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| Fair Trade: Two major problems face the producers of coffee: environmental issues and poverty. Organic and shade farming methods address the environmental issues. Now we are seeing the advent of equitable trading practices toward conserving the vast labor force employed to cultivate the coffee harvest. A concept still in its infancy, our coffee buyer leads the way by visiting the farms and negotiating crop prices that allow them to fairly compensate their workers. Like environmental resources, an overworked and underfed labor force has little longevity. In the coming years we shall see standards and certification in fair trading emerge.This will create a focused, farther reaching effort that improves wages, schools and medical care. Total Quality seeks to insure the coffee farmer and their employees maintain the highest quality of LIFE. | ||
| Organic: coffee is one of the most heavily sprayed agricultural crops in the world. Eleven pounds of chemical fertilizers and eight ounces of pesticides will treat the coffee consumed by the average drinker per year. Most of these chemicals will find their way to the local waterways in the 40 pounds of pulp removed from the harvested beans. Organic farming addresses these environmental concerns by imitating nature’s ability to recycle energy and nutrients. Farming methods such as terracing, shading, composting, and biological pest and fungus controls replace dependency on petrochemicals. The difference this component of Total Quality makes is reflected in the health of the coffee consumer and coffee grower. Organic farming manages the hidden costs responsibly presenting you the best taste in your CUP. | ||
| Shade Grown: Traditionally, all coffee was grown under a canopy of shade trees. In the last twenty five years new sun-tolerant varieties of coffee have been hybridized to be cultivated without a shade covering. Sun farms clear the native shade trees and use these new coffee trees to increase farming area and production, but at the expense of migratory bird habitat and natural fertilization through decaying tree foliage. The result is an increased need for chemical fertilization and pest control, a role the birds used to play. Many growers have assessed this issue and are committed to traditional shade growing methods. It conserves the land, nature and reflects a value placed on the inheritance of the next generation of growers. Total Quality embraces the long term value of shade farming and the responsible use of our PLANET. | ||
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