Once the coffee has been roasted to the desired level, the coffee is ready for consumption! Companies like Kraft, Nestle, Proctor & Gamble, and Sara Lee used trucks and airplanes to distribute their beans to supermarkets and cafes across the nation. Some of the largest receivers of this coffee are those names which we know so well: Starbucks, Cup O’ Joe, Tim Horton’s, Dunkin Donuts, etc. These retailers rely heavily on roasters to consistently provide them with enough of their favorite beans with as little variance as possible. These retailers certainly shape most of the commodity chain since their large business has the persuasive capital to do so.
The large demand for coffee in the United States has had huge impacts across the globe. As farmers strain to keep up with the demand they chose unsustainable methods of farming to get the income they desperately need. “Monocroping” or producing only one crop has drastically increased the rate of deforestation in coffee producing countries. Of the 37 of the 50 top countries in deforestation where coffee producing countries (“Lights, Zion”). In order to make way for coffee plantations natural vegetation and wildlife becomes thrown to the wayside in order to make money. This means that the canopy which used to support thousands of indigenous species. These species are becoming endangered at the expense of this commodity (“Lights, Zion”). It’s truly import to realize the global impact that a specific commodity can have. Before you order another Grande Mocha, stop for a minute and think about the bigger picture, and ask yourself, what can I do to help?