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To the Editor: 

Regardless of whether voters supported or opposed Berkeley's coffee initiative Measure O – which would have required retailers to sell socially-conscious coffee – Measure O was useful in that it helped raise public awareness of the global socio-economic and environmental issues surrounding the coffee industry. Through media reports of Measure O, people throughout the nation learned that drinking a cup of coffee is one of the most important things you can do all day. Half a billion people (more than 8 percent of the world's population) rely on coffee to survive, and the industry is currently experiencing a crisis in which as many as 600,000 workers are unemployed in Latin America alone.  

What Measure O may not have highlighted, however, is that “Fair Trade,” shade-grown and organic coffee are only three components of a comprehensive solution to the coffee crisis involving farmers, roasters, retailers and consumers. While organic and shade-grown labels address some environmental concerns, Fair Trade guarantees that only very small farms (less than five acres) be paid a total of $1.26 per pound.  

While small farms obviously need help, they are not alone in their need. Larger family farms employ many more total workers than the small, one-family farms, so the impact on the industry as a whole should include the larger family farms as well. Moreover, there is no provision in the Fair Trade agreement that creates or requires programs to improve the lives of farm workers. Thus, while organic and Fair Trade are indeed part of the solution, producing socially and environmentally conscious coffee entails much more than labels or a wage supplement.  

Jon B. Rogers 

president, San Francisco Bay Gourmet Coffee Co.  

San Leandro