SOCI 2070SOCI 2070

CoffeeCoffee January 19, 2009January 19, 2009

Today’s ReadingsToday’s Readings Eric R. Wolf ‘The Movement of Commodities’ Eric R. Wolf ‘The Movement of Commodities’ Europe Europe

and the People Without Historyand the People Without History Berkeley: Berkeley: University of California Press, 1982, pp. 310-University of California Press, 1982, pp. 310-315; 336-339; 350; 352-353.315; 336-339; 350; 352-353.

Leah Hager Cohen Leah Hager Cohen Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations Glass, Paper, Beans: Revelations on the Nature and Value of Ordinary Thingson the Nature and Value of Ordinary Things New New York: Doubleday, 1997, pp. 10-14; 45-60.York: Doubleday, 1997, pp. 10-14; 45-60.

Deborah James ‘Justice and Java’ Deborah James ‘Justice and Java’ NACLA ReportNACLA Report XXXIV:2 (September/October 2000, 11-14.XXXIV:2 (September/October 2000, 11-14.

Leah McLaren ‘Bland, Boring Tim Hortons Doesn’t Leah McLaren ‘Bland, Boring Tim Hortons Doesn’t Belong in My Neighbourhood’ Belong in My Neighbourhood’ Globe and MailGlobe and Mail 7 July 7 July 2001, L3.2001, L3.

Lecture OutlineLecture Outline

Global Historical SignificanceGlobal Historical Significance Coffee Production and Political Economy Coffee Production and Political Economy MarxMarx Fair Trade, Organic, Shade-grown CoffeeFair Trade, Organic, Shade-grown Coffee Coffee Consumption – Historical Coffee Consumption – Historical

SignificanceSignificance Coffee Consumption – Contemporary Coffee Consumption – Contemporary

Significance Significance FoucaultFoucault Film: Java JiveFilm: Java Jive

Global Historical Global Historical SignificanceSignificance

Native to Ethiopia Native to Ethiopia the harvesting of coffee is said to the harvesting of coffee is said to have begun in the middle of the 12th have begun in the middle of the 12th century, century,

trading of coffee around the trading of coffee around the continent of Africa, through to the continent of Africa, through to the Middle EastMiddle East

Spread to Europe in the late 1600sSpread to Europe in the late 1600s Significant crop for colonial expansion: Significant crop for colonial expansion: examples: examples: Dutch – Indonesia, British Dutch – Indonesia, British and French – Caribbean, Portuguese – and French – Caribbean, Portuguese – Brazil Brazil

Colonial Capitalism and Colonial Capitalism and European Expansion European Expansion

Colonial exploitation: slave trade or wage Colonial exploitation: slave trade or wage labourer exploitation on large plantationslabourer exploitation on large plantations

Combined pre-existing networks of exchange Combined pre-existing networks of exchange with new networks between continents with new networks between continents

Created a regional specialization in Created a regional specialization in products (one commodity is main crop) for products (one commodity is main crop) for export to the colonial centres export to the colonial centres

Created a world wide movement of Created a world wide movement of commodities. Anyone heard of Juan Valdez??commodities. Anyone heard of Juan Valdez??

Production accelerated as colonization Production accelerated as colonization proceededproceeded

Eric Wolf, Reading KitEric Wolf, Reading Kit

Contemporary ProductionContemporary Production Currently tCurrently the world’s 2he world’s 2ndnd most valuable commodity (after oil) most valuable commodity (after oil)

estimates of global coffee production are;estimates of global coffee production are;• 70 Southern producing countries70 Southern producing countries• employing 20 million workers of all ages, employing 20 million workers of all ages, • who pick over 6 million tonnes of beans annually from approximately who pick over 6 million tonnes of beans annually from approximately • 11 million hectares of tropical, fertile farmland 11 million hectares of tropical, fertile farmland

• --WWaarriiddeell 22000022::3311

TechnologyTechnology ‘‘technifyied’ coffee plant grown in technifyied’ coffee plant grown in the open sun with herbicides and the open sun with herbicides and pesticides = pesticides =

the destruction of local and the destruction of local and indigenous communities, clear-cutting indigenous communities, clear-cutting of rainforests, soil erosion, loss of of rainforests, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, agro-chemical biodiversity, agro-chemical pollution, toxic work conditionspollution, toxic work conditions

Take-out innovation = wasteTake-out innovation = waste

Political EconomyPolitical Economy A significant source of foreign exchange for many A significant source of foreign exchange for many

Central American countriesCentral American countries Producers on small estates often receive less than Producers on small estates often receive less than

the cost of production in price the cost of production in price Must sell future rights to harvests to Must sell future rights to harvests to creditors to secure basic necessitiescreditors to secure basic necessities

On large plantations, labourers earn bare On large plantations, labourers earn bare subsistence wagessubsistence wages Guatemala: less than $3 for 100 lbs of coffeeGuatemala: less than $3 for 100 lbs of coffee Forced overtime and no benefitsForced overtime and no benefits Employment of child labour Employment of child labour

Coffee, Land, and Coffee, Land, and LabourLabour

BrazilBrazil Coffee production by Coffee production by

the early 18the early 18thth century century Largely through slave Largely through slave

plantationsplantations exporting ¾ of the exporting ¾ of the

world’s coffee by end world’s coffee by end of 18of 18thth century century

MexicoMexico another key site for another key site for

coffee productioncoffee production Coffee estates created Coffee estates created

through legislation through legislation that abolished that abolished communal distribution communal distribution of landof land

Foreign-owned coffee Foreign-owned coffee estates became a key estates became a key source of Mexican source of Mexican coffee production and coffee production and of the employment of of the employment of indigenous peoples who indigenous peoples who had lost access to the had lost access to the landland

MarxMarx Global DominationGlobal Domination

Communist Manifesto –bourgeoisie chasing Communist Manifesto –bourgeoisie chasing across globe…across globe…

Relations of productionRelations of production classes, ownership, labourclasses, ownership, labour

Commodity FetishismCommodity Fetishism The value of an object is assessed only in The value of an object is assessed only in relation to consumption: monetary worth, relation to consumption: monetary worth, and worth believed to be and worth believed to be intrinsic to object intrinsic to object

Obscures relations of production; ignores Obscures relations of production; ignores the history of people and labourthe history of people and labour

Capitalism and Capitalism and CommoditiesCommodities

““Today we want, and Today we want, and get, most things get, most things boxed and boxed and beribboned – sealed beribboned – sealed off from their off from their origins, ensconced origins, ensconced from their own true from their own true stories, which are stories, which are the stories of the stories of people, of work, of people, of work, of lives” lives”

Leah Hagar Cohen, Reading Kit, Leah Hagar Cohen, Reading Kit, p. 307 p. 307

Coffee is producedCoffee is produced Coffee has a historyCoffee has a history

Fair Trade, Organic, Fair Trade, Organic, Shade-grownShade-grown

based on the ideals of respect, based on the ideals of respect, equity and sustainability. equity and sustainability.

Cooperatives are set-up with a Cooperatives are set-up with a direct relationship between the direct relationship between the producers and the producers and the roasters/sellers roasters/sellers

coffee growers are paid a fair coffee growers are paid a fair wage without exposure to wage without exposure to chemicals (Waridel, 2002). chemicals (Waridel, 2002).

Coffee Consumption:Coffee Consumption:Historical Significance Historical Significance

Coffee replaced beer and ale in public Coffee replaced beer and ale in public sphere sphere ‘‘delibidinized’ ‘rational’delibidinized’ ‘rational’

connection to capitalist personality connection to capitalist personality ‘‘Wakeful’, ‘civilized’, ‘disciplined’Wakeful’, ‘civilized’, ‘disciplined’ ““quite radical realignment of place, body, quite radical realignment of place, body, status and discourse” status and discourse” (Stallybrass and White:99) (Stallybrass and White:99)

Coffee shops into capitalist institutionsCoffee shops into capitalist institutions English stock exchange, Lloyd’s of London and English stock exchange, Lloyd’s of London and Sun-Fire insurance Sun-Fire insurance

Penny universitiesPenny universities

Coffee Consumption:Coffee Consumption:Contemporary SignificanceContemporary Significance

Coffee Breaks: Coffee Breaks: “fulfill a capitalist “fulfill a capitalist fantasy, providing a respite from work fantasy, providing a respite from work undertaken for the sake of work itself – and undertaken for the sake of work itself – and thus the direct conversion of ‘leisure’ into thus the direct conversion of ‘leisure’ into ‘productivity’ – made possible through the ‘productivity’ – made possible through the medium of a highly desired, commodified medium of a highly desired, commodified stimulant”. stimulant”. - Brad Weiss, 1996:101- Brad Weiss, 1996:101

‘‘going for coffee’ going for coffee’ Studying/working in coffee shops: office Studying/working in coffee shops: office spacespace

Socially accepted drugSocially accepted drug Symbolic Value – class and identitySymbolic Value – class and identity

Symbolic ValueSymbolic Value

Symbolic ValueSymbolic Value ““the one person the one person who wants a Tim who wants a Tim Hortons in the Hortons in the neighbourhood neighbourhood is the guy who is the guy who owns the pool owns the pool hall. He’s a hall. He’s a Tim Hortons Tim Hortons kind of guy.”kind of guy.”

Leah McLarenLeah McLaren,, ““Bland, Boring Tim Bland, Boring Tim Hortons Doesn’t Belong in My Hortons Doesn’t Belong in My

NeighbourhoodNeighbourhood”,”, Globe and Mail Globe and Mail 7 July 2001, L3.7 July 2001, L3.

Signifies Signifies class identityclass identity

Tim Hortons Tim Hortons vs. Starbucks vs. Starbucks

Nation and Nation and RepresentationRepresentation

Tim Hortons is a Tim Hortons is a ‘national ‘national institution’institution’

Connected to hockeyConnected to hockey A Canadian economic A Canadian economic success success

Advertising Advertising suggests TH: suggests TH: unites the country, unites the country, symbolizes homesymbolizes home

Symbolic ValueSymbolic Value

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZ36rmAJBc&NR=1&feature=fvwp7nZ36rmAJBc&NR=1&feature=fvwp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuFLon26nMw&feature=relatedNuFLon26nMw&feature=related

FoucaultFoucault• ““Capitalism would not have been Capitalism would not have been possible without the controlled possible without the controlled insertion of bodies into the machinery insertion of bodies into the machinery of production and adjustment of the of production and adjustment of the phenomena of population to economic phenomena of population to economic processes.” - Michel Foucault, 1978: processes.” - Michel Foucault, 1978: 141141

• bio-power - link between the control of bio-power - link between the control of bodies and the development of bodies and the development of capitalism.capitalism.

• Social regulation through normalization Social regulation through normalization and discourse.and discourse.

Main Points – Coffee Main Points – Coffee is…is…

a key commodity for the development a key commodity for the development of colonial capitalismof colonial capitalism

significant for the regulation of significant for the regulation of bodies in contemporary consumer bodies in contemporary consumer capitalismcapitalism

An example of:An example of: the destructiveness of capitalist the destructiveness of capitalist exploitationexploitation

commodity fetishismcommodity fetishism symbolic valuesymbolic value an alternative trading systeman alternative trading system