More questions about Rainforest Alliance fair trade coffee certification

Maybe I’m the only one who hasn’t noticed. But the Rainforest Alliance seems to be charging ahead in a number of directions with its own fair trade coffee certification program.

First, this from Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper:

“And in recent years, the lustre of organic certification and fair-trade agreements -- long more common in coffee-producing nations in Latin America -- have made it to Ethiopia, offering the promise of additional earnings for a commodity priced at just 40 per cent of what it was a decade ago. Two weeks ago, for example, the Rainforest Alliance certified 678 small coffee farms; their beans can be sold at a premium price because their production is being done in a way that conserves forest ecosystems and puts profits into schools and clinics.”

That’s a lot of new farms brought into the fair trade system, even if not under the umbrella of TransFair USA.

So I’m thinking, “Good for the Rainforest Alliance”.

Next thing I know, I’m at the Rainforest Alliance web site and reading this:

“Kraft Foods, the largest food company in North America and second largest in the world, is integrating increasingly large volumes of Rainforest Alliance Certified sustainable coffee beans into its existing mainstream consumer brands worldwide, including, most recently, its popular United States brand Yuban, a high quality 100% arabica bean coffee.”

This is where things get fuzzy for me. One moment I find myself applauding the good work of the Rainforest Alliance for their work in Ethiopia, and the next I’m scratching my head, wondering why they would place any kind of seal of approval on a company like Kraft.

Kraft, the largest food company in the U.S., is owned by Philip Morris Companies Inc.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, my concern is that the coffee buying public may soon become hopelessly confused by the variety of organizations offering fair trade coffee certification, and the kinds of companies having their coffees certified.

The fair trade coffee movement will quickly lose its clarity of purpose if the “badge” of certification continues to be used more as a marketing tactic, and less as a sign of genuine commitment to improving the lives of small coffee farmers and their communities.