Coffee Equity Lab

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Coffee is, for many, a staple of everyday life. Enjoyed in nearly every country, an estimated 2.25 billion cups are consumed daily. From the global metropolis to some of the world’s most remote farmland, coffee is a central ritual with nearly endless expressions.

Despite coffee’s global importance— the total industry is estimated to be worth over 480 billion dollars— outcomes across the value chain are profoundly unequal; an estimated 61 percent of producers sell their coffee at prices below the cost of production. Beside lopsided power dynamics, producers must also bear the burdens of rapidly changing climatic conditions and industry demands.

“The coffee trade is, of course, about beans and dollars, but that is only part of the story,” writes VU anthropologist Ted Fischer in his book, Making Better Coffee, “a material thing that satisfies a sensual desire and a physical craving, coffee has cascading effects that influence our mental states, social lives, and political systems.” This makes it a prime topic of study for Vanderbilt students of all disciplines who, in exploring the global network involved in their morning cup, engage with the complex realities of everyday consumption and what it means for the future of our world.

Coffee Equity Lab programs are diverse in scope, from mechanical innovation to educational resources to case studies, but share a unified mission of promoting sustainable futures for everyone involved in coffee.