The popular fast food restaurant Chick-fil-A recently made headlines in the coffee industry. A little more than a year ago the restaurant chain switched to buying coffee that is farmer direct. According to "Latin American Coffee Farmers Prosper from Partnership with Chick-fil-A" by Akoshia Yoba, the company has partnered with Thrive Farmers Coffee to buy coffee directly from farmers. According to Nick Brown of Roast Magazine the coffee market has traditionally been very volatile. The market price of coffee is currently very low. The price is so low that many coffee farmers around the world are having trouble earning a living. In fact, according to some sources, some coffee farmers are ceasing their production of coffee because they can no longer make money from their crop. These farmers are sometimes moving to more profitable crops. This could lead to a worldwide coffee shortage in the coming years if nothing is done to improve the lives of the farmers. 

It has become very clear that the current sales model that is used in the coffee industry is not working for the farmers. Most of the coffee bought around the world today is sold through local middlemen who make large profits on the crop while the farmers often times make very little and struggle to make ends meet. Selling coffee farmer direct means that the farmer maintains ownership of the product until the point of sale. This helps the farmers make more money from their products than they could with a traditional model. According to "How to be a More Mindful Consumer" by Annie Leonard, American consumerism negatively affects third- world workers. The author cites examples of Haitians manufacturing merchandise for the Disney Corporation, who live in deplorable conditions. They cannot make a substantial wage so they must live in slums. Some of the workers were hesitant to even talk to the author about their working conditions. This is an example of the effects of American consumerism worldwide. This is comparable to the coffee industry because coffee farmers are providing coffee for millions of drinkers in the United States, while many of them are living in impoverished conditions themselves.

 This paper will cover the history of this conflict as well as some methods that have tried to resolve the issue and the effectiveness of these attempts. This paper will also cover the potential consequences to the worldwide economy if nothing is done about this crisis. In addition, this paper will go over why the farmer direct model is beneficial for the consumer. Many people see the benefits of the farmer direct model for the farmers, however the benefits for the consumer seem less obvious. Finally, the paper will cover a recommended course of action that the university can take to implement this model on campus. The farmer direct model of coffee production is beneficial for the farmer and the consumer. The University of South Carolina can support this model by bringing third party shops and restaurants who buy farmer direct coffee to campus.

There have been attempts made in the past to address this crisis. In the past, fair trade organizations have attempted to help the farmers out of poverty. According to professor of economics at Polytechnic University of Valencia, Ortiz- Miranda, fair trade has had varying degrees of success helping the farmers. First of all, it is important to understand what free trade is and how it works. Free trade was designed to combat the volatility of the coffee market. The market price of coffee has traditionally been incredibly unstable, which makes it very hard for farmers to plan for the next growing season. It also makes it hard for them to grow their operations. Fair trade organizations pay the farmers a minimum amount for their crop. This amount does not change due to the current state of the market. However, according to Ortiz- Miranda et al. research has shown that the farmers are more likely to sell through the fair trade organizations when the market price is lower. When the market price is higher, the farmers are less likely to participate in the fair trade programs. Often times, when the market price is higher, the farmers are able to get a higher price for their goods using local intermediaries. In addition, according to Daniel Jaffee's book Brewing Justice, with fair trade coffee farmers are paid a higher price for their product, but their production costs are much higher as well.  So fair trade has been somewhat successful in combating farmer poverty, however it isn't a complete solution. 

There could be more long term worldwide consequences if this problem isn't dealt with. According to Whitney McFerron of Bloomberg, some farmers throughout the world are having a hard time supporting themselves only growing coffee. Many are ceasing coffee production and switching to growing more profitable crops instead. If the situation for farmers does not improve then the world could soon experience a worldwide coffee shortage. Couple this with the fact that coffee production is expected to suffer in the coming years due to climate change and the consequences could be dire. This could be a significant hit to the world economy because coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world behind crude oil.

The farmer direct model is a relatively new concept created as an alternative to free trade. Thrive Farmers Coffee is one of the industry leaders in farmer direct coffee. According to Hollie Slade of Forbes, Michael Jones of Thrive coffee came to the idea because his father in law was a coffee farmer in Jamaica. The founder could not figure out why coffee was so expensive in the United States but be bought from the farmers for such a low price. It was this predicament that led to the concept of farmer direct coffee. Thrive Farmers Coffee was started in 2011 when Jones left a healthcare company he started to pursue this new venture. According to an interview with vice president Bart Newman, the coffee produced by Thrive is also higher quality coffee. Since then the company has experienced promising growth. They sold 25,000 pounds in their first year. They sold 300,000 pounds the year after that. The company gives 75% of its product for green beans, or the unroasted form of a coffee bean, back to the farmers. This provides the farmers with a better alternative to local intermediaries and middle men. 

 The farmer direct model allows the farmers to maintain ownership of the beans until it is sold to the buyer. Farmers do not maintain ownership until the product reaches the consumer. For example, the Chick-fil-A restaurants use this model to buy and sell coffee. Through the farmer direct model, the farmers would maintain ownership until the beans get to Chick-fil-A for roasting. Chick-fil-A then sells the roasted coffee to the consumer in their stores. In the traditional model, the farmers sell their beans to middle men and local exporters, who take a majority of the profit. According to Yoba, the farmers can make up to ten times more on beans that are sold farmer direct. 

In addition to being beneficial for the farmers, the farmer direct model is also good for the consumer. Just like anything else, growing good, high quality coffee requires more advanced technology, and this means more money. The farmers are getting a huge bump in revenue using the farmer direct model. This allows them to buy more advance technology such as newer equipment and pesticides. This helps to create a higher quality product which is great for the consumer because they get a better cup of coffee. With the farmer direct model, the farmers are making more money from their crops. This allows them to reinvest that money back into their operations. This provides a higher quality product for the consumer after the model is implemented. It is important to understand that this improvement will not be immediate. At this point, the farmers are simply trying to get themselves out of poverty. The change will be particularly noticeable if a majority of companies and farmers around the world adopt the farmer direct model. This may be unattainable at this time, however it is something to look toward in the future. Any noticeable changes for the changes will occur later rather than sooner, however they will come.

Companies are seeing positive consumer reaction to the farmer direct model. Chick-fil-A, for example, has turned their adaptation of the farmer direct model into an entire marketing strategy to promote their breakfast items. Chick-fil-A calls their adaptation of the initiative "Coffee with a Story." They have even created a hashtag on Twitter, #coffeewithastory, to promote the model. This "Coffee with a Story" tagline infers that the coffee that is farmer direct has a more personal feel than coffee grown in the traditional way. On their website, Chick-fil-A has a section titled "Meet the Farmers". The section tells readers a little about some of the farmers that help to supply coffee to Chick-fil-A. According to Lamar University's Molly Dahm, "Organic foods were viewed positively and associated with the values of welfare for all people and protection of nature." Consumer attitudes towards organic foods can be compared to consumer attitudes towards farmer direct coffee. If consumers are more likely to see organic foods in this way, it is likely that consumers would see farmer direct coffee in the same way. 

Sometimes, in order to effectively solve a problem, one has to think about the issue from a different perspective. According to Stewart Brand in Reframing the Problems, he argues that in order to successfully handle some of the world's major issues, it is necessary to rethink them. In the source, Brand points to different ways of looking at various environmental issues. For example, he points to world peace as a way of helping the environment. The farmer direct model does this for the coffee industry. This model for selling coffee gives a new perspective for the entire industry. 

Locally, the sustainable coffee movement is already making an appearance on campus at the University of South Carolina. Recently, a new coffee shop opened on campus called "Tea Leaves." This coffee shop sells sustainable coffee and tea. The coffee shop sells coffee that is roasted in the state of South Carolina and it sells tea that is grown in Charleston, South Carolina. Charleston is one of the only places in the United States that grows tea. For this shop there is an emphasis on locally grown or produced products. The coffee sold in Tea Leaves cannot be locally grown because coffee cannot be grown anywhere in the continental United States. However, the coffee sold is roasted in South Carolina so this continues with the theme of locality and sustainability. With this topic already being brought to campus with this coffee shop, it opens the door perfectly for the University of South Carolina to make more strides to continue to support sustainable coffee on campus. There are several steps the university can take to bring farmer direct coffee to campus.

There is a need for action to be taken not only in one specific location, but worldwide. However, this paper will look at how the University of South Carolina can take action to help solve this problem. The University of South Carolina can take several steps to better address this problem on campus. These steps include bringing third parties to campus that use the farmer direct model for buying coffee, and buying coffee for campus that is farmer direct. 

The first step that the university should take is to bring third party companies that support farmer direct coffee to campus. There are many outside organizations that are on campus that are not affiliated with the university. For example, in the Russell house there are restaurants like Chick-fil-A and Pizza Hut. They are independently run businesses that operate on campus. However, the university does decide which companies and businesses can operate on campus. This paper is advocating that the university choose independent companies to come to campus that buy their coffee using the farmer direct model. Chick-fil-A buys coffee using the farmer direct model and they already operate in the Russell house. However, there are more opportunities for other companies to be brought in as well. A college campus is a huge market for fast food and quick service restaurants. If the university were to make changes of this magnitude then it could set off a domino effect for the surrounding city of Columbia. If the University of South Carolina were to make this change, then it would be a huge step for the community as a whole. 

A second step that the university can take would be to start buying their coffee using the farmer direct model. The university can buy coffee through a company like Thrive Farmers to make sure the coffee that they buy for the campus is farmer direct. The farmer direct model would be really great for the campus because the college student demographic drinks a lot of coffee. This demographic is one of the biggest as far as coffee consumption. If the university went to farmer direct coffee, it could make a huge difference for the school and the community at large. 

This action would not only help the farmers, but it would be great for students and faculty as well. Coffee that is sold farmer direct is some of the highest quality coffee in the world. Much of it is grown at very high altitudes and hand-picked by the farmers to ensure that only the highest quality beans are collected. The extra revenue that the farmers receive through the model can go back into their operations. In time, this will cause the quality of the coffee to improve. So the students and faculty will receive a higher quality product while also contributing to a good cause in the process. 

According to author and humanitarian Elie Wiesel, it is our duty to take care of our brothers throughout the world. Right now, the farmers who work hard every day to provide the world with one of the most important commodities known to man, are being forced to use a sales model that is simply not working for them. Many of them are being forced to live in poverty even though they are working hard every day. They are putting everything on the line just to keep their heads above water. This is not right and it is a problem that has a potential to have serious consequences for our society and world economy in the near future. And perhaps the cruelest part of the entire equation is that they are watching their products being sold in other parts of the world for sometimes ten times more than they sold it for. The farmer direct model can be an answer for this problem that has crippled farmers for decades. It is the future of the coffee industry and will help farmers around the world be able to take care of their families and improve their operations. This paper is proposing that the University of South Carolina bring in outside companies to campus that sell farmer direct coffee. The paper is also proposing that the university buy its coffee using the farmer direct model. If the university carries out these actions, then the university will become a model campus for sustainability in the coffee industry. Hopefully, this problem will cease to exist for future generations of coffee farmers worldwide. 


