Coffee and Community

by Sarah Lyon

We are told that simply by sipping our morning cup of organic, fair-trade coffee we are encouraging environmentally friendly agricultural methods, community development, fair prices, and shortened commodity chains. But what is the reality for producers, intermediaries, and consumers? This ethnographic analysis of fair-trade coffee analyzes the collective action and combined efforts of fair-trade network participants to construct a new economic reality. Focusing on La Voz Que Clama en el Desierto-a cooperative in San Juan la Laguna, Guatemala-and its relationships with coffee roasters, importers, and certifiers in the United States, Coffee and Community argues that while fair trade does benefit small coffee-farming communities, it is more flawed than advocates and scholars have acknowledged. However, through detailed ethnographic fieldwork with the farmers and by following the product, fair trade can be understood and modified to be more equitable. This book will be of interest to students and academics in anthropology, ethnology, Latin American studies, and labor studies, as well as economists, social scientists, policy makers, fair-trade advocates, and anyone interested in globalization and the realities of fair trade.

Genres: Anthropology

280 pages, ebook

First published October 29, 2010

About the author

There is more than one author in the Goodreads catalog with this name. This entry is for Sarah ^2 Lyon, Anthropology Professor, Associate Dean of Faculty at the University of Kentucky.

Reviews

[Kevin Littrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read about the coffee industry and Sarah Lyon did bring up thoughtful points. However, her writing style was difficult to understand at times and got to me by the end of the book.