Interesting comments on the Berkeley Fair Trade Coffee Initiative. Jim Fung writes

Not every cafe will necessarily go for the cheapest kind of still-legal coffee. Consumer preferences also come into play ... one kind of coffee could sell better because it tastes better, for instance.

Also, owners may have an incentive to differentiate, to find their own niche ... one cafe could become known for sellng organic coffee, and another could specialize in fair-trade coffee.

Entirely true! I overstated my case in the example below. Nonetheless, I'm willing to bet that one of the three below will become favored over the others-- probably for reason of price.

Attorney General Mario De Bernardo (retired) writes

Fair trade coffee is a very important issue. South East Asian countries are selling coffee at price levels so low that Columbian farmers can't compete. Subsequently, these Columbian farmers are forced to grow opium in order to live above the subsistent level. Fair trade coffee will help keep Columbian farmers in the coffee business and prevent farmers from being forced into growing a drug crop that will end up in the streets of America. I don't know how the hell Berkeley plans on enforcing this new law, if it's passed, but I think it's a commendable effort on the part of the Berkeley left.

Turn this around: why should I support Columbian farmers at the expense of Vietnamese ones? Because they need the money more? Tell that to a destitute Vietnamese coffee farmer. Because Columbians will go into Opium farming? Drugs are a problem in Vietnam as well.

All in all, I can't find any reason to support Columbians over Vietnamese besides that Vietnamese do the job cheaper and are winning. Well, prices are lower from Vietnam because average income is lower; these are the more desperate people. And as hard-hearted as it seems, if Columbia cannot compete in brewing coffee then the best long-term decision is to get out of the industry. The only alternative is a long-term form of welfare that keeps them barely above destitution. That's what Berkeley wants to move towards.

The third option is what Shade Brewed and Organic are all about: using technology and sophisticated techniques to persuade Americans to pay a little more. And this approach gets the job done without punishing the Vietnamese for being poor.

Finally, Calstuff Correspondant Johnny writes

What happens to all the mass manufactured coffee drinks? Is the sale of certain bottled coffee drinks going to be prohibited?

Good question! I had figured they must get an exemption, but Rick Young brooks no challenge to his Coffees of Goodness. The Initiative restricts 'Brewed Coffee' sales to the Organic/ShadeGrown/Fair variety, and defines 'Brewed Coffee' as

"Brewed Coffee Beverage" shall mean all beverages brewed from coffee beans, including but not limited to café au lait, café mocha, caffè latte, cappuccino, and espresso beverages. "Brewed Coffee Beverage" shall not include dry coffee beans, either as whole beans or in ground form.

Looks like that Frappucino from Safeway is right out, doesn't it?

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