Portland Roasting Company & Farm Friendly Direct

There is growing concern of the affects of industrialized nations on developing countries and their communities in terms of trade: low wages, poor working conditions, subsidies on agriculture, and the growing inequality gap between the rich and poor (Hunger Notes, n.d.).  With coffee being the world’s most important traded commodity, after petroleum, one should stop and wonder what affect we are having on the coffee farming communities (Holland, 2003). 

The article by Wallengren gives an example:

Serving as grim proof of the severity of the social crisis in Mexico caused by low international coffee prices, most of the immigrants found dead in the Arizona desert last week came from coffee-producing areas. Fleeing the crisis in Mexico's second largest producing state of Veracruz, six of the 14 dead were identified as small coffee farmers, some of the thousands who have been heading to the U.S. to try their luck as illegal immigrants. 

Many Mexican coffee farmers were forced to leave their farms as they were only receiving 60 cents per pound for the coffee they produced, which was not even enough to cover the cost of production, let alone provide them wages to buy food and support their families.

Fair Trade and the Rainforest Alliance were the first to establish goals at supporting the farmers around the globe.  According to the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT), “Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers, especially in the South (Tribes, 2009).  

Although it is not as well known as the conventional third-party certification organizations such as Fair Trade or Rainforest Alliance, Farm Friendly Direct (FFD) is a solid certification system for coffee that is gaining exposure in the marketplace.  Portland Roasting Company (PRC) was faced with the challenge of whether to continue with FFD, as it may have hinder the company’s’ competitive edge to grow regionally and be ranked with other leading coffee companies, such as Starbucks or Caribou Coffee. 

FFD works a bit differently than third-party coffee certifiers, such as Fair Trade, since FFD works direct with companies, linking the grower and the retailer directly.  Although companies pay more for the coffee beans through FFD, the “cooperative relationship yields high-quality coffee” and gives back to the growing community (Portland Roasting Company, n.d., para. 2).  With the middleman removed, overhead is significantly less, for both the grower and the retailer, and the difference in money is used for local community improvement projects where the coffee is grown (The Human Bean, n.d.).  Fair Trade certification, on the other hand, uses FLO-CERT to certify the farms and then FLO International, a separate division, to provide rights to use the Fair Trade label (FLO-CERT, n.d.).  PRC explains the goals of FFD as two fold, “acquiring quality coffee while adding to the lives of farmers and their communities” (Portland Roasting Company, n.d., para. 3).  With a vested interest in the community where raw goods are produced, PRC is securing their investment in the coffee and allowing the community to provide a continuously safe and quality product.  

As the global economy continues to grow and the demand for trade increases, as pioneers of sustainability we must continue to look at how we are affecting the communities of developing countries; buying local and organic products is simply not enough.  PRC is leading the way with their sustainable practice of using FFD coffee certification.  Since coffee is a good that must be traded with other countries, it is extremely noble of PRC and others using FFD that they are supporting coffee growing communities to the degree that they are helping them to become self-sufficient.  By providing fair wages and allowing extra funds to plant trees, build water pumps and treatment facilities, and to build and fund schools, PRC is helping to bridge the destructive gap between the rich and the poor, allowing these communities to strive and grow.

References

FLO-CERT. (n.d.) Scope of certification. Retrieved from http://www.flo-cert.net/flo-cert/main.php?id=14

HollandbyMail. (2003). World coffee trade. Retrieved from http://www.hollandbymail.com/coffee/coffee_trade.html

Hunger Notes. (n.d.). Special report: trade between developed and developing countries,  Retrieved from http://www.worldhunger.org/articles/global/Trade/trade.htm

Portland Roasting Company. (n.d.) Linking coffee and community. Retrieved from http://www.portlandroasting.com/ffd/

Pullman, M., Arends, B., Langston, M., Price, G. & Stokes, G. (2001). Portland Roasting Company: farm friendly direct. Retrieved from http://marylhurst.courseobjects.net/items/4ece2fa8-0d17-7fa2-bfae-cdb0d5ca97e0/1/Portland%20Roasting%20Company%20Case.pdf

The Human Bean. (n.d.). Farm Friendly Direct. Retrieved from http://www.thehumanbean.com/SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=9

Tribes Travel. (2009). What is fair trade? Retrieved from http://www.tribes.co.uk/responsible_travel/what_is_fair_trade

Wallengren, M. (2001, May 29). Coffee crisis sends Mexico producers to death in Arizona. Retrieved from http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/fairtrade/coffee/dowjones052901.html

Was the "Green Revolution" the antithesis of GREEN?

