Coffee is big business — it's one of the most heavily traded commodities in the world. Americans alone drink one third of all coffee produced worldwide. While many people benefit from this big business, the farmers who grow the beans often live in poverty. For the majority of small-scale farmers, the benefits are few.

Conventionally traded coffee involves a lengthy and expensive cast of middlemen between the coffee farmer and the consumer, each taking their share — or more — of the coffee price. What's left for the farmers may not even cover their production costs or basic living expenses. Many farmers earn less for their crops today than their great-grandparents did 100 years ago.

Coffee prices are notoriously unstable and in recent years have dropped to historic lows, forcing farmers across Latin America, Africa and Asia to give up their farms. Many are unable to provide their families with daily necessities such as food, clothing, health care, or school supplies. Overwhelmed with debt and unable to earn a consistent income in the unstable market, farmers are forced to leave their family farms, moving to cities or migrating to other countries in search of work.

A simple solution — Fair Trade