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79 www.baristamagazine.com begin to understand and accept increased costs. Identifying the problem is easy: We put too much of the risk of coffee production on those who can least afford it, the producers and the laborers at origin. Without their work, however, we the consumers of green and, roasted coffee, and the consumers of our products at our cafés and roasteries, have no business at all. It's imperative that we find a path to economic viability for all actors in the supply chain. We need a solution that is more than just one that rewards higher prices to a fraction of a famer's output where high-end lots fetch great returns but lower grades end up losing money. We need a solution that recognizes the dignity and hardship in labor of those who toil in the fields or mills and ensures they are paid accordingly. We need a solution that sees the daunting challenges the farmer, picker, exporter, and importer face when running a business that relies on bringing a fickle agricultural product from the tropics to northern markets. Yes, identifying the problem is easy. It's creating the solutions that's hard. Without them, though, it's all too easy to see that our market will respond too late to a coming supply chain collapse. Part two of this essay, in which Chad will discuss efforts already underway that aspire to reach a new paradigm for a sustainable coffee market, will appear in the August + September 2016 issue of Barista Magazine. $6 $5 $4 $3 $2 $1 1980 Green Coffee (lb) Roast/Ground (lb) Gas (gallon) Beef (lb) Bread (loaf) Milk (gallon) Eggs (dozen) 1990 2000 2010 100 50 0 1971-90 1981-88 1989-99 Value added in consuming countries Transport costs and weight loss Value added in producing countries Price paid to growers TO YOUR PHONE AND TABLET! CURRENT AND BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD FOR FREE! DOWNLOAD THE Barista Magazine APP