Certifications

Certifications / Research on coffee growing

Research: Evaluating benefits of coffee certification programs


Field-testing ecological and economic benefits of coffee certification programs. S. M. Philpot, P. Bichier, R. Rice, and R. Greenberg. 2007. Conservation Biology 21:975-985.

This study looked at the ecological (vegetation, ants and birds) and economic (yield, revenue) aspects of coffee growing for eight cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico. Farms were certified organic, organic and Fair Trade, or uncertified. None were certified shade-grown, so farms were examined to see if they would meet shade certification criteria.

The authors found no significant differences in vegetation, bird or ant diversity, or percent of forest fauna on farms based on what type of certification they had. While none of the farms had the necessary complexity of vegetation layers that shade certification required, but the other vegetation criteria met by those farms nonetheless corresponded with higher ant and bird diversity. I think this emphasizes the importance of the specific criteria known as “vertical stratification,” or the percent of leaf volume in each of the three layers of vegetation in shaded coffee. I’ll talk a bit more about this in a follow-up post.

Organic farms had a higher number of tree species, and shared more tree, bird, and ant species with forests than uncertified farms or (curiously) those that were certified both organic and Fair Trade.

There was no difference in yield based on certification, contradicting a common perception that without chemical pesticides and fertilizers, yield will decrease.

Farmers with organic or organic and fair trade certification did not always have higher revenues than uncertified farms. Partly this was due to the costs associated with certification programs. Another factor was the differing market prices between the two years of the study. When market prices increased, the premiums for organic coffee rose, but the premium for Fair Trade coffee did not. This can dilute the relative increase for farmers in Fair Trade co-ops, and exposes a previously-discussed weakness in the Fair Trade model. I think the overall lack of substantially higher revenues in certified organic coffee also illustrates the need for some type of a) reform in the cost of certifications and/or b) an increase in the premiums paid to farmers for sustainable coffee — which would require willingness by consumers to pay more.

Coffee news and miscellany / Fair and Direct Trade / Retail and specialty roasters

Counter Culture announces "Source"

One of the major criteria a roaster must meet to get favored nation status on the left sidebar as a source of sustainable coffee is transparency. C&C is all about educating consumers on how to recognize and appreciate sustainable coffee. All the knowledge in the world won’t help a coffee buyer if the roaster doesn’t provide enough information on where they get their beans. If a roaster provides country, region, and co-op or farm it goes a long way in helping consumers understand whether the coffee was grown in a sustainable manner. When a roaster has a close relationship with a farmer, they can provide even more data on exactly how the coffee was grown.

Counter Culture Coffee has always been excellent about giving customers lots of information on each of their selections on their web site. They recently announced an expansion and refinement of this commitment, which they are calling “Source.” Each bag of Source coffee includes the farm or co-op’s real name; authentic production details and tasting notes; a precise roast date; a regional map; and vibrant, original artwork inspired by the community that produced it. Indeed, the whole point, noted in their press release, is to

“…achieve a deeper level of consumer education through real, transparent information about each coffee’s distinct seasonality, tasting notes, geographic and cultural origins, and artisan cultivation methods.”

This program goes well beyond marketing and consumer education. Like Intelligentsia’s Direct Trade, and similar “unbranded” programs by other roasters, Source is about working closely with farmers to improve coffee quality and the quality of life for farmers. Fair Trade is such a darling of the green set, but it’s certification is restricted to cooperatives, and does little to address quality. Programs like Source or Direct Trade can do even more than Fair Trade, including paying higher than Fair Trade prices straight to farmers for their crops. For example, Counter Culture paid a 153% premium to the Guarapamba farmers for their La Golondrina Microlot, one of the Source coffees.

Not all roasters can follow this model. Economies of scale make it difficult for very large roasters; they are profit-driven and treat coffee as a commodity rather than a specialty food crop. You simply will not find specialty-grade coffee and close relationships with farmers from corporate coffee roasters. Very small roasters often don’t have the resources to develop working partnerships with individual farms or co-ops (which is not to say many are not sources for sustainable coffees).

Hats off to all roasters who strive to follow this philosophy. Working to transform coffee from an anonymous caffeinated beverage to an identifiable crop, nurtured by real farmers on land that sustains people and biodiversity, is a model we’d be wise to adopt for all of our food. Only then can we choose to purchase sustainable products, increasing demand, and in turn take steps to help to transform the world.

Certifications / Coffee news and miscellany / Organic coffee

Organic coffee safe for now

Last week I posted about the recent U.S. Department of Agriculture ruling which will require every farm in a cooperative to be inspected annually in order to receive organic certification. It was feared this would make organic certification too expensive for small farmers and reduce the amount of organic coffee on the market.

Yesterday the USDA issued a statement that the rules for organic certification will not change at this time, but that the matter will be discussed further in the fall and amendments to the rules are a possibility in the future.

Hat tip to Samuel Fromartz, who authored the original article at Salon and has been keeping up with the issue at his blog Chews Wise.

Certifications / Organic coffee

Sign the Save Organic Coffee petition

An article in Salon outlines a recent U.S. Department of Agriculture ruling which will require every farm in a cooperative to be inspected annually in order to receive organic certification. Previously, about 20% of the farms were inspected annually. The growers and management of the co-op made sure all farms, not just those being inspected, followed the rules.  Given the large number of small farmers in some co-ops and their often remote locations, this staggered inspection is the only practical way to certify these growers.

Since farms must pay inspectors, the added cost could prove to make organic certification too expensive for small farmers. Should this ruling really be enforced, it would surely drastically reduce the number of farms offering organic coffee (big plantations would be able to afford it). Stripping the added revenue brought in by organic certification would drive many small farmers out of the coffee business (the ruling covers all organic crops, by the way).  Hello land-clearing, pastures, drug crops, and other far less ecologically-friendly alternatives. For a bit more, a little backgrounder on organic coffee and why it’s important from Bloggle, and a deeper post at the Gristmill blog on how this ruling will impact farmers in the developing world. I’ve also written a series on coffee pests, pesticides, and organic certification.

This was an (apparently overzealous) administrative ruling in response to an appeal by a Mexican farmer who was denied certification. I’m not familiar with how binding these rulings are and how they are codified and enforced. But the coffee industry and consumers have started to mobilize.  And Nora Edison and Chris Neumann of Sweetwater Organic Coffee Roasters sent me a link to a petition to be sent to the USDA asking them to reconsider their policy change. They are seeking 10,000 signatures, so it can’t hurt to sign on:

Sign the “Save Organic Coffee” Petition.