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LEADERSHIP QUOTE OF THE DAY (19 May 2012): To manage a system effectively| you might focus on the interactions of the parts rather than their behaviour taken separately. - Russell L. Ackoff

FOOD & DRINK

Coffee: A $100 Billion Industry

With the coffee industry worth over $100 Billion worldwide, that puts it ahead of commodities like natural gas, gold, brent oil, sugar and corn. Worldwide, we drink over 500 billion cups of coffee every year.

Coffee farms are the economic livelihood of over 25 million people. It's grown in over 50 countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Central America and the Caribbean. And 67 percent of the world's coffee is grown in the Americas alone.

Arabica and robusta are the two main commercially grown and sold coffee beans. Arabica is the more common type of bean grown (70 percent of coffee is Arabica), and it's considered more flavorful. Robusta is hardier and cheaper, most commonly seen in instant coffee jars.

Coffee shops are the fastest growing niche in the restaurant business. If it seems like there are coffee shops popping up everywhere around you, you might be right — coffee shops have a seven percent annual growth rate. Starbucks, by far America's coffee giant, is the third largest restaurant chain in the U.S. 90 percent of the world's coffee production takes place in developing countries and its consumption takes place in industrialised nations. The top three producers of coffee are Brazil, Vietnam and Columbia. That's right, Vietnam!

As far as who drinks the most coffee, Finland drinks the more coffee per capita in the world with the first major coffee producing country to appear on the list -Brazil- at number 13. The United States ranks 25th per capita, but we consume the most coffee overall.

"Fair trade" coffee was instituted to provide growers with better conditions and a higher cut of the profit. Under fair trade rules, the coffee importer has a direct relationship with the grower, and pays more to maintain that relationship. Prices fluctuate, but most recently coffee farmers in fair trade cooperatives got $1.26/pound for their Arabica coffee, while regular coffee prices were around $0.70 to $0.90. Companies like Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's all carry fair trade coffee.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, of the 50 countries with the highest deforestation rates from 1990 to 1995, 37 were coffee producers. Coffee was traditionally grown in the shade. In order to increase yields, outside organizations pushed growers towards planting their crops in the sun. New techniques include using chemicals and chopping down forests, which allow for greater output but diminish the coffee's taste and ruin the habitats of the surround fauna. As a side note, "shade-grown" or "bird-friendly" coffee is now marked up and sold at a premium.

Coffee wasn't always so popular. Originally discovered in Ethiopia, coffee has been banned in places like Cairo, Egypt and Turkey, where repeated offenders were allegedly sewn into a leather bag and tossed into the ocean.

Eric Goldschein.

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