The “Green Revolution” refers to the dramatic increases in cereal grains in many developing countries in the 1960s, as an effort to curb hunger around the world.  Mexico, India, Pakistan, and the Philippines were the main countries to implement new agricultural techniques, including irrigation and chemical fertilizers.  With these new agricultural technologies, Mexico was able to become self-sufficient in producing wheat and India and Pakistan averted famine (Lobb, 2003).

The Rockefeller Foundation and the government of Mexico hired Norman Borlaug, agronomist from the U.S., to aid the country in becoming independent producers of cereal grains.  Bourlaug succeeded in Mexico and went on to assist India and Pakistan with their wheat production.  There he introduced Mexican dwarf wheat varieties, which thrived.  Bourlaug also introduced irrigation technologies and the use of chemical fertilizers to each of these developing countries.  “Wheat production in Pakistan nearly doubled in five years, going from 4.6 million tons in 1965 (a record at the time) to 8.4 million tons in 1970,” according to Lobb (para 6).  India also increased their yields from 12.3 million tons of wheat in 1965 to 20 million tons in 1970.  Bourlaug helped both countries to be self-sufficient in cereal production by 1974.  Bourlaug was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970.

The work of Bourlaug was monumental in supporting developing countries to become self-sufficient in crop production, saving many lives from famine.  The majority of the world adopted Bourlaug’s agricultural technologies and this led the world of food production into a new era.  Other positive aspects of the Green Revolution included: the automation of the farming process, crops resistance to pests, many crops could be replanted without having to wait for land to fallow, and the advantage of being able to grow wide array of crops virtually anywhere (Bradley, 2010).

As with any type of revolution, many achievements are made, however with such dramatic changes not all of them were positive.  The Green Revolution was the antithesis of sustainability, making countries dependent on chemical fertilizers to grow their crops, replacing the use of natural manure or mineral fertilizers.  Furthermore, the revolution, which was aimed at curbing world hunger, did not succeed, rather further intensifying the root cause: the distribution of economic power.  The Green Revolution is also highly criticized by many for fueling chemical companies into more dominating and dangerous ground, such as the creation of hazardous chemicals such as “Roundup” and Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) seeds.

The issues surrounding chemical fertilizers have been a hot topic of controversy in recent years.  Fertilizers seep into our water from run-off, creating “dead zones” where life cannot be sustained, as the algae blooms have depleted all oxygen from the water (Biello, 2008).  Fertilizers are also known to cause many health issues, as the amount of nutrients and minerals in food treated with these chemicals are diminishing.  For example, one of these depleted nutrients in fertilizer treated crops is Omega-3 oils, which a deficiency of in the body can lead to “heart disease, some cancers, mental disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder, and Alzheimer's Disease”, explains Corriher (2008).  Along with depleting nutrients from the crops themselves, nutrients and minerals in the soil are lost as well when fertilizers are used.  Not only does the soil have a more difficult time absorbing water, but the lack of nutrients and minerals in the soil also cause lack of nutrients and minerals in the crop being produced.  Senate document No, 64 paraphrased in the article by Corriher, explains the importance of nutrients and minerals in our food:

Our physical well-being is more directly dependent upon minerals we take into our systems than upon calories or vitamins, or upon precise proportions of starch, protein or carbohydrates we consume. Do you know that most of us today are suffering from certain dangerous diet deficiencies that cannot be remedied until depleted soils from which our food comes are brought into proper mineral balance? The alarming fact is that foods (fruits, vegetables and grains), now being raised on millions of acres of land that no longer contain enough of certain minerals, are starving us - no matter how much of them we eat.

So where do we draw the line and what is the trade off?  Although chemical fertilizers have aided communities in becoming self-sustaining, being able to grow crops virtually anywhere with less risk of loss from pests or draught, however it has produced inferior crops that lack nutrition and lead to increases in disease. 

            Chemical fertilizers are one example of how the Green Revolution has set us back; another example is the distribution of economic power that the revolution intensified.  The Green Revolution was fueled by the thought that if food production could be increased that world hunger would decrease, unfortunately it is not that simple.  The rules of economics were forgotten in this equation.  In a study conducted by the World Bank in 1986 study, it was concluded that increasing food production does not result in food security.  “Far too many people do not have access to the food that is already available because of deep and growing inequality,” Rosset explains, “If agriculture can play any role in alleviating hunger, it will only be to the extent that the
bias toward wealthier and larger farmers is reversed through pro-poor alternatives like land reform and sustainable agriculture, which reduce inequality and make small farmers the center of an economically vibrant rural economy.”
            Lastly, the Green Revolution has brought power to chemical companies such as Monsanto and DuPont.  Issues surrounding their practices are perhaps the most controversial of all.  Many of their practice surround biotechnology and the altering of seeds in order to yield desirable characteristics.  For example, “Scientists are…developing a genetically modified strain of rice fortified with vitamin A that is intended to help ward off blindness in children” (Rosset). While some biotechnology might sound like a miracle, concerns for GMO’s are increasing.  These concerns include: unknown risks of GMO’s, heath concerns, insufficient or inaccurate research, emergence of resistant weeds, increasing insect resistance, increasing levels of plant estrogens, and that GMO’s are not required to be labeled as such (Smith, 2009).
            As I have gone over, the Green Revolution has many pros and cons.  The Green Revolution fueled technologies that the world very much needed, but at the cost of declining human health and the escalating degradation of our environment.  We must learn from both the positive and negative aspects of the Green Revolution and use them to lead us in the path of increased technology, yet sustainable and healthy technology.

Biello, D. (2008, March 14). Fertilizer runoff overwhelms streams and rivers--creating vast "dead zones". Retrieved from http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=fertilizer-runoff-overwhelms-streams

Bradley, J. (2010). The green revolution: facts and fallacies. Retrieved from http://www.joshuabradley.org/green_revolution/pros_and_cons.html

Corriher, T. (2008, April 5). How chemical fertilizers are destroying your body, the soil, and your food. Retrieved from http://healthwyze.org/index.php/fertilizer-dangers.html

Lobb, Richard L.. "Green Revolution." Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. 2003. Retrieved from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3403400302.html

Rossett, P. (2011).  Lessons from the Green Revolution. Retrieved from http://www.foodfirst.org/media/opeds/2000/4- greenrev.html

Smith, J.M. (2009, May 20). Genetically modified GM food dangers.  Retrieved from Alternative Medicine Truth: http://alternativemedicinetruth.blogspot.com/2009/05/genetically-modified-gm-food-dangers.html

Company Interview with Cafe Flora - Seattle, WA

As I am thinking of relocated to the city of Seattle, WA in the spring of 2011, I chose to find and interview a business leader in this city, rather than my current city of Las Vegas, NV.   Finding a leader in sustainable business in Las Vegas, is a challenge, however in Seattle it was quite simple.  Seattle is one of the leading U.S. cities engaged in sustainable practices.  With a simple walk down the block or with a quick search on the Internet, one can find a vast variety of sustainable businesses.  I chose to interview Café Flora restaurant, as they have been engaged in sustainable practices since 1991, well in advance of most businesses in Seattle, or any other city.  The interview was conducted over the phone and specific questions pertinent to leadership in sustainability were asked; yet many other topics came in conversation as well.  

Seattle, WA ranks number 8 in the “top 10 green U.S. cities”, ranked by Mother Nature Network (2010).  Seattle has been a leading city in sustainability and in many cases decades ahead of the game; Café Flora, a local vegetarian restaurant in the Seattle area is prime example of this.  For nearly 20 years, Cafe Flora off East Madison Street has been engaged in sustainable practices.  Whereas the majority of businesses today still do not understand what it means to make their business greener, Cafe Flora has written the manual.  From recycling cooking oil for conversion to biodiesel to buying food directly from farmers markets, Cafe Flora built their company on sustainable practices and continues to grow the concept with everything they do.  

In speaking with Nat Stratton-Clarke, now the present the owner of Cafe Flora, I was astounded by the amount of sustainable practices this quaint vegetarian cafe has implemented.  When Cafe Flora was first opened in 1991, sustainability was a top priority and is shown by their mission statement: “to establish a friendly, community based vegetarian restaurant close to home, to develop a restaurant that could stand as a model business in attending to the health of the planet and to start a restaurant that would introduce superb non-meat dishes from culinary traditions around the globe utilizing local, organic and sustainable produce” (Café Flora, 2010).

Sustainability is also shown by how the restaurant was designed.  An herb garden graces the outdoor patio, which not only provides a wonderful ambiance, but also provides the freshest possible herbs for the dishes.  Meanwhile, nature is still felt indoors, as natural plant walls embrace the surroundings.  The building was also designed with many skylights in order to maximize the amount of light within the kitchen and other areas, in order to cut down on lighting costs and the environmental impacts of power usage.  The website explains further how the initial owners of Café Flora went about designing a sustainable restaurant:

Architectural and environmental consulting firms were brought in based on their compatibility with the goals of environmentally sensitive, energy efficient design and construction along with the owner's commitment to hiring minority and women owned businesses for all of the sub-contracting work. The kitchen was designed to be appropriate for a vegetarian restaurant - that is, spacious and open with large amounts of prep space, and maximum opportunity for interaction and collaboration among the cooking staff (Café Flora, 2010).

The choices of designing a restaurant are typically made only once, as the investment can be quite substantial. By seeing the design of Café Flora, one can understand that sustainability was by and large their main concept, and not just implemented as part of a fad.  

As the design of Café Flora shows that sustainability was part of their strategic plan, their daily practices would be the main way to show how they stayed true to their sustainability plan.  The impacts of daily business choices can have much more of an impact on the environment, especially in restaurants where goods and resources are consumed at a very high rate.  Restaurants and their patrons consume large amounts of water, food, and dry goods.  With increasing consumer awareness and demand, it is progressively more important for restaurant owners to understand the impacts of the carbon footprint of food.  Café Flora has understood this concept from their inception.  Whereas many restaurants buy from vendors that ship the foods and goods across the country in freight trucks, which add thousands of tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, Café Flora held true to their sustainability plan and only purchases from local companies and farms.  The term “farm to table” is relatively new to American consumers, however Café Flora has shown to be once again ahead of the game, as they have been buying their food direct from local farmers markets for nearly 20 years.  Not only are their produce, dairy, and grains bought from local farmers, but Cafe Flora also supports local wineries as well.  Their wine list contains only vintages from Washington and Oregon.  Although California an Europe have an outstanding selection of wines, once again it is more important to have the lowest possible carbon footprint and the wines from Washington and Oregon provide a comparable quality without the environmental impact.

My interview with Nat Stratton-Clarke continued, and in addition to learning about all that Café Flora has accomplished, I wanted to learn more about how her career progressed and how leadership played a role in her business and with sustainability.  While working her way through law school in the Bay Area, Nat was employed with a local catering company.  The allure and love of the hospitality industry captured her heart, and after she completed her Bachelor of Arts degree she chose not to continue with law and focused on furthering her career in hospitality management.  Five years ago, in 2005, Nat joined the Cafe Flora team in Seattle as the General Manager and primary purchaser.  Three years later she became the owner.  In both of her roles, maintaining the vision of Cafe Flora’s strategic plan for sustainability was a top priority.  When Nat became the owner of Café Flora she initiated a remodel of the restaurant in order to give it a revitalizing new look for her regular patrons and a fresh look for new customers.  The remodel included refinishing of the floors with natural soy-based wood floor stain and a transformation of the décor and functionality of the restaurant.  The new decor was adopted from one of the local farms that the cafe purchases from: a cattle-gate serves as the staff entrance to the bar and beehive boxes from the honey farmer grace the shelves for functionality and ambiance.  In addition, the majority of wood used within the restaurant is reclaimed.  Choosing to remodel in a sustainable fashion not only saved the restaurant money while giving the physical space a fresh look, but they gave a new life to the farm goods that would have otherwise ended up in a landfill.  Ms. Stratton-Clarke explained that, “sustainability is not just about decreasing your environmental impact, but looking for opportunities to collaborate with others in order to preserve and find uses for as many resources as possible.”

My interview with Ms. Stratton-Clarke resumed to discussing more about how leadership plays a role as a business owner of a sustainable company.  Ms. Stratton-Clarke feels that innovation is the single most important leadership trait one engaged in sustainability can possess.  “Sustainability will continue to play a predominant role in my business,” she explained, “as the movement grows, more avenues will be opened and I will have to learn to integrate and adapt to them.”  She elucidated that she feels that sustainability is not a fad and I could tell she was excited for the changes and challenges ahead.  Business owners such as Ms. Stratton-Clarke need to be open to the changes and new opportunities in sustainability.  Innovation is vital for gaining a competitive edge and she must be ready and willing to adjust wherever necessary to maintain Cafe Flora’s strategic goals.  

Ms. Stratton-Clarke noted that one of the challenges she has seen moving through sustainability over the past decade is the exchange of ownership of farmers.  Although Seattle is fortunate that the farms remain a family business and are not bought out by large corporations, which is happening more and more in the Midwest, passing along the family business also brings its own set of challenges.  Ms. Stratton-Clarke explained that when the younger farmers take over the farm, the struggles are visible to their buyers.  For example, one of the on-going challenges for farmers is that of increasing accessibility and variety of products.  In order to stay competitive in a global market, farmers must provide a wide variety of quality produce, or consumers may choose to purchase outside the local area.  As she explained with her own experience with innovation, she feels that these farmers need to keep up with the demands of consumers and business owners, being responsive and adapting to the changes quickly.  It is important for farmers to provide what is demanded to further the sustainable trend of farm to table.  

Local farmers must continue to meet the needs of local restaurants, providing the quality products they demand.  In return, the businesses must continue to support the local farms so they are able to survive and can continue to provide in difficult times.  Ms. Nat Stratton-Clarke explained that educating her staff and customers is her way of giving back to the farmers, ensuring their survival against large farming corporations.  Café Flora employees, from prep cook to server to hostess, are taken on regular visits to the local farms and the farms are given recognition on the restaurant’s menus.  By seeing directly where the food is grown and produced, the staff becomes engaged and develops a deep relationship with the food.  The staff then passes this compassion and knowledge on to the customer, further enhancing the bond of “farm to table.”  The spiritual connection with food has been lost in America and consumers no longer value what they eat.  A Big-Mac to the majority of people is simply no more than an inexpensive meal; the time and consideration to think about all the components is rarely taken.  By educating consumers about how and where their food is produced, as Café Flora continues to provide, the respect for food will spread far and wide.  This, Nat explains, is how sustainability will survive and continue to grow.

Not only is supporting local farmers important to enhance the sustainability movement, but so is supporting other types of local businesses as well.  For example, the company Café Flora uses for food composting also converts these composted materials into to-go containers for resale. Rather than buying a more inexpensive product, which is most likely produced from raw materials and shipped across the country, Nat chooses to support the local business that reuse precious resources, even though the cost may be slightly higher.  This is the issue of intrinsic cost vs. perceived or actual cost.  This intrinsic cost is also associated with the aforementioned concept of carbon footprint.  Even though a product may cost less in monetary terms, the unseen environmental impacts of producing the product may be much higher, which we will have to pay back in monetary terms someday, as we are starting to see with the impacts of global warming.

It is up to business leaders and those involved with sustainability to set the standard and pave the way for green techniques.  Many are fearful of jumping on the sustainable bandwagon because it is unfamiliar territory.  As leaders in sustainability, we must show that “going green” can be quite simple to integrate, that it can save business money, and that learning to live within the means of the planet is important for our survival on Earth.  Ms. Stratton-Clarke’s advice to sustainability students and aspiring business leaders is to, “jump in, learn as much as you can, and talk to as many people as you can”.  In addition, Nat explained that to be successful you should “make sure that you have the passion and desire for your chosen field, such as hospitality, for the challenges will only become greater with the added challenges of sustainability.”  She provided the example of students that go to culinary school before ever working in a restaurant. The restaurant industry is a whole different animals and the sheer love of cooking is not going to paint the picture of what a career as a chef will be like.  Real world experience is the way to find out if your passions align with your career goals.  She also explained that talking to purveyors is an excellent start, as they are well rounded and have experience with many different styles and types of business, “they can really help guide you in the right direction,” Nat claimed.

For learning more about sustainability, Ms. Stratton-Clarke suggests reaching out to as many different organizations as possible.  Many national organizations have outstanding information and the local chapters provide additional advice on how to adopt and implement specific practices within the community.  Nat recommended specifically “Slow Food” and “Chef’s Collaborative.” This was the primary way Nat honed in on her own sustainability skills, in addition to what she learned from her community.  These types of organizations provide particular benefit to those who may not be in such a “green” city to find the resources and means they need to achieve the goals they desire.  

Café Flora is a beautiful example of a sustainable restaurant and can be used as a model for many types of businesses.  In learning to adapt sustainable business practices, it is often less about the products you are servicing and more about the leadership practices you adopt and bring into your organization.  With innovation and adaptability, sustainability can be integrated anywhere.  This combined with passion for your chosen industry will help ensure that the sustainability movement continues to mature.

References

Café Flora. (2010). Our Story. Retrieved from http://www.cafeflora.com/aboutUs.php

Mother Nature Network. (2010). Top 10 green U.S. cities.. Retrieved from
http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/eco-tourism/photos/top-10-green-us-cities/8-seattle-wash