Confronting the Coffee Crisis – Fair Trade, Sustainable Livelihoods and Ecosystems in Mexico and Central America

"The recent coffee crisis in more than fifty countries has exposed, more explicitly than ever, the harsh vulnerability of commodity producers. The considerable human and ecological costs borne by producers and their communities have stimulated a sharp look at the little understood impact of sustainability efforts such as traditional systems, fair trade, or organics. The authors' interdisciplinary, ground-level research is an excellent contribution to current debates as it insightfully explores the interstices and the outcomes of human and environmental collaborations pursued by producers, NGOs, and increasingly, by private firms. The authors' considerable field experience is evident as they go beyond simple black and white analyses to look more deeply at the locally-grounded foundations of sustainability from a holistic agro-ecological perspective."--Daniele Giovannucci, author of "The State of Sustainable Coffee and Coffee Markets: New Paradigms in Global Supply and Demand"

"This book is provocative and innovative in its comprehensive approach to researching and covering the coffee system from field to cup."--Tom Hanlon-Wilde, Co-owner, Equal Exchange

V. Ernesto Méndez is Assistant Professor in the Environmental Program and Department of Plant and Soil Science at the University of Vermont.

Stephen R. Gliessman is Alfred Heller Professor of Agroecology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

David Goodman is Professor of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Jonathan A. Fox is Professor in the Latin American and Latino Studies Department atthe University of California, Santa Cruz.