Thursday, October 26, 2006

Ethiopian farmers: The Starbucks Slave


Starbucks is claiming ownership to the coffee bean names Sidamo, Harar and Yirgacheffe. Yes, Mr. Donald (CEO of Starbucks), your creativity is undeniable. It may annoy you or be of a discomfort to you that this poor country and these poor farmers are trying to deny you of all the profit you rightly deserve. I, however, can't help but imagine the anger it must bring upon the farmers who hand pick these coffee beans in the Harar, Sidamo, and Yirgacheffe regions for less than $1 a day to learn that their coffee is bringing Starbucks $8.5 billions dollars a year and is bringing you, Mr. Donald, a higher ranking in the fortune 500 list. That must be infuriating and humiliating for those farmers. They almost freely labor all day long for your great success.

Anyone who cares about fair trade and the poor, please go to the Oxfam link either by clicking on the Title of this blog or by going to the 'Oxfam' link on the right and join the petition against oppression.