Thursday, December 13, 2007

Hitched to Coffee

John Muir, who started the Sierra Club in 1892, wrote that “when we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.” This thread is about the ways that coffee connects consumers to producers, to the land, and to questions of sustainability and fairness. Coffee is a bittersweet metaphor for an entire world of such connections.

11 comments:

James Hayes-Bohanan said...

To find out what some BSC students have been learning about coffee in study tours and Second Year Seminar, please have a look at my Geography of Coffee web page.

Students in the seminar will be watching this blog for ideas in the spring 2008 semester.

James Hayes-Bohanan said...

This is from my friend Diane Kunkel, a neighbor of the college who has been serving fair-trade coffee exclusively for several years:

COFFEE TASTING at ROCKIN’ K CAFÉ
132 Broad St.
Across from BK

Friday Nights 4pm-8pm
Admission- 3$ per person

Sample various exotic organic coffees from Equal Exchange

Love Buzz, Ethiopian, Midnight Sun, Breakfast Dark Roast, and more.

Samples of Homemade Breakfast Cookies and Organic Brownies are included.

JohnG said...

Coffee is good stuff. I have never thought much about coffees place in geography. It is unfortunate that coffee landmines still are a threat to people's careers and lives.

phyllis said...

I liked what you said about coffee being a thread that connects producers and consumers. I've been thinking about this topic a lot lately and how the thread also connects the efforts of small scale farmers to protect our resources with the efforts we are trying to make here in this country. Have a look at the smallfarmersbigchange.coop blog to learn more about how small-scale farmers are caring for their local communities, the food system, and our planet. We'd love to hear your thoughts as well.

thanks,
phyllis

Anonymous said...

You write very well.

EarthView said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
EarthView said...

I just found out that more than a year ago, Muhlenberg College in Allentown PA went to all fair-trade coffee. A single professor got the change started, and the president and trustees made it happen. Like me, that professor got his education about coffee growers in Nicaragua. Read the story and see if you think this could happen at Bridgewater.

Currently, we have fair-trade coffee in the library, sometimes in East Campus Commons. Most of the rest is not fair-trade, and much of it is not even really coffee, but rather "coffee melt" from frozen concentrate.

My hat is off to Dr. Niesenbaum -- I hope to do as well some day!

Unknown said...

Coffee is a bittersweet metaphor for an entire world of such connections what a true man well said!!!
Carol
Home Security Systems no CREDIT CHECK everyone is approved

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Anonymous said...

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