Confronting the Coffee Crisis: Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America (Food, Health, and the Environment) - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262524805 ISBN 13: 9780262524803

Publisher: MIT Press, 2008

Synopsis

Combining interdisciplinary research with case study analysis at scales ranging from the local to the global, Confronting the Coffee Crisis reveals the promise and the perils of efforts to create a more sustainable coffee industry

Our morning cups of coffee connect us to a global industry and an export crisis in the tropics that is destroying livelihoods, undermining the cohesion of families and communities, and threatening ecosystems. Confronting the Coffee Crisis explores small-scale farming, the political economy of the global coffee industry, and initiatives that claim to promote more sustainable rural development in coffee-producing communities. Contributors review the historical, political, economic, and agroecological processes within today's coffee industry and analyze the severely depressed export market that faces small-scale growers in Mexico and Central America.

The book presents a series of interdisciplinary, empirically rich case studies showing how small-scale farmers manage ecosystems and organize collectively as they seek useful collaborations with international NGOs and coffee companies to create opportunities for themselves in the coffee market. The findings demonstrate the interconnections among farmer livelihoods, biodiversity, conservation, and changing coffee markets. Additional chapters examine alternative trade practices, certification, and eco-labeling, discussing the politics and market growth of organic, shade-grown, and Fair Trade coffees. Combining interdisciplinary research with case-study analysis at scales ranging from the local to the global, Confronting the Coffee Crisis reveals the promise and the perils of efforts to create a more sustainable coffee industry.

Contributors
Christopher M. Bacon, David B. Bray, Sasha Courville, Jonathan A. Fox, Stephen R. Gliessman, David Goodman, Carlos Guadarrama-Zugasti, Shayna Harris, Roberta Jaffe, Maria Elena Martinez-Torres, V. Ernesto Mendez, Ellen Contreras Murphy, Tad Mutersbaugh, Seth Petchers, Jose Luis Plaza-Sanchez, Laura Trujillo, Silke Mason Westphal

About this title

About the Author:

Christopher M. Bacon is a Researcher and Lecturer associated with the Agroecology Group as well as both the Latin American and Latino Studies and Sociology Departments, University of California at Santa Cruz.

Review:

Academics and practitioners working in the field of sustainable development acknowledge that economic, social, political, and ecological dimensions of development are interconnected and need to be understood and addressed simultaneously. Yet few books actually achieve such an integrated approach. Confronting the Coffee Crisis does so admirably and should become a standard reference for all concerned not only with the world of coffee but also with the broader challenge of inclusive development.

―Peter Utting, Deputy Director, United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD)

About this edition

• Publisher: MIT Press
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0262524805
• ISBN 13: 9780262524803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 390
• Editor: Bacon Christopher M, Méndez Professor V Ernesto, Gliessman Stephen R, Goodman David, Fox Professor Jonathan A