The Impact Of Coffee

Picture this, the alarm goes off at 5 am, you have to get up for work or school but you are mentally and physically exhausted from not getting enough sleep. What could start your morning better than the smell and taste of a large cup of coffee? Come time of the age 18, the reliance on coffee is significantly high in getting through the day. Does the majority of society actually take the time to sit down and think exactly what they are drinking? Is this beverage that we consume actually as good as we make it out to be? It is unclear when exactly coffee originated, but there are a few beliefs that led to its existence. Coffee has been around since the 13th century originating in the Ethiopian highlands, making its way across the world. Coffee

It is the US’s largest food import. Although the coffee business is on the rise in developed countries, current rock bottom prices are leading major difficulties to countries where coffee is abundant in economic activity. The dramatic fall in prices over the past five years is a major crisis in the coffee business. This situation is caused by a current imbalance between supply and demand. Coffee production has been rising at 3.6% whereas the demand has only been increasing at 1.6 (Sustainable Coffee Environment). The Fair Trade is a set of guidelines that the producers follow. This was the best way to drive the development of the world’s largest commodity. Coffee is an inelastic good, meaning if coffee prices increase the quantity demanded will not decrease by much. Growers will produce more coffee than consumers want. Child labor is an issue brought up by the fair trade organization in the production of coffee (The Problem with Fair Trade). Research is being done to see if the fair trade organization is actually helping the poverty as it should be and if it harming the non- trade farmers.

As a social custom, coffee is brought upon by adults since children are not allowed to drink it. Coffee drinking is widespread throughout the United States. It is the centerpiece to social interaction. Despite its popularity, coffee drinking has become an issue. Some groups have described the United States as a nation of caffeine addicts (Sustainable Coffee Environment). Most people do not think of coffee as a social problem, that it is based upon the consumption of caffeine that is the