 "Photo: Kate Lee | Daily Trojan")
Two columns ago, I dug deeply into recent news archives and found for you all the health benefits of coffee. Ever since it was published, friends and classmates have admitted to me in whispery voices that they, too, have a great love for the beverage. Usually following the initial admittance, they disclose that they also have been discriminated against on the basis of their caffeine preferences. Well, you're all welcome.
But before you rush out to the nearest coffeehouse, please read this follow up column. Never fear, I wasn't wrong about the health benefits of coffee - it's just that the nearest coffeehouse is probably Starbucks, and I am now going to demonstrate to you that they do not deserve one cent of your hard earned cash.
Firstly, let's look at the Starbucks issue from a globalization angle. From the day they established their first coffee shop in the tourist area of Seattle in 1971, Starbucks had big plans. In the past 33 years, Starbucks has opened 8,119 stores worldwide, with almost 5,000 of those in North America.
Chairman Howard Schulz's official position is "chief global strategist" - clearly implying a desire for total domination of the coffee industry.
Now, I am not opposed to making it big. Everyone wants a piece of the pie, and Starbucks has gradually worked its way up to success. However, Starbucks has done so not just through expansion and fair competition, but also by devouring its opponents.
Let's look at Seattle as a case study. Once upon a time, Seattle was known for having a coffee shop every block - you had a choice of Seattle's Best Coffee, Starbucks, Tully's, Espresso Roma, Café Ladro ... the list went on and on.
Now, Seattle has over 90 Starbucks locations, not including all the grocery stores and malls with booths. Tully's is bankrupt, Seattle's Best was just bought by Starbucks and many of the independent coffee shops have gone under.
There are many coffee drinkers who loyally drink only at independent shops. However, if you don't know your way around the city, and there's a Starbucks on every corner, where will you realistically end up?
So, clearly, if you are a fan of small business and antitrust suits, you've realized that Starbucks is very threatening to the idealist dream of a noncorporate world. If you are more of the big business, capitalism-is-the-way-to-go type, you probably feel proud to be holding that venti Starbucks Frappuccino.
Regardless of your political stance, though, Starbucks coffee is worse for you than that made at most independent coffee shops. All those health benefits of coffee exist because of the way coffee beans are grown. Coffee was originally grown in tropical rainforests, under the shade of large, vitamin-filled tropical trees.
As researcher Brian Halweil said, "The coffee farm that resembles an intact forest costs less to maintain," because farmers don't have to use pesticides or other tools; the forest provides protection for the plants.
Most coffee grown in the shade is known as fair trade coffee, meaning it costs $1.26 per pound, enough for farmers to subsist and maintain their farms.
However, a large company such as Starbucks, bent on world domination, doesn't really want to deal with rainforests and fair trade. Instead, it buys the cheaper coffee, which is grown in areas where rainforests have been demolished in order to grow more coffee in a smaller space. This is convenient for the company, but not for Latin American and African farmers struggling to keep their plantations and families alive.
In addition to contributing to poverty, coffee grown without the shade of tropical trees lacks many of the antioxidants and health values that coffee gains growing in its natural environment. In addition to losing its many nutrients, non-fair trade coffee often tastes more bitter.
After years of customers, farmers and baristas complaining, Starbucks has introduced one line of fair trade coffee - that's about one in 100. It's a step forward, but not enough unless customers start demanding that the company practice better global business.
I hope that I've convinced you to go to Ragazzi Room instead of Schulz's relentless corporation. But if not, please at least request the one line of fair trade coffee at Starbucks when you go - it's better for you and for the people who grew it for you.
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Elizabeth Leitzell's column "The Last Shot" runs every Thursday. To comment on this column, e-mail dtrojan@usc.edu or call (213) 740-5665.
