Black Gold

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/07/AR2006120700574.html

   Ann Hornaday, from the Washington Post, gives the film Black Gold a short but prevailing review. She gets to the main point right away stating that “the Ethiopean farmers are being ripped off by the corporate middleman and the $80 billion world market”. Hornaday also mentions how after watching the film, people won't look at their 3 dollar Starbucks coffee the same way again. I agree with her statement because the film made me realize that by buying coffee from the big name corporations, I was indirectly taking sides with them in oppressing the Ethiopian farmers. The statement during the movie that “for a three dollar cup of coffee a farmer earns three cents” was devastating to me. I knew that coffee at Starbuck was overpriced because of its brand name, but I also thought that coffee beans in general were expensive especially those from Ethiopia because of their taste and quality. It was shocking to learn how little to nothing these coffee farmers were getting while the companies were making 100 times more than that.

   I was encouraged to really take a moment to ask myself if I should be consuming from these large corporations who are literally ripping off the poverty strucken farmers. It hit me greater as I grew up in the mission field experiencing impoverishment first hand. I was greatful to learn that we could support these farmers simply by purchasing Fair Trade goods and even more when I found out that Calvin College used and sold only Fair Trade coffee. I'll be thinking again before buying coffee from cafes other than the Fish House.