The Readings

If you have just joined, or have gotten behind, here is a list of what we have been reading so far and what is coming up. If you are behind and will never catch up, we still love you. It’s grace.
Stan


From September 29 through October 10, we'll focus on

Luttinger, Nina and Gregory Dicum The Coffee Book: Anatomy of an Industry from Crop to the Last Drop (New York: The New Press, 2006).

Ch. 2: Coffee's Odyssey from Crop to Cup (pages 38-70). This chapter is about how coffee is grown and processed, and the lives of the farmers who grow it.

Ch. 3: The Rise of the International Coffee Trade (pages 86-120). This chapter is about how coffee is traded, how prices are determined, and who gets your coffee dollar. The selected reading focuses on the period from the foundation of the International Coffee Organization in 1962 to the Coffee Crisis in 2001.

Ch. 4: (pages 150-173), The Specialty Coffee Boom, which set the stage for Fair Trade by increasing the demand for high quality coffee and fostered concern for where coffee comes from and who grows it. This section also talks about the Starbucks Phenomenon.

Ch. 5: (pages 176 to 210), The Sustainable Coffee Buzz, includes discussion of ethical consumerism, certification, organic coffee, shade grown coffee and Fairly Traded Coffee.

Optionally, you can also read pages 128-148 in Chapter 3, about the Mega Roasters (like Folgers’s and Maxwell House) and the decline of quality.


From October 20 through mid-November:

Womack, John Jr., Rebellion in Chiapas, an historical reader; (c) 1999, New Press, New York.

Especially his introduction to the history and conflicts in Chiapas. Other chapter suggestions:
Ch. 7: Migrant Labor on the Coffee Plantations: Debt, Lies, Drink, Hard Work, and the Union, 1920's-1930's
Ch. 13: Agrarian Struggles in the Central Valley: Peasant Mobilization and the OCEZ, 1980-82
Ch. 15: The Diocese's Most Radical Declaration: The Plan, San Cristobal, 1986
Ch. 16: Salinas's Form of Social Organization: Solidarity, 1988-94
Ch. 20: ENOUGH!: The Zapatista Declaration of War, January 1, 1994
Ch. 21: Revolutionary Legislation: The EZLN's New Laws, January 1994
Ch. 30: The Civil War in the Highlands: Acteal, December 22, 1997


From Mid-November to January 1

Duncan, Stan G., From Jubilee to the World Bank, Economic Globalization for Faith-Based Activists; (c) 2008 by Jubilee Justice.

Ch. 3: Coffee: Victor and Hugo, Life and Faith and the Price of Coffee
Ch. 4: NAFTA: The Greatest Story Over Sold
Ch. 5: International Debt: Your Money or Your Life

This book, which is in pre-publication form, will be sent, free of charge, to all group participants.