financial support to pay school fees for students, especially those who are going for higher education. Fairtrade has also “empowered women to take up big roles in leadership”; Kyosiimire herself is an accountant and farmer at the same time, and she mentioned proudly that Fairtrade has empowered her to take these roles. Furthermore, she says, “Fairtrade has helped us to grow, to help our farmers grow, to help our children go to school. It has changed our lives”.
- How to help realize a sustainable, circular coffee economy
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How can we as coffee consumers help to improve the smallholders’ living and working conditions? In the video, Kyosiimire warns viewers about how climate change has a great negative impact on the coffee industry.
Currently, global warming has caused climate change, which results in fluctuations in the number of coffee beans yielded each year in the world. This causes a negative economic impact in the developing countries that rely on coffee exports, and also the countries that import them for their coffee businesses. The coffee industry is working to improve farming practices, change the post-harvest processing method, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions on the farm. But first of all, bringing awareness to these issues globally is the key to gathering people with the financial means to help make a positive change. But what can we do to help?
Kyosiimire calls upon us, coffee consumers, to buy more fair trade products. She states, “the more you buy fairtrade products, you get it in mind that you are helping a farmer and families at the grassroots”. So, if you ever buy coffee beans, look for fairtrade coffee beans!
I hope this article inspired you to appreciate the smallholder coffee farmers who work hard to make the coffee that we love, and to take even a small step towards helping to develop a circular economy in the coffee industry.
Works cited:
Coffee farmers – Fairtrade Foundation. (2022, April 27). Fairtrade Foundation. https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/farmers-and-workers/coffee/
Gebremariam Woldesenbet, A., Woldeyes, B., & Chandravanshi, B. (2014). Characteristics of Wet Coffee Processing Waste and Its Environmental Impact in Ethiopia. International Journal of Research in Engineering and Science (IJRES) ISSN, 2, 1-05. https://www.ijres.org/papers/Volume%202/v2-i4/A0240105.pdf
International Coffee Organization – 1 October is International Coffee Day. (2014). Ico.org. https://www.ico.org/international-coffee-day.asp
Moore, V. (2021, May 21). Environmental Impact of Coffee Production – Facts and Figures. Sustainable Business Toolkit. https://www.sustainablebusinesstoolkit.com/environmental-impact-coffee-trade/