Coffee traceability matters because is the most basic information needed to assure coffee is environmentally and socially responsible. It is essential for the future of the industry.
Majority of people believe Specialty coffee is the opposite of commodity. However a coffee differentiates from commodity by just offering full or partial information about the people who produced it.
Whether this is real traceability or not is debatable. However, despite being a loose definition, achieving any type of traceability is not easy. Mostly because, to satisfy international contracts and demand, exporters must aggregate and mix large volumes of coffee at a time. Sometimes sourced from several to even thousands of farmers. Before grading them and finally shipping them to markets all over the world.
Individual smallholder coffee farmers are too small to be relevant for the industry
In contrast, most coffee growers, by definition, are smallholder farmers, who grow coffee in plots smaller than 2 acres. Nonetheless 90% of them don’t even reach half that area.
Likewise, smallholder coffee framers commonly live below the poverty line. Therefore rarely have the luxury to enjoy fertilizers availability or higher yields. Globally, average coffee yields per smallholder farmers are not larger than 360Kg/year. (6 bags)
Due to their insignificant scale. Smallholder farmers often need to sell their coffee without any previous processing to the best bidder. Rarely there is a transaction record, document, or contract.
Once farmers lose ownership so early in the supply chain. Their coffee becomes anonymous and difficult to track back to the farm.
Most traceable coffees available in the market today are only traceable to processing units like, wet-mills and dry-mills. However, information about the actual farmers who grew them is largely unknown.
SEE ALSO: Is Fair Trade good for coffee farmers?
Traceability is an alternative estate farms willingly decide not to choose
For coffee estates, full traceability is potentially possible and far less complicated. However, the intense oversight and labor to trace the coffee back to the farm could represent as much as 30% of extra cost. Unfortunately, for commodity coffee importers, price is essential and absorbing traceability fees are commonly not justifiable nor essential.
Consequently, even for coffee estates, full traceability is still rare. Most large commercial farmers, as well as large roasters. Surprisingly still have no control or knowledge about the destination and origin of their own coffees.
The link between commodity coffee and modern slavery
Danwatch, an NGO specialized in monitoring major’s corporation’s loose ethics and bad behavior. In their 2016 report, claimed major coffee companies were unable to verify the sources of their beans. Some, including Nestlé, had purchased coffee from Brazilian farms that had been previously accused of using slave labor.
You can download the report here: Danwatch Bitter Coffee 2016
The accusation, encouraged 12 out of 800 workers freed from slavery by the Brazilian Labor Ministry during 2016. To come forward and formally accused Jacobs Douwe Egberts, Illy, Starbucks, McDonald’s, Dunkin Donuts and Nestlé. The charge was lax oversight of their supply chains in violation of the binding human rights and sustainability guidelines. Corresponding to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Agreement signed by 36 countries that promotes global trade organization’s, which Brazil has signed as well.
Based on this agreement, Brazil has a commitment to comply with OECD guidelines for multinational companies. These stipulate the corporate duty to respect human rights. Companies in the coffee sector, like all corporate players. Must conduct due diligence to identify, prevent and remedy human rights violations, including in their supply chains.
Earlier last year, additional 300 coffee workers were found by officials in slave-like conditions nationwide, the highest in 15 years. From the 190 companies blacklisted for slave labor in Brazil. 18 are coffee producers and 13 are based in Minas Gerais. However, Minas Gerais surface is larger than France. It has at least 119,000 coffee plantations and hundreds of thousands of workers but only 245 labor inspectors. So, the true extent of slavery in the sector is still unknown.
Coffee certification is not the solution
In 2019, a new report based on a 6-month undercover investigation performed by Thomson Reuters Foundation. Found that even certified “Rain Forest Alliance farms” and coffees stamped with “Slavery free” by top certification schemes. Sold at a premium to major brands such as Starbucks and Nespresso are involved in slavery.
The investigation revealed, labor violations in 10 certified farms. Raising questions about the effectiveness of labels that lead to higher prices. The charges are not new for Rainforest. In 2017, a Rainforest-backed farm was judged by officials to have exploited workers who were forced to do illegal overtime.
Rainforest endorses hundreds of coffee plantations in Minas Gerais through a system of “group certifications”. Despite auditing only a fraction of any collective’s many farms.
Although, “Rain Forest Alliance” certification is the only certifying agency experiencing this situation. It doesn’t mean it is the only one involved in slave labor. Largely because other certification agencies use the same auditing process as a standard.
SEE ALSO: Is organic coffee better than traditional coffee?
It is just the beginning
Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro earlier last year alleged child labor was not harmful. Additionally he complained that the legal definition of slavery under Brazilian law was too broad. Not to mentioned, he softened the restrictions to use the Amazon for commercial purposes. Since then Brazilian rain forest has been on fire nonstop.
What can you do to help?
- Demand transparency and information rather than certification.
- Don’t buy any coffee that doesn’t show up information about the producer, the more you know the better. Even coffee blends have no excuse and should always list at least, each coffee origin and producer.
- Amazon fires are opening the forest for agriculture and cattle. Don’t buy coffee from affected areas (Rondônia, west Bahia and west and north-west Minas Gerais). This should apply for Peruvian coffees as well.
- Don’t consume any Vietnamese Robusta.
- Use traceability to support Colombian coffee farmers and their permanent struggle against illicit coca plantations and drug trafficking. Specially in the Nariño area. Buy Nariño coffee!!
- Help to stop illegal migration from Central America to the US. By buying single origin, Specialty Coffee from Honduras, Guatemala or Nicaragua. Paying extra for value added by farmers will preserve farmers dignity and way of life.
- Buy coffee from Hoppong and Pinglau in Myanmar and help them to stay away from illicit Heroin plantations.
- Support Haiti reconstruction by enjoying their coffee.
- Buy coffee from coffee shops and roasters who have direct relationship with farmers and coffee origins.
- Ask for coffee origin’s details before you buy and purchase depending on the answer.
- If Specialty coffee is too expensive for you. Learn to roast and save 80% of the cost while still enjoying the best coffees
- Learn how to brew your own coffee and avoid convenient products, mostly capsules and pods.
I think you have got the idea.
And always remember:
The coffee you buy, you support and the coffee you don’t buy you discourage. Let’s change the world one cup at a time