There's Understanding Then There's Action

“People in your country [the United States] need to understand how hard people work to make this coffee…That they work too hard. And to know the suffering they experience, because I think they don’t know about it” -Excerpt from Brewing Justice by Daniel Jaffee

Once you know-then what do you do? This is the question I have been pondering ever since I read this passage from Jafee's book. Ok, I have sympathy. I internalized the description, but now what? My urban cowgirl background can only comprehend so much. Do I simply reiterate the story, or actions what about those? What purposeful actions can be taken to make a difference in this farmer's life, in any small-producing farmer's life?

For today, my action will be purchasing my coffee from a small coffee shop across the street, who's merchandise is more than 50% fair trade vs the label lover coffee house around the corner, who's total fair trade purchase is less than 2%. Then..., then I will keep reading in hopes of discovering my most ripple-creating action.

Possible areas of action:
Retail
Community Education
Activism
Government
Production
Distribution
Marketing

To read more on this topic check out the following article at http://www.alternet.org/economy/145555/does_fair_trade_coffee_lift_growers_out_of_poverty_or_simply_ease_our_guilty_conscience?page=3

Does Fair Trade Coffee Lift Growers Out of Poverty or Simply Ease Our Guilty Conscience